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mrtoad · June 2nd, 2008

Hi All,

OK, I need a little last minute help here. I have decided to purchase the Graphtec CE5000-60. It is a little more than I really want to spend right now but decided it was the right choice for me.

I have a few questions though and I hope some nice people here can give me some input.

1) I was going to purchase this machine tonight and was going to go through US Cutter for it but wanted to find out if there was a better place to purchase. Doe some places give you more for your money?

2) Do they come with design software or do I need to get something like Ilustrator (I have used in the past) or CorelDraw (never used) to create all my designs? I have been doing all raster work so I don't have either one. If I need one, which is more recommended?

3) I wanted to do contour cuts as well as vinyl cutting. With contour cuts, what is the procedure and can it be done with both transfers for light and dark material?

4) What else do I need to purchase? Do they come with extra blades or do I need to purchase more, etc?

Sorry for all the questions, it is just such a big investment so I really just want to make sure I understand everything so I can order properly.

Thanks for you help,
Mike

jimc · June 3rd, 2008

Hi Mike
Have a look at Graphtec America: Cutting Plotters, Vinyl Cutters, InkJet Printers, Wide Format Image Scanners, Data Loggers, Acquisition platforms, Electronic Testing Instruments, Craft Robo there are videos in the download/support section.

Jim

plan b · June 3rd, 2008

I have no idea the cutter software package comming with the cutter but that is the life blood of the cutter and I would ask what you get, cutting software can get very expensive. This cutter is a good choice it will do everything you need. As the blades go with all do respect and in my opinion import blades are not what you want,, don't think cheap here that is what cuts your material,, I would suggest purchasing Clean Cut Blades,, the reason is that with your volume just starting, a blade will last you a very very long time, I have one in one of my cutters for a year now never changed it I cut a tremendous amount of specialty vinyl with it which is very hard on blades, glitter,metallic, holo, sand blasting mask etc., so anyways good going!

sk8ter4life · August 6th, 2008

i just bought mine from uscutters, (the best deal you'll find!) a week ago. It does come w/ some robo software (I dont use lol) This isn't my first cutter, so I just use illustrator to create my graphics and send to signcut x2 to cut the designs. graphtec does do contour cut, but havent tried. what are you waiting for order your cutter now. lol Its so smooth and quiet. It even detects the width of the vinyl (which is a really cool feature.
only comes w/ 1 blade

no catch basket included

($400 or sumin I heard)
MADE IN JAPAN!

kenimes · August 6th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrtoad


	Hi All, OK, I need a little last minute help here. I have decided to purchase the Graphtec CE5000-60. It is a little more than I really want to spend right now but decided it was the right choice for me. I have a few questions though and I hope some nice people here can give me some input. 1) I was going to purchase this machine tonight and was going to go through US Cutter for it but wanted to find out if there was a better place to purchase. Doe some places give you more for your money? 2) Do they come with design software or do I need to get something like Ilustrator (I have used in the past) or CorelDraw (never used) to create all my designs? I have been doing all raster work so I don't have either one. If I need one, which is more recommended? 3) I wanted to do contour cuts as well as vinyl cutting. With contour cuts, what is the procedure and can it be done with both transfers for light and dark material? 4) What else do I need to purchase? Do they come with extra blades or do I need to purchase more, etc? Sorry for all the questions, it is just such a big investment so I really just want to make sure I understand everything so I can order properly. Thanks for you help, Mike

2) Comes with Cutting Master2 which has Adobe and Corel plug-ins, so you would need one of those for designing.
3) Yes, it will contour cut all transfers, and other pre-printed materials as well.
4) It comes with 1 blade that should last quite a while depending on how much you use it. Might not need to buy more until you need them.
5) The CE5000 series does come with a stand but no catch basket. The FC7000MK2's come with a catch basket.

mrtoad · August 6th, 2008

My only complaint is that US Cutter knows nothing about the product they are selling. It came with the cutting master but to use on a Mac you get a plug in for illustrator. When contacting customer service to see if I can load the windows software on my laptop and then switch to my Mac when I can afford Illustrator for it, they did not have an answer and asked me to call Graphtec (2nd time US Cutter sent me there). Graphtec tech support was not much better. Sure they gave me the answer but you can't get anybody on the phone. They need to call you back. Kind of a hassle...

kenimes · August 6th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrtoad


	My only complaint is that US Cutter knows nothing about the product they are selling. It came with the cutting master but to use on a Mac you get a plug in for illustrator. When contacting customer service to see if I can load the windows software on my laptop and then switch to my Mac when I can afford Illustrator for it, they did not have an answer and asked me to call Graphtec (2nd time US Cutter sent me there). Graphtec tech support was not much better. Sure they gave me the answer but you can't get anybody on the phone. They need to call you back. Kind of a hassle...

Agreed, it is the newest line of cutters we offer, and GraphTec support is hard to contact by phone. I have found the quickest response I get from them is via email. If there is anything you need me to answer for you, I would be happy to check on it because I will need to learn everything about them as I go anyhow.

I do catch on quickly thank goodness.

sk8ter4life · August 6th, 2008

very true, I couldn't get thru on the phone as well. they dont even respond on the email i sent to their sales...hmm there in santa ana, ca. I could stop by their office to *****.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrtoad


	My only complaint is that US Cutter knows nothing about the product they are selling. It came with the cutting master but to use on a Mac you get a plug in for illustrator. When contacting customer service to see if I can load the windows software on my laptop and then switch to my Mac when I can afford Illustrator for it, they did not have an answer and asked me to call Graphtec (2nd time US Cutter sent me there). Graphtec tech support was not much better. Sure they gave me the answer but you can't get anybody on the phone. They need to call you back. Kind of a hassle...

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