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.
I have a small embroidery business and just started venturing into the heat press end of things late this summer. My vinyl jobs tend to be very small, so it is hard to make a profit ordering the vinyl, since by the time you pay shipping and handling, the per piece price is quite high. I would like to get a vinyl cutter and I drool over the G-24, but at this point, until the heat press end of my business picks up, it would take a long time for it to pay for itself. Please, some recommendations on a small, relatively inexpensive cutter, and where would I find one. Thanks
I have gone Embroidery for 13 yrs. 1 1/2 yrs ago I bought a 24 inch enduracut. I too wanted the roland ,but didnt want to spend the money. I had horroble customer service, but the plotter finally works great.I like the software that comes with the Roland better. Anyway the vinyl and heatpress additions have been great for us. We now have 4 heatpress' and they are always on. I have lots of customers that have switched from Embroidery to heat press media. The vinyl and plastisol is much quicker to do and the profit is lower. That being said, I do the heatpress quicker and profit equals out in th long run. ll that being said I would not purchase smaller than a 24 inch cutter. I suggest you check out the copam cutter. Ive geard great things about them. .......JB
I agree that if you're not wanting to do inkjet transfers, get a Copam 2500. There are quite a few very happy customers of theirs here, and you seem to get a very good plotter for the money.
If you'd like to do inkjet transfers but would like to spend a little less, then I'd suggest getting a Graphtec CE5000-40 CraftROBO Pro. It will cut up to almost 15" wide and will accept media up to 19" wide, and has the automatic registration mark sensor needed to contour cut transfers.
The CraftROBO Pro is available at Specialty Graphics Supply where you can also get a 5% forums discount and 10% off of all supplies for 30 days after you order, along with free shipping.
Thanks for the info. At that site there are also 8" & 15" Roland cutters that are similar in price, actually the 15" is cheaper. Is one brand better than the other, the Roland Stika vs the Graphtec Robo? Is the 8" not too small to where it ends up just being a pain? I guess that is my biggest concern.
The 8 inch models can be a bit limiting. Just like a C88+ printer can be a bit limiting for inkjet transfers.
If you're thinking of getting a 15" model...get the CR Pro...hands down. It has better motors, a better registration mark system, and is a professional machine. The Roland Stika models are hobby-class machines and not really up to production work. That said, the CraftROBO (not Pro) is also a hobby machine, and uses similar motors to the Stika models.
Just spend the little extra and buy the CraftROBO Pro.
The other difference between those two machines (Stika 15" and CR Pro) is that the Stika only cuts a little more than 13" while the CR Pro cuts up to about 14.7".
I believe the Stika only accepts media up to 15" wide while the CR Pro accepts media up to 19" wide.
Those two machines really are in different classes from each other.
If the Stika were a professional machine I'd say get either one, but it's really not.
with plotters as with heat presses...my best advice is to buy bigger than you currently think you'll ever need.....coz sooner or later, trust me, you will!
i'm a dedicated graphtec user (with one older roland) and would recommend the graphtec hands down.
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small cutter for small jobs 
