p3aul 1 Posted February 21, 2016 I decided I wanted to get into vinyl signs, T-shirts and stencils for glassware, So I looked on amazon to see what was available. I couldn't afford Roland or Graftek and the Silhouette's were for crafting. I liked the spect's on the USCutter but there are so many negative reviews- even the positive reviews have negative comments. Now I know that competition is fierce and most of the reviews are probable fake - both the good ones and the bad. But how is one to choose? Will this company stand behind my purchase, wherever I buy it or is this one of these Chinese importers who can't speak english or know nothing about the product? I'm not whining; I just want an honest opinion before I buy. Thanks, Paul Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice&dice 2,450 Posted February 21, 2016 Hello Paul, You can order these cutters and be running within 30 minutes, no problem. This is the same technology developed by Hewlett-Packard in the late 1950's and it sure isn't rocket science. What's your budget? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted February 21, 2016 Look up Laird Plastics, HUGE company, Laird Plastics owns USCUTTER. They have 2 warehouses, 1 in Washington State and 1 in Memphis Tenn. So shipping is pretty quick. Tech support is great, Not Chinese,speaking. , I would stay away from the MH cutter, Bottom of the barrel, At least go with the SC or the LaserPointer11 as the bottom..value cutters, but it depends on your budget. If your budget allows go with a cutter with a servo motor, Much better over a stepper motor. More accurate, better tracking. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
p3aul 1 Posted February 21, 2016 Thanks for the input! can you tell me what Contour cutting is and would i need it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted February 21, 2016 From USCutter support, You can go here and in the search bar enter contour cutting. http://www.uscuttersupport.com/ Contour Cutting For Beginners Contour cutting is defined as the process of first printing an image, then (using a vinyl cutter) going back and cutting around the printed area. In order to contour cut, your machine would need to have either a Manual laser registration mark alignment system, or an Automatic "optical eye" alignment system. Both of these are used in detecting and locating registration marks which are printed with your image. For a complete demonstration, watch the video below! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted February 21, 2016 My experience with USCutter has proven them to be a very stand-up company. When the rare occasion happens that something gets sent wrong they are fast to resolve and fair in their dealings. I agree with Skeeter about the MH. I have never owned one but we see people struggle with the MH on a regular basis and it appears mostly to be due to pure budget constraints on the machine. The advice is to spend the most your budget will allow. I would do as much research as you can and when you make the final decision still go then and see what the forums are talking about as far as problems go. I started out with a P-Cut which they no longer carry at least in the US and it was at the time about the third up from the cheapest. It served me well and I used it for about 2 years before upgrading to a servo cutter. As far as contour cutting I would be surprised if that is something you do very regularly. I tend to think the manual settings with either a laser pointer or using the knife blade would be less accurate than an actual optical eye. The vinyl master program offered with a lot of the cutters today sounds like a pretty good option although I think the version sent with your cutter will be a starter version and not have all the tools a full blown version would so you might find you need to upgrade that program as well. From what I have read on the forum VMaster seems to be a capable design and cut program in it's higher versions and should be able to carry over if you upgrade your cutter. There are several other cutting options out there too but they pretty much all cost money. If you decide to upgrade the cutting and design software it might be worth your time to explore all those options too. The biggest problem you face is once shared by all newbies in that you don't have the experience to make an informed decision yet. As far as the program goes I would choose the VMaster basic program that comes as part of the package and get to know it as well as cutting in general and then moving forward you will have gained experience and have a better feel for things. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
