broody 0 Posted May 1, 2009 Hi Guy's and Gals, I am on the fence with whether or not a uscutter is even worth the trouble. I am an avid mac user and I'll spend another 1,000 bucks on a roland before I go back to using a pc. Having said that I am drawn to the value they offer, but it looks like mac users are having nothing but trouble with the machines. I was looking mostly at a copam or pcut. What are you guys using? Is there an ideal setup for using a uscutter? Any other mac friendly plotters out there? Hoping to make a purchase tonight or tomorrow. Thanks in advance! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kenimes 42 Posted May 1, 2009 The best solution at this time is to use the new SignCut Productivity Suite with the lower end Chinese import vinyl cutters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MonkeyMeMe 8 Posted May 1, 2009 All i can say is if you can get it to work with your mac,,, What the heck is holding you back,, go for it,, These are great lil machines,, that work extremely hard to make us happy. MMM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stunad, jr. Posted May 1, 2009 i spent a total of $45 at goodwill on a pc to run my new pcut in the garage. Not a big deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tservice 3 Posted May 1, 2009 Hi Guy's and Gals, I am on the fence with whether or not a uscutter is even worth the trouble. I am an avid mac user and I'll spend another 1,000 bucks on a roland before I go back to using a pc. Having said that I am drawn to the value they offer, but it looks like mac users are having nothing but trouble with the machines. I was looking mostly at a copam or pcut. What are you guys using? Is there an ideal setup for using a uscutter? Any other mac friendly plotters out there? Hoping to make a purchase tonight or tomorrow. Thanks in advance! You will see trouble on this forum. It is a "support forum" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
broody 0 Posted May 4, 2009 I have taken the plunge. Just ordered a pcut w/ signcut x2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimon 1 Posted May 4, 2009 Cool, we have very few actual problems getting any of US Cutters to work on any machine Mac or PC once we have the two communicating. Most macs will run strait out of the box as long as you have installed the correct drivers for USB communication. 99% of users who have had trouble add a Keyspan adapter to solve their communication trouble and are up and running easily. Should you need assistance getting going drop me an email at kimon@signforums.com or try our online support at support@sc-x2.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
broody 0 Posted May 10, 2009 Ok, got and everything is set up. I had a slight hiccup with the LCD on the unit not functioning, but I tightened the plug connections on the motherboard and she's up and running. Now I just have to learn how to overcome user errors! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted May 10, 2009 For future mac users...the problems are not with the cutters themselves but with the SOFTWARE. Spending another $1000 for a Roland isn't going to solve anything. It is the SOFTWARE that establishes communication and runs the cutter. Glad you got it running. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimon 1 Posted May 10, 2009 John, communication problems on Macs are hardware issues. If the plotter and the computer are not communicating properly no plotter software will resolve that. This is why so many resort to the keyspan adapter which bypassed the internal usb/serial card converter and the drivers that are supplied by either prolific or ftdi. Once proper communication is established the software offered by Signcut and US Cutter is virtually bullet proof. The real problem lies with compatibility between the Mac and the USB Serial converter cards built into the import plotters. So spending an extra $50 bucks for a name brand converter like the Keyspan usually solves that problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted May 10, 2009 sounds to me like the problem is just Macs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
broody 0 Posted May 11, 2009 Hey careful, thems fightin words! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted May 11, 2009 let me re-phrase. The problem is USB on Macs. For that matter USB on Windows as well. To quote Jerry Bonham (on USB)from Signblazer,just before he died: "It is a nightmare. Just imagine if every computer parts manufacturer in the past had to supply drivers to run a Parallel port or a Com port? What happened? Progress? With USB it went so far backwards as to be a joke. Every chip manufacturer has to supply not just one drivers but one for Vista, one for XP and a 64 bit one for Vista 64. Now the number of USB devices out there are legend and growing by the day." Jerry knew more about Cutters than anyone I ever met. He could quote part numbers from memory. He was in China checking out the new cutters when he died. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kenimes 42 Posted May 14, 2009 Jerry knew more about Cutters than anyone I ever met. He could quote part numbers from memory. He was in China checking out the new cutters when he died. Indeed. RIP JB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeBlow 5 Posted May 14, 2009 Banner John, I bought my first cutting program from Jerry, it was a very small program, under 600kb on a floppy disk with a dongle. I had a lot dealings with Jerry over the upgrades and the development of the program, it finished up being called "WinCut". I don't remember what the original name was, it had a few name changes along the way. Jerry was a great help over the years, if you called into his shop, he always had the time for a chat or help with any problems you might have. RIP Jerry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest round2racing Posted May 15, 2009 Wish I had gotten the chance to know him. I search his posts and read them all the time. He's the reason I was able to get up and running so quickly, with a little help from my friends here also. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
