Researching cutters but I am clueless.

[sdgirl 13]

I would like a cutter that can cut images out of vinyl of pictures I take to be put on autos. I have read some of the other forums here and I don't understand the lingo. I would like to know what cutter is the best to do this type of work for the least amount of money. I currently have the "cricut" and that has done great for lettering but now I need to do more then the cartridges will allow me to do. Thanks.

[sdgirl 13]

I have been reading a lot about the mh (refine?) and the pcut cutters and thinking that one of these might be the one for me?

Do these cut heated vinyl? I am not sure if I would use that but have seen posts with that in them.

How well do these two cutters cut small images or decals?

If I am understanding correctly these cutters can cut upto the image of the machine ( example24") to whatever length you want. Am I correct?

I hope someone can help me out.

[Guest sciondrgn]

I personally own the PCUT and have had great results from it but the refine series are great for the money as well

For the sizing yes you can cut up to the width of your vinyl by the length you have leaving a little room on the edge.

If you mean the heat press vinyl for t-shirts then yes both of these machines will cut that vinyl just fine.

[sdgirl 13]

Thank you for the help. I have seen talk about weeding in here. What is that exactly? Is there a website that explains more about how to use the cutters?

Thanks.

[venice_d 0]

Check out the "how do you do it" thread under "instructional contributions". Ken posted some good videos there that outline the basics of cutting, weeding and application.  This forum is the best resource I've seen on the web for cutter info, keep digging around and you'll find a wealth of information, and there's some very helpful people here if you have any questions.

[sdgirl 13]

Thanks Venice_d for the info. I have been watching tons of videos off of there and hopefully learning something. It is nice to know I can apply vinyl at cold temps since I am in SD.  I haven't seen yet though if you can take a regular picture and have it cut off the cutter. I have seen some trace off a picture to be cut but haven't seen/heard if a regular picture could be done or not. If you trace the picture is that done in a software program? Thanks to everyone that is helping me. This is a great site!

Christi

[haumana 1,221]

First off ... to the forum!!

The cutter won't know the difference between an image of a photo, a regular graphic, or text. It's all vector information to the cutter. There are basically two ways to "render" a graphic - raster ( .bmp, .jpg, .tif, .png, etc.) or vector (.eps, .ai, etc.). Now don't be fooled by .eps - that type of file can be either raster or vector.

Anything you send to the cutter must be vector. Not to worry, many forum members are here to help you through this process .... God knows they helped me 

I personally have the LaserPoint and couldn't be happier. If money is no object than I'd recommend the Graphtec or Copam. I'm sure they must much quieter than the LP.

Weeding ... Basically it's removing any and all vinyl that isn't supposed to be part of your final design. Once that's done, the application tape goes on (if you need to do a wet application, than paper application is the way to go).

As far as a photo being cut, then applied - it just all depends on how well you photo is vectorized. There are different programs out there that can do this for you. Sign Blazer Elements can do it, but I don't know that many people here use that feature. For those of us who are broke, such as myself, I use Inkscape. It's free and there's even a bulletin board on this forum for Inkscape related questions.

As I said before, as long as it's vecotrized, it can be cut.

Good luck!

Caveat - this forum is highly addictive, consider yourself warned

[sdgirl 13]

Thanks so much for the welcome and the help/advice. I can tell that the forum is addicting I am checking and reading it a few times a day. Trying to learn what I want to do and if it is possible. I will have to look into how to vector since I have no clue what (.eps, .ai, etc.) is. I know the main picture I am looking into is a jpg. Is the laserpoint, Graphetic and the copam made by uscutter? I have seen some of the uscutters on ebay but they are the MH or the Pcut.

Thanks

Christi