Please recommend a Vinyl Cutter for Car Paint shop

[casey79westfalia 0]

I have a body shop in maryland and am looking to purchase a vinyl cutter that I can use to apply taxi logos, make signs for our building and other car related decals. I won't be doing full car wraps. Please advise me on a good machine that I plan to use a few times a month.

[mark-s 1,126]

#1 Graphtec

#2 Roland

mark-s

[casey79westfalia 0]

Mark I would love to purchase a graphtec or roland but they are out of my budget currently. I need something to get me going. I won't be doing anything real complex initially and I will probably be making more shop signs and directional signage then car signage. Eventually if business picks up I will upgrade to a better unit.

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

Then purchase, the best that you can afford, they all do what you need, they are all vinyl cutters.

[Rodger 527]

The $279 SC cutter will do everything you mention well . Each step up does them better & is worth the upgrade in price . Buying what does the job without overspending is what practical people do ,especially if not a full time sign shop . If the $1K Zen green is in the budget , great . If not whatever falls into the budget will do a good job . If you buy the SC series & decide to upgrade , not much waste & you have a back-up cutter . I bought a Copam because of the optical eye & being in the professional group . I would buy it again , but know the SC series would do everything I want to do . I thought about buying a $1500 cutter but decided on buying 2 Copams ( $750 now ) ... that way I would have a back up & spares if 1 died & was not worth fixing in the future . There are alot of threads about the same question . Do a search & you will get alot of advice from experience .

[casey79westfalia 0]

Thanks a lot. I am thinking I will go with the SC cutter. It seems to have great reviews. Next question is it worth buying anything larger then 24". Seems like most vinyl comes in 24". Also what is the "laser registration" or "optical eye".

[Rodger 527]

Where in Md are you ? 24" will do for anybody not doing bigger than 24" on a regular basis . You can only get about 23 1/2 " usable width on a 24" roll , You can make 2' tiles to make any size decal ( ex : 5 2' tiles will make a 10' decal ) . The other question's answer is measuring devices . You should do a search as there is much more info than what you will get in 1 thread & you will also learn what you will be asking after getting the cutter ..

[casey79westfalia 0]

Im in Hunt Valley, Md. I think I'll go with the sc 34". That will give me some breathing room for larger vinyl if needed. I am reading through the forum now educating myself thanks a lot.