Discuss the various aspects of heat pressed vinyl transfers. Popular and new types of vinyl media, suppliers, vinyl cutters /plotters, press times, quality, how to instructions and more can be found in this heat press sub forum.
Old salt at embroidery, new to heat press, realizing I need a cutter to get the results I want. Confused at the maze of cutters available. Are there quality cutters available for around $400-$600? I'm willing to upgrade later, just need to be able to start now. Lastly, blade verses laser... Obviously laser is better, but is there a big difference in end result quality? Thank you !
The lower end cutters...you get what you pay for and as for upgrades...there is no upgrade except to just buy a new one.Depending on your use, you might get by with the KNK Maxx pro..but I would suggest looking for a good used Roland or GCC or graphtec...I think Graphtec has a unit under 1K w/optic eye..not sure but check them out. Lasers are a bit more expensive but have their place ...you can do engraving that you can't do with vinyl cutters..and with vinyl you are going to do engraving...unless you use scratch engraving which some cutters can do by changing the blade
When you say blade vs. laser, what do you mean? There are no vinyl cutters that use a laser to cut the vinyl, however, some use a laser point to align registration marks.
Old salt at embroidery, new to heat press, realizing I need a cutter to get the results I want. Confused at the maze of cutters available. Are there quality cutters available for around $400-$600? I'm willing to upgrade later, just need to be able to start now. Lastly, blade verses laser... Obviously laser is better, but is there a big difference in end result quality? Thank you !
What do you want to do with your cutter? I purchased a Roland 15 because I focus on shirts, sweats, totes etc. The cutter uses 15" vinyl (maximum width) or you can go smaller. I stick with 15". The Roland is the perfect size for what I do. It will also cut sign vinyl for smaller products such as some retail window lettering, auto window signage, decals, boat lettering and more. Depending on the design I'll use vinyl or plastisol transfer. The Roland software interfaces with and prints from Corel Draw which I use as well.
We started out with a 24" JSI which I believe we paid somewhere between $400-$600, was good enough for beginning and glad we went that route. It paid for itself within a couple of months... but just after a year of owning it, it died, so we moved on to the Roland gx 24 and love life. The JSI printer we bought off of ebay. Hope this helps
Thanks guys for your replies . I'm thinking that $600 is almost half (or half) of the price of a Roland, to spend on a printer that I may toss out in a year for a Roland. Has anyone used the servicesof the companies out there that will send you your graphics preprinted using Plastisol onto heat transfers - ready for pressing? Maybe I can go this route JUST UNTIL I can save the other $600 for the Roland. Tonight I read all about the pros and cons about self weeding transfers. Still a lot of info to wade through to make the best use of our limited funds, appreciate your feedback.
Last edited by milestonegirl; 3 Weeks Ago at 07:44 PM.
the best cutter to get is graphtec ce5000-60 and i have seen this go for less than 900 dollars
i own one and i have roland too so they are both the best of the best. cant compare one to another but for less than a grand you can get a graphtec. roland somehow keep their prices higher i dont know why i think its because of the name. i dont know where you from buy if you are near chicago area i will find one for you.
I think for you Vinyl cutter is right choice because It will come with a cutter program that will plot and cut all of the vinyl. You buy rolls of vinyl to feed through the machine. The machine is really expensive so if you don't want to buy one I suggest you try calling a screen printing and graphics shop or a custom car shop.Vinyl banner
I bought a uscutter 24" P-cut 18 months ago. Since then I have purchased a screen printer,exposure unit, conveyor dryer,2 heat presses and a couple of printers. All purchased with the profit made using my cheap cutter ($ 315 shipped to my door with software to design and cut) Eventually I will get a Graftec, but for now my cheap cutter cuts as good as it did the day it came out of the box.
This would allow you to stock up on vinyl, transfer tape, application tools, ect, ect, ect.
I think it is as important to get a good quality heat press ( don't go cheap there ) because if it's pressed poorly it dosen't matter what it was cut on.
Thanks guys for your replies . I'm thinking that $600 is almost half (or half) of the price of a Roland, to spend on a printer that I may toss out in a year for a Roland. Has anyone used the servicesof the companies out there that will send you your graphics preprinted using Plastisol onto heat transfers - ready for pressing? Maybe I can go this route JUST UNTIL I can save the other $600 for the Roland. Tonight I read all about the pros and cons about self weeding transfers. Still a lot of info to wade through to make the best use of our limited funds, appreciate your feedback.
www.versatranz.com is a good supplier. Quick turn around and good quality product.
I have pressed their Versatrans formula and EPT (Error Proof Transfer) with success. The EPT is a slightly heaver than the Versatrans formula.
I have tried some samples from F&M and the SPOT formula worked well. I have not used them for a actual job yet. The SPOT formula is slightly heaver than the EPT from Versatrans.
Depending on the number of colors in the art work I shop both. F&M offers multiple sheet sizes which can save some time. Versatrans offers 1 sheet size (11 x 17) but you can gang images at no extra charge and cut them ot your self.
I have more confidence in Versatrans as of now due to product quality and service. Some on the forum have reported slow service from F&M. Overall F&M may be slightly less expensive. I don't mind a slighly higer price if I know what I am buying and trust it.
Versatrans was at The Printwear Sow in Charlotte recently. I visited their booth and they were very helpfu. I had questions about printing on neoprene koozies. They suggested EPT and mailed samples within a few days.
I also got to see their new Color Fusion formula at the show. VERY quick press and good looking print. If you need process work check it out.
Both companies are forum sponsors and I try to support our sponsors.
Which cutter is right for me? 
Re: Which cutter is right for me? 
Re: Which cutter is right for me? 
