looking to buy

[kimm 0]

I am looking to buy a cutter. I want to use it mailnly to cut stencils for my signs. I also am really interested in making rhinestone shirts. My kids would love for me to make custom decals for their trucks.

I don't need a "commercial" cutter, just more for my hobbies. I see that I can spend thousands or hundreds. My question is then, will a Silhouette Cameo work or should I invest in a bigger & better.

Any & all recommendations or suggestions will be appreciated.

Thank you

[Wildgoose 4,200]

I don't know much about the cameo cutter but there are a few on here who may comment who do. I started out with a P-Cut shich would be roughly the equivalent to the laser point currently offered at USCutter. There are a lot of facets to the craft but it is very rewarding and highly addictive. You will be needing a heat press for shirts too. There are several options for each. My only suggestion would be to stay away from the very cheapest and at least step up to the SC. It will allow you to cut 24" material and seems to get better reviews. All budget cutters are going to have some quirks to learn to dela with but they are manageable if you are willing to put some time into the learning curve. I don't know what your budget is but it's like the old saying goes: "The quality remains, long after the price has been forgotten." You do get what you pay for especially in cutters but you can get satisfactory results for less money. You can get fantastic results for more money and have resale value as well so it's a tough decision when you are just trying to get your toes wet. 

 

I can tell you this. If you go ahead and get a cutter and a heat press and make shirts with HTV (heat transfer vinyl, cut on your cutter) you can very easily make your investment back from just word of mouth, local friends and that kind of thing. I have long since upgraded my value cutter for a top of the line and it is also now paid for. I do a little of everything including vehicle graphics and signs but primarily make my money in the garment side of things. There seems to be more need and especially for small order, one off shirts and custom stuff that is the perfect match for HTV work. Once you start competing with high volume screen printers it's harder to make money but on 20-25 or less orders you can easily be competitive. You will have to learn some basics on the design side which also takes some time investment but is very rewarding and tons of fun. This forum is a great resource with lots of helpful people.   

[Sue2 920]

Excellent advice WG!

[lablover 218]

I started with a Silhouette SD and that little cutter could do some awesome work.  By no means is it the Graphtec I have now, but I still use it on occasions for little easier work.  I love it

[jaybyrd 3,770]

I started with a Silhouette SD and that little cutter could do some awesome work.  By no means is it the Graphtec I have now, but I still use it on occasions for little easier work.  I love it

Actually it is a Graphtec.

[security802 686]

I have the cameo and the SC they both have there place in my day to day workings. The cameo will do contour cuts automatically where the SC is manual for contour cuts. I will say if you get the cameo invest in a DB9 blade holder, 100x better then the ratchet click one it comes with. The draw backs to the cameo is max cut width is 12" so materials have to be cut down from bigger rolls for most media. The SC is a great start out machine as long as you have patients to fine tune it.

The best advice is go with the biggest and best you can afford comfortably. If you go with cameo you run the chance of needing bigger right off. I am saving up myself to replace the SC with a Servo driven cutter. The steppers are loud but get the job done.

[dcbevins 340]

If I were in the market for another cutter I would make sure it can do these things:

 

Contour Cut correctly with a good optical sensor and software support.

Report back to software the size of the loaded material, (good for scraps.)

Have enough force for thin and thick materials.

Be large enough for huge rolls.

Have an attached blade to cut the finished outcome off the roll, (a small thing really, but I go crooked with my utility knife often.)

 

All that might be a dream when looking at budgets.

[rpmrpm 32]

Above advise is spot on, as I have gone through this the past year and a half. And now want a Graphtec or Roland and can justify the cost seeing how easy it is to recouple some investment cost.

 

My reasons for getting a hobby cutter almost perfectly match yours. (paint stencils for wife's rustic signs, Hobby use for myself & friends) I really am glad I went with a machine that would accept 24" material. (refurbed MH) Even with a very affordable cost machine it was easy to spend $1000 getting everything to be up and running. (cutter, tools, software, art, materials, work space)

 

Only other advise I would give is make sure and get the stand for whatever machine you decide to get. Might not seem like a big deal but is way worth it when using 24" material.

 

You have found a great forum/company that has helped me a lot buy reading old threads even before I had a cutter. Helped me be up and confidently cutting very quickly when my machine arrived.

[jaybyrd 3,770]

If I were in the market for another cutter I would make sure it can do these things:

 

Contour Cut correctly with a good optical sensor and software support.

Report back to software the size of the loaded material, (good for scraps.)

Have enough force for thin and thick materials.

Be large enough for huge rolls.

Have an attached blade to cut the finished outcome off the roll, (a small thing really, but I go crooked with my utility knife often.)

 

All that might be a dream when looking at budgets.

You just described my Vinyl Express Q75 except I don't have the optical eye and that is a huge downer for me. I'd be lost if I had to go back to cutting material off the roll and love the polling of material size. You can get by with lesser machines as many of us have but it's nice to at least start with the best your budget will allow.

[dcbevins 340]

Yeah my TC has a laser pointer, which is sub par, too manual and dead atm, (got some parts to attempt a fix, we will see).  It has great cutting force, up to 900g.  It is huge, up to 48" rolls.  But it can't poll the material size and I have to cut off the jobs with a knife.  This means I get more scraps that are harder to deal with.

 

Live and learn.

[npace 110]

don't do it! save your money! tell your kids to buy copywritten images on ebay for pennies.  .....the addiction is impossible to overcome. it simply takes over. next you'll want a heat press, a blasting cabinet, screen print set up, a sub printer and eventually a mutoh or something relative. you will have accounts set up with 100 different vendors, each sending you catalogs and email blasts that will only temp the deepest core of your soul, taunting your bank account. it's endless. 

 

then again, if you are like the rest of us....welcome to the dues free, vinyl, pressing, blasting, subbing, printing, sign making addiction club!

[jaybyrd 3,770]

don't do it! save your money! tell your kids to buy copywritten images on ebay for pennies.  .....the addiction is impossible to overcome. it simply takes over. next you'll want a heat press, a blasting cabinet, screen print set up, a sub printer and eventually a mutoh or something relative. you will have accounts set up with 100 different vendors, each sending you catalogs and email blasts that will only temp the deepest core of your soul, taunting your bank account. it's endless. 

 

then again, if you are like the rest of us....welcome to the dues free, vinyl, pressing, blasting, subbing, printing, sign making addiction club!

That pretty much sums it up. You have been warned.