A Question About Different Plotters

[Hugh Potter]

hi stephanie,

not all cutters have the opus feature (i wish my summa d60 did!).

the cheaper plotters tend not to have them, and from what i gather, the higher end (summa, roland, mimaki etc) machines often have two versions, one with, one without.

buy the best you can afford!!

[Peter Normington]

Stephanie,

Summa is a good make, so if you are familiar with them, probably wise to buy one yourself, it would be less of a learning curve than another make, even though most are similar.

But always have a shop around to see who will do the best deal for you,

Peter

[Stephanie Peterson]

Thanks for the tips Peter and Hugh.

I figured that the summa would probably be my best option as I use one daily at this point, and they are a good brand. I just wanted to double check with some people who knew more on the subject then myself. As it is a big decision, and I also wanted to figure things out so I could get the best machine I could afford.

But I will for sure shop around for the best deal, and thanks again.

[Hugh Potter]

summa are very well priced, or were when i bought mine 3+yrs ago, it’s still going strong! i’d certainly recommend one.

[Karl Williams]

Summa is a very good make. On contour cutting I find it works perfect overtime. No complaints here. You can now download with winplot the opus cutter mark software. Works great.

Karl.

[Phill Fenton]

I have a summa d610 which is now 12 years old and still producing. I’ve never used anything else apart from Roland print and cut machines so can’t comment on other makes – but wouldn’t hesitate to buy another summa.

[John Childs]

Assuming you buy a reputable make, they are all the same. They will all do an equally good job, be equally reliable etc etc.

To me, the big difference is the software you have to use to drive them. I will pay a lot more attention to that in future.

Having said that, if you are happy with all aspects of your Summa experience then, in your position, I would go with another one of those.

[Marcella Ross]

as above …………

I have a Mimaki plotter, best plotter I have ever bought. BUT, it wouldn’t run without my Signlab software.
I have previously ran a Roland and also a Signpal ………….. but the Mimaki wins hands down. A bit more expensive but worth every penny!

[Steve Underhill]

I use a roland, but as mentioned above Mimaki, Summa etc will all do the job admirably.

[DaneRead]

hi i have a GCC for 5 years now, hasn’t given me a days trouble. I would have gone with a summa in the beginning but could not afford it.

Always try and look at stuff like roller adjustments. You want to have flexibility when cuttingdifferentt widths. Mine can cut a small pieces of off cut material down to 40mm wide.

I am getting a summa D60 in Feb with OPUS it seems to be the best die cuttting system available. Just make sure its the one with the adjustable pinch rollers.

[Alan Drury]

I have a Summa and a Graphtec, both are excellent machines, both have weaknesses (minor/user preferences really) and strengths but if you are familiar with Summa’s go with that I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Alan D

[Hugh Potter]

since this thread seems to have a strong summa feel to it, can opus be retro fitted to a machine, or is everything internally that much diffeent?

[Warren Beard]

When I bought mine I was told it can’t be retro fitted and so I opted for the model with the opus eye, I’m yet to use it though 😕 or even the pen for that matter, or even change a blade.

I still got all that to come, only hope it goes smoothly :lol1:

[Fred McLean]

Hugh,
Looking at our GerberP2C which i think is a rebadged Summa
the opus eye looks a bolt on extra 😀 onto the blade holder assembly

[John Childs]

quote Marcella:

I have a Mimaki plotter, best plotter I have ever bought. BUT, it wouldn’t run without my Signlab software.
I have previously ran a Roland and also a Signpal ………….. but the Mimaki wins hands down. A bit more expensive but worth every penny!

I agree with you on Mimaki, which is why I’ve just bought a second one, but why do you need Signlab? We use the bundled FineCut.

As I said above, software is important and FineCut was the reason we went for a Mimaki again.

[Gavin MacMillan]

quote :

but why do you need Signlab?

Now I normally agree with most of what you say re software John, but people have preferences and for most it would not involve shifting files between software. I’ve never used finecut, but if it’s a freebie package surely it’s not going to be as good as signlab?

G

Edited to sound less like a to**er 😀

[Peter Normington]

I also Have a Mimaki, Signlab and Illustrator. Fine cut is also installed but it is only a plug in, not a design package, (works with corel and illustrator)
I just find signlab far easier to use than illustrator as its primarily built for sign makers.

One thing though that I will say, I had great trouble with signlab when I attempted to add a contour cut to the graphics (ai) we were doing for the GOS kids hospital, signlab froze, and just would not do it.

Finecut did it in seconds….in Illustrator.

Peter

[John Childs]

quote Gavin MacMillan:

I’ve never used finecut, but if it’s a freebie package surely it’s not going to be as good as signlab?

I don’t want to hi-jack the thread by airing my software gripes yet again, but I would just say that although FineCut is a freebie, for purely cutting vinyl, it knocks spots off Flexi. I have no experience with Signlab to be able to comment.

Maybe the very fact that it’s freebie is the reason for that. It doesn’t have to justify it’s cost by overcomplicating what should be a very simple job.

[David-Foster-]

Is Finecut available for any Plotter or is it just a Mimaki product? I am currently swapping over to 100% Apple and I need a plug in for Illustrator just like I had on Corel. (Another Hijack!) 🙂

[Brian Hays]

quote David-Foster-:

Is Finecut available for any Plotter or is it just a Mimaki product? I am currently swapping over to 100% Apple and I need a plug in for Illustrator just like I had on Corel. (Another Hijack!) 🙂

It’s only drives Mimaki plotters David.

[alan flynn]

hello all,
the opas can be fitted to the summa sign pro models, but sorry it cant be fitted to the cut models,
hope this is off help
regards
alan flynn

[David Rogers]

Would say if you are used to a Summa D120 – then stick with it. I’ve have mine for a 3 1/2 years now…never skips a beat. Tracking & accuracy are fantastic as you know.

Did run a Graphtec FC5100-130 for a couple of years and liked it enormously.

Of the two – I prefer the Summa. Although a bit more ‘industrial’ and lacking a couple of nice features (that you don’t REALLY need) it’s a pleasure to use.

I didn’t bother with the OPUS eye when I bought it (no need for it), but apparently the machine has just go a WHOLE lot nicer.

http://www.summa.be/pages/s120d.html mmm…

[Stephanie Peterson]

Thanks for all the information guys, it really did help. I am for sure going to be sticking with summa. I am just going to look around and decide which series and size of plotter I want. But thanks again for helping me with my questions.