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Hello from sunny Clacton
Have just joined the forum, this being the first time I’ve needed to seek advice since finishing my apprenticeship nearly 30yrs ago. I’ve had a skim through some random questions and answers and feel I’ve found the right site. I promise not to just take from the forum, and am more than prepared to give knowledge to help others. I have to say now though, I’m a sign-writer/sign-maker, I’m not computer software expert in the slightest. I use a couple of Gerber plotters, but although tangential, thus giving a superb cut, they are not as fast or versatile as new equipment .I’ve been thinking of late, do I stop doing making signs altogether, it’s not the trade it was, or do an update. This is where I need advice. On contacting distributors, the first thing they want to discuss is price. The price is not foremost to me, the quality of cut is. I will do my utmost to screw the price once I know what I need :lol1: So contenders seem to be FC8000 or the Tangential Summa. Having not seen many cutters in years, how good are the Summa drag blades etc. Also, what have I overlooked, all opinions and options appreciated.
ps I do only need a relatively narrow cutter. I only really do vans these days. I have no ambition to write a motorway service station! :lol1:
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11 Replies
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Hi Bobsy – welcome to the site 😀
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Hi Bobsy, welcome to the boards, i’ve got a summa drag blade had it for over 10yrs and it was secondhand when i bought it still works a dream and no intention of upgrading/renewing in the near future.
Steve
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welcome to the boards bobsy 😀
nik
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hello Bobsy welcome 😀
Lynn
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Welcome to the forum Bobsy, if the plotters you have do the job do you really need a new machine ? Plotter may not be the fastest but if it’s doing the job why spend money upgrading if you aren’t interested in growing the business.
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Welcome Bobsy. All the best to you.
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quote Martin:Welcome to the forum Bobsy, if the plotters you have do the job do you really need a new machine ? Plotter may not be the fastest but if it’s doing the job why spend money upgrading if you aren’t interested in growing the business.That is obviously a very good point, and one that I’ve been churning over in my head for a year or so now. The main reason for upgrade is that through good software I can create signs that will incorporate all the expression that I used to be able to put into sign-writing, but could never fully achieve with vinyls. Although I’ve done vinyls for the last 25yrs or so, the job satisfaction cannot compare to any job I have written by hand. But as with all things, I got too busy, and needed a faster way of doing more work, vinyl was the only answer. This new system will be for my own pleasure as much as anything. I still do a bit of coach-lining, Rollers, classic bikes etc, but have done too many to enjoy it now. It’s like a new lease to a tied trade for me. This is why I need a really good cutter, I am far more self critical than any customer has ever been of me.
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That’s fair enough Bobsy but what about a second user machine. I have a graphtec machine that is about 8 or 9 years old now, still works great and I couldn’t see me parting with it. I don’t use the tangential cutting all the time because it cuts a lot slower in tangential mode but for small text and intricate graphics it is great.
You could pick up a second user machine a lot cheaper than a new one and maybe even from a supplier where someone has upgraded to a larger machine since you only need something that will cut 610mm -
Hi Bobsy
welcome to the boards,
Peter -
Thanks for the welcome, will get a photo on soon as poss, and realised the name thing soon as I looked at everyone elses. 😕
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You could pick up a second user machine a lot cheaper than a new one and maybe even from a supplier where someone has upgraded to a larger machine since you only need something that will cut 610mm[/quote]
I have thought about this, but as I’m really unfamiliar with any of the more modern plotters I still don’t really know what to buy. A 610mm would be ideal for me size wise, but I realise that’s quite small as plotters go so there will be some available as you say when people upgrade to bigger. It’s mainly down to finding out what machine I need.
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