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  • Which vinyl cutter would you advise on buying?

    Posted by CarlMorton. on June 10, 2016 at 7:36 pm

    Could do with some honest opinions. We are looking to buy a new cutter to take the workload off our versacamm. Looking for a machine to contour cut pre printed vinyl using registration marks. What machine would be best and what software for easy tracing of the contours? All opinions welcome.

    Steff Davison replied 7 years, 9 months ago 10 Members · 16 Replies
  • 16 Replies
  • Robert Lambie Robert Lambie

    Member
    June 10, 2016 at 9:22 pm

    For me Signlab wins hands down on software.
    Vinyl cutters, you can’t go wrong with a Roland, Graphtec or Summa.
    I have run all three now for many years and can’t fault them.
    Preferred cutter at the moment is Summa
    $this->BBvideo_pass(‘$8’, ‘$4’, ‘$7’)

  • Pane Talev Pane Talev

    Member
    June 10, 2016 at 9:51 pm

    My choice is Summa. Very happy.

  • CarlMorton.

    Member
    June 15, 2016 at 6:31 pm

    Thanks for the replies. Im going to look at the Summa range. Just one thing is the T series a lot better, we do print a few tee shirts and small fonts can be an issue?

  • Robert Lambie Robert Lambie

    Member
    June 15, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    I would say don’t buy the tangential version unless you "really" need it.
    Top branded machines like Roland, Graphtec and Summa are more than capable of doing the work you are putting out, even small stuff. Tangental is more accurate in how corners are cut etc due to it lifting and rotating, down and cut, as opposed to drag blades. Tangental is also great for thicker media too, perforation options etc etc
    in a nutshell, i would be amazed if you really needed it for general sign work.

  • CarlMorton.

    Member
    June 15, 2016 at 7:22 pm

    Thanks for the quick reply Robert. The tangential is a lot more expensive so the a standard drag knife is the way im gonna go after reading your comment. Cheers bud

  • David Rogers

    Member
    June 16, 2016 at 12:04 am

    Even at over 10 years old my trusty Summa D1400 pro still cuts tiny details and tracks true over many metres, it’s an absolute beast!

    Spend wisely and a good plotter will give years of service…scrimp and it’ll be a noisy, slow, inaccurate regret!

    Also, don’t be afraid to upgrade to a well cared for used machine if the budget makes sense.

    Dave

  • Kevin Flowers

    Member
    June 16, 2016 at 12:58 am

    if you want this to cut prints from the Roland via VersaWorks then consider a Roland cutter evey thing will work via VW with no problems where as if you have summa VW cannot generate marks for it and you will hav to uses something like winplot to generate marks & cut

    Kev

    P.S believe that Roland cutters also come with standalone software that can read VW marks as well

  • Simon Worrall

    Member
    June 16, 2016 at 6:54 am

    Most good brands of plotter can do really small sizes very accurately.
    It is the vinyl that fails before the plotter.

  • David Rogers

    Member
    June 16, 2016 at 7:44 am
    quote Simon Worrall:

    Most good brands of plotter can do really small sizes very accurately.
    It is the vinyl that fails before the plotter.

    Generally, although Graphtec were putting out some dire ‘budget’ machines a few years back (CE5000-60) that lacked the quality, speed & accuracy I’d normally associate with the brand.

  • Patrick Donaghey

    Member
    June 16, 2016 at 11:35 am

    summa every time with a smart knife best performance ever :thumbup2:

  • CarlMorton.

    Member
    June 16, 2016 at 6:29 pm

    David you are right about the ce5000 -60. We have one of these and it has put me off Graphtec machines. But guess we chose the wrong machine last time roung.

  • CarlMorton.

    Member
    June 16, 2016 at 6:30 pm

    Seems like Summa is winning the vote on this thread. Thanks for you help guys.

  • Richard James Martin Richard James Martin

    Member
    June 16, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    I ordered a Graphtec CE6000-120 today, it will run along side my CE6000-60 that we’ve had for a couple of years, it hammers out vinyl and t-shirt film all day long seamlessly. Would well recommend them for quality and price.

  • CarlMorton.

    Member
    June 16, 2016 at 8:00 pm
    quote Richard James Martin:

    I ordered a Graphtec CE6000-120 today, it will run along side my CE6000-60 that we’ve had for a couple of years, it hammers out vinyl and t-shirt film all day long seamlessly. Would well recommend them for quality and price.

    I think the ce6000 series is much better than the ce5000.

  • Dan Smith Dan Smith

    Member
    June 17, 2016 at 8:07 am

    We just got a Summa D160 to replace our Mimaki CG160FX … hands down the best machine I have used… Worth the price tag. Dont look at the price as the issue as it will earn you so much more than the original outlay. Its an investment for years and years of future business :thumbup2:

  • Steff Davison

    Member
    June 17, 2016 at 10:37 am

    +1 For Summa

    I have 5 of them, they just keep cutting.

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