wadem 0 Posted December 10, 2007 Hi there. I am looking to start a business designing smaller things like stickers and business logos for vehicle windows etc... Not really interested in making banners etc.... I am really new to the whole deal and am looking for some direction on what would be a good cutter to purchase and all the other things like software etc.. that I would need to get started. Would prefer to use software that is very user friendly but at the same time offers lots of features for effects. Any tips or help including website links would be really, really appreciated. Thanks alot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haumana 1,220 Posted December 10, 2007 I think it's safe to say that everyone here will readily endorse the US Cutter products, as well as Sign Blazer Elements. You cannot find a better user's forum that is available free of charge, and with members that are willing to share the experience and expertise with you. It was because of this forum that I decided to buy a US Cutter product (the LaserPoint), and I haven't regretted it for one moment. This was definitely the best of all that I compared. Good luck! and welcome to the forum! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgreenh 9 Posted December 10, 2007 First you have to decide how small is small. Less than 12" decals you can buy a 12" machine that you will probably outgrow in a big hurry. A 25" machine will in reality give you about 23" cut size on 24" vinyl. I would recommend a 25" as the place to start, unless the budget just won't allow it. I bought a 25" Refine and have been very happy with it. US Cutter support and this forum are really a HUGE added value to these cutters. There are users on here that would have never got anything cut successfully that are now helping out and answering questions on here. So the ask, read, learn, teach cycle works well here. Software... As mentioned earlier SignBlazer that comes packed with some of the US Cutter plotters has about all the bells and whistles you could want. You can also download Inkscape for free to do vector designs and vectorize raster images. Vector Magic is a web based vectorizing program that some have had good success with. I don't think any graphics software is truely user friendly... i.e. easy. If you have no experience with vector graphics programs then you will definately have a steep learning curve to get the most out of the software and create cuttable images. Photoshop and the other raster based programs are of some use but you can't cut a jpg or a gif image. We are here to help and answer questions but you still have to learn to use the tools to really be independant. As far as effects go, only a few effects actually translate into cut vinyl. Examples of what people on this forum use (on the PC side anyway, I can't speak for Mac's) are SignBlazer, Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, CorelDraw, Flexi and probably others that I am forgetting. ... And soon, you will be answering questions on here as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wadem 0 Posted December 10, 2007 Thanks for the replies so far everyone, keep 'em coming. Nice to be on a forum where everyone is interested in getting people up and running and available to solve problems. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firemalt 10 Posted December 10, 2007 I think it's safe to say that everyone here will readily endorse the US Cutter products, as well as Sign Blazer Elements. +1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
