Vinyl cutter??
Does anyone have experience with this? What are the costs? What are the good brands?
Sign Warehouse http://www.signwarehouse.com/cutters/main1.htm is a good source for an entry level machine that will perform well. Some of the inexpensive machines have difficulty closing letters and maintaining registration. I would suggest a 24" machine. That should handle all you will need and you can feed 20" vinyl rolls through it. Adjustable pinch rollers (friction feed machine) is better than a tractor feed. You can feed smaller pieces of vinyl through instead of just cutting from full width rolls. I would suggest machines that have the ability to cut directly from Corel Draw. Some of the cheap cutters require another stand alone print and cut software package.
Hope this helps
Being a more or less a modern device I'm sure any windows operating system could handle it.
Having operated a graphics business I can tell you that the expenses add up. I might suggests checking with some local vinyl shops to see if they have a used unit they might be willing to sell. Vinyl cutting has evolved into print and cut machines now. Some of the older machines will only operate on early windows operating systems. This in many cases will obsolete the machine. Check local sales papers like The Trader, Craig's List...
Sign Warehouse http://www.signwarehouse.com/cutters/main1.htm is a good source for an entry level machine that will perform well. Some of the inexpensive machines have difficulty closing letters and maintaining registration. I would suggest a 24'' machine. That should handle all you will need and you can feed 20'' vinyl rolls through it. Adjustable pinch rollers (friction feed machine) is better than a tractor feed. You can feed smaller pieces of vinyl through instead of just cutting from full width rolls. I would suggest machines that have the ability to cut directly from Corel Draw. Some of the cheap cutters require another stand alone print and cut software package.
Hope this helps
Cost adds up fast to get started. Some years ago, after being annoyed at the poor local cutting service, I purchased a Roland Stika 15". By the time I had a variety of colors and the other bits & pieces I had already spent almost $2000. I know it was a lot of money but have recouped the expense by doing some custom work for others. This older unit uses a parallel port but I managed to get a USB-Parallel converter and now drive this from a netbook running Windows 7. So beware of older used machines as you may have trouble getting it to operate.
See some of my work here: http://bliksemseplek.com/aviation.html and here: http://bliksemseplek.com/m12.html
Is it worth having your own cutter? Yes, if you have some money burning your pocket.
Bliksem
So, what else would I need to buy if I got this:
http://www.signwarehouse.com/specials/create_pack1_.htm
I already have an old version of CorelDraw that should be able to create the cut files. It looks like there software can import common line drawing files. Do I just need the vinyl material?
http://www.uscutter.com/index/page/p...y+CraftROBO%29
That sure looks affordable. Does it suck?
And, why are other people having such bad luck with this?
THe 24" USCutter lazer point came with trial software that will work just fine for decorating models. The file you need to run with the software is .eps. I've made 4 color graphics with Sign Blazer (included software). THe setup works great. A graphic program like Adobe Illustrator and you have a complete sign shop setup. But you don't need it Adobe Illustrator to make good graphics. The internet has lots of graphics in eps format.
http://www.amazon.com/Cricut-Express.../dp/B005FEPM54
Isn't that the one you have to buy endless cartridges for??
Is this the software?
http://www.craftedge.com/products/products_scal.html
If so,
"Important: This version does not support the Cricutâ„¢ machines, and you can no longer purchase a version that works with the Cricut."
http://thatsscrapinc.com/blackcatlynx12-2.aspx
http://www.bosskut.com/
http://www.craftwellusa.com/products/ecraft
http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/silhouette.aspx
The Lazer Point looks good though. Sounds like the best option might be to get one of those second hand??
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-28-Vinyl...item3f138e4a58
http://www.uscutter.com/index/page/p...roduct_id/2005
The LaserPoint looks like it starts at $500?
http://www.uscutter.com/index/page/s.../buying_guides
It's fast and allows me to produce great graphics and lettering for modelers at great prices.
Just take a look at My Gallery in RCU.
Charles
This one?
http://www.amazon.com/Cricut-Express.../dp/B005FEPM54
Isn't that the one you have to buy endless cartridges for??
Is this the software?
http://www.craftedge.com/products/products_scal.html
If so,
''Important: This version does not support the Cricutâ„¢ machines, and you can no longer purchase a version that works with the Cricut.''
Yes, that is the machine I have. It's too bad SCAL3 does not work with it. I have SCAL2 and it works with the Cricut Expressions machine. No, I did not have to buy endless cartridges. Only one is needed, any one, the cheapest one...it allows the machine to operate and is not used to create the graphics I cut. I think I got a cartridge in a package deal with the machine.
The Silhouette Cameo seems to be a step above that one - mostly in the more recently released sense.
As far as I can tell, for $50 extra, it imports .svg files.
The online reviews are fantastic:
http://www.overstock.com/Crafts-Sewi...s.html?rsort=1
http://www.amazon.com/Silhouette-Cam...DateDescending
Can any of the nay-Sayers tell me why this would be a poor choice?
It cuts 12" x 10', which is far bigger than anything I've needed so far. That would seem to cover a fairly large plane's wing just fine.
I doubt I will use it often enough to wear it out, but 5-6 planes would seem to cover the cost?
After being around the vinyl cutting business it's certainly possible for the average guy but will take some time and effort (money too). It’s not as easy as a printer, the files are vector based, so any graphic you want to cut will need to be traced (import graphic as jpg in to vector based software and manually trace it, corel has a trace feature but doesn't work very well for vinyl). Most I have found on the internet are not ready to cut, any lines that cross will damage the vinyl. They really aren't even a good start, because they have so many lines crossing or not attached to each other. Any of that will mess up the vinyl. So I think you will have to take some time and learn a program like corel draw or adobe illustrator (I know they have some cheaper programs that will work also). Just learning the software can be time consuming. Any of you guys have things you want traced we have people really quick at that. as an example when I was learning corel draw, maybe had 25 hours in already with a tutor program, took me 2 days to do an Indian motorcycle graphic that out girl did better in 30 minutes. But she did graphics for a company full time for 7 years, she knows the software (AI for her) inside and out. I guess the question is do you want to build models or learn the grahics arts business, because it is more than it looks from my experience.