15" vs. 24"

[iamandy 20]

I have been using 15" for a while because my cutter couldn't handle anything too big so I didn't think it worth getting the large roll. I have a new cutter on the way and I'm ordering vinyl. What are the advantages of the larger rolls other than the obvious?

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

ganging decals for less waste . . .

[Wildgoose 4,200]

Definitely a little cheaper per/sf that way too. If you are only doing smaller stuff then I guess it would depend on your specific needs. I occasionally buy 15" product if I have a specific job that will be best served by that size but mostly I just bring in 24" stuff and only order 15" or 30" for special occasions. Very rarely have to tile anything with 24" and can often rotate images to cut the other direction to be more efficient. Gives a little more flexibility with layout of a bunch of smaller stuff too. For instance, would I get better material usage by stacking these certain files 5 high 3 long or rotating them the other way and stacking 3 high 5 long or would the rotation allow one more in there which would reduce the overall length of vinyl used. 

[iamandy 20]

Thanks for the input. I am still in the mindset of my old cutter that wouldn't cut anything too grand and too many copies. the 15" also provided less static and I think that helped out. 

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

so a roll 8" less wide produces much less static   . . . with any value cutter make sure the stand and rollers are grounded to the bottom of the cutter - on a pro model it has never been a  problem mainly because the design it is all grounded with metal to metal all the way thru

[Vermonster 111]

Out of curiosity - what cutter did you order?

This is a good topic/discussion - I guess it all boils down to what you normally cut.  As mentioned - 'ganging' decals or HTV runs needs to be done. 

To give an example - I have always had 24-48" machines.  For the first time, I now have a 15" machine.  I was a little torn on the "Better to have bigger in case I need it" theory, but when I sat down and thought about it, most of the stuff I've ever done has been under 14" with the majoirty under 12".

 

If you do a lot of smaller things, one time things I'd go with 15"

If you do a lot of multiples (20 decals at a time) or much larger things (like vectors of my mother in law) then definitely go with the larger vinyl.

 As Dakota mentioned, if you got one of US Cutter's inexpensive machines, ground that puppy and maybe even get some dollar store fabric softener sheets and pre-wipe your vinyl down a bit. 

[iamandy 20]

I ordered the CE6000-60. I also have a 28" MH Series. With that cutter, I was having trouble cutting something, when I switched to a smaller paper, It cut fine, so I'm not sure if it was static or the file or... After reading all of your posts, I think I'll keep some of both on hand in my primary colors. 

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

Great choice on your cutter purchase,  You will love it.  Night and day to the MH, 

[iamandy 20]

Great choice on your cutter purchase,  You will love it.  Night and day to the MH, 

I hope so! I'm really looking forward to it. I just wish I had ordered it on Monday so It would be here today, not after the weekend. Oh well. It's a little daunting thinking about learning new software, but I'm sure it will come easy after struggling with this one for so long. 

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

you will love the graphtec and not have any static trouble at all - 

[iamandy 20]

You are all settling my nerves! I'm not one that likes change, and you're making me feel better about it. 

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

You are all settling my nerves! I'm not one that likes change, and you're making me feel better about it. 

I bought my son a Graphtec starting out,  I didn't want him to have the aggravation of a value cutter.  I already knew what that was like.   I started with a value cutter  . 

[Wildgoose 4,200]

You will love it and be totally fine getting used to it. I ran for a couple years with a P-Cut and made the leap last summer to upgrade. All the stupid little irritating things that your MH has given you trouble with just aren't there. What YOU bring to the table is all the experience of knowing how to make acceptable cuts with a budget model cutter which as you know is very do-able albeit with some special care taken to account for poor tracking and the occasional static cling or memory glitch-out. So all the things that you have learned will only make you understand your new cutter better AND appreciate it way more than someone who has never had to deal with it. The software isn't that much different because they all work about the same so I wouldn't sweat it. 

 

My P-Cut was 48" and I only bought a 30" Summa and fully intended to keep the other machine around as a back-up. That thought lasted about a month and I decided I didn't want to waste valuable real estate in my already crowded working areas (including the garage) and I also didn't really want to be going back to the old way after having a taste of the good life.

[iamandy 20]

Thanks for that! I "plan" to keep mine for travel work. I travel too and from a couple places and I'm  not sure I'll travel with the new one. We will see though. For what I do while traveling, I should be able to get away with the cheep one. My big next step is trying to find plans or draw up my own plans for a good work bench. Just made more room for my cutting but I need to build a new table. 

[lilypoo 12]

Congrats on the Graphtec!

 

One thought on the vinyl size...I decided to stick with 24" for everything because I figured if I had designs that were just under 24" "long" (I do a lot of back window decals on smaller cars for some reason LOL) I could rotate it and have it fit across in one pass, saving linear length.  I was tempted to order 15" when I special ordered colors for a 13"x60" wall decal but at the last minute decided to do 24" and am glad I did since the client decided at the last minute that she also needed some larger decals of one letter from the bigger decal.  So I can do 23"x23" as requested without having to re-order.