Feedback on SC Cutter Please

[tammy h 6]

My husband owns a Moving & Delivery buisness. We are looking at buying a vinyl cutter to do larger format decals for his box trucks - van. Plus- I am interested in doing t-shirts w/ their logo and other things as well as wall sayings etc. I have done quite a bit of reading.

I really am not sure about spending the kind of cash I need to spend for a graphtec or coban. I would if needed.

The SC seemed to be a good option to me. I would be using it on the weekends / after work so it wouldn't get fulltime use. I would supply their business with logo needs plus do t-shirts etc.

Can you tell me if you guys would recommend the SC for this type of work? Does it do ok on both larger decals + smaller more detailed work?

What size would you generally recommend for this type of application? I am leaning towards the 34" ? I would love to have the 50" but again I'm not sure if I want to spend that for the 1st cutter.

Sorry for the long post- and thank you in advance for the advice !

Tammy

[mb20music 760]

If I were you I would go with a Copam or Graphtec

[HybridThread 14]

I don't have an SC, but I'd say for what you are going to be doing it will be fine for now. The shirts are the only thing that you may have trouble with if you are cutting small details. I hear the Copams do small details ok, and of course the Graphtecs and Rolands would be your best choice. For box trucks though, I'd say the SC should be ok. May be tracking could be an issue doing large cuts for the trucks? This would cause you to have to split your cuts into smaller groups and piece it together on the truck. Just some things to consider. Someone here with an SC can inform you better.

[tammy h 6]

Thank you so much for your feedback.

What is the main difference between the Copam and the SC.

I really want something with the contour cutting capability- but I hate to spend the kind of money I need to on the zen / graphtec.

I will want to do small details I imagine and I will want to do the truck logos for sure. That's why I thought with the SC I could go up to the bigger size.

- Also has anyone bought from Ebay (US Cutter) vs. from the store? I'm a little worried about the warranty difference.

[slice&dice 2,451]

Oooooh - Ooooh!!! Let me jump in here !!!!!

First of all, what are you contemplating accomplishing with the Contour Cutting?

That's a highly specialized feature, and is used in conjunction with a PRINTER.

Secondly, do you have a computer with a standard 9-pin serial port? Much preferable to USB.

Thirdly, for $270 you can grab the MH 34" unit, which I think is pretty damn good ( I was using that as my primary cutter in a retail sign store environment for nearly a year, and the only thing that caused me to get an SC as a replacement was I figured it was quieter -- it is but not by much)

Lastly, 30" vinyl is about the biggest you really want to deal with, unless you're quite experienced with weeding and transfer-taping.

(As for small cuts, I never had a problem with the MH doing lettering around 1/2" size)

Ah yes, you also asked about eBay vs. USCUTTER direct.

I think it's worthwhile to just place the order on the website and add all the vinyl and accessories you need to start, and pay $9. shipping for the whole kit & kaboodle.

[tammy h 6]

Thank you again for the feedback.. This is a difficult decision- I thought I had it narrowed down- but - then started reading some of the comments and started to second guess.

On the serial port- I had read that people were having problems using the USB port. So from what I read the higher level models you don't need the serial port as much? Or is the 9 serial port better on all of the units?

So- there are no cutting differences between the SC and MH? Will the MH / SC both do like detail small logos ok? Our t-shirts typically have a very small logo w/ font on the front and a big logo/ font on the back.

I just wanted to leave the countour option open because I do want to buy a printer when we see if this is something we want to keep doing. I do want to start a small business doing things like wall designs, t-shirts, stickers, car logos, signs etc. I know buying a combo is terribly expensive- so thought if we bought a cutter that did contour a well- once we bought a printer we'd have that option.

Tammy

[speleopower 46]

My SC is working well for basic cutting for me. I have not tried to do a very long cut but I have done fairly intricate cuts and decals/paint masks with it. For starters doing decals and paint masks is much more difficult than I thought it would be. I now look a store fronts, truck lettering, decals etc and I have a new found respect for the time and skill that went into those things. As stated above the SC will cut letters quite small and will do intricate designs if you settings are correct and image is well edited. It's more of a skill set that takes time to develop with lots of trial and error. So far I have had good luck with using my USB cable.

-Scott

[HybridThread 14]

The MH can cut small things, but in all honesty, it doesn't come out very good at all. I'd say 1/4" letters are the best it can do, but the quality was not near satisfactory for me. Keep in mind those cutters are classed as hobby cutters. If you need anything printed for now while you work up to better equipment let me know. I can print and contour small lettering for you at a good price.

Good luck on your search, I started out like you and couldn't take it anymore. Upgraded from a MH to a Roland printer/cutter a few months later. It may seem expensive, but the initial cost of this type of business is pretty low compared to most IMO.