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 know a lot of people were talking back and forth about both, the thing that stood out to me was...
1. UScutters are cheap, some have had bad experiences. It seemed about 50% liked them and 50% didn't
2. I cannot afford anything higher priced.
3. I read in another thread that the Pcut cannot cut contour? Isn't that what a cutter is for? A contour is the outline of an image correct?
So my question is, which would be best for my tshirts, which is best for the long run, and which is preferred by all of you?
Check out my site MrCbus.com(I am not happy with the current layout) and you can see most of the designs I have up. They are pretty simple, I am just using softstretch heat transfers and heat press right now.
I would like to expand a little (maybe expand is not the right word because I haven't officially launched the site) and print on dark shirts and hoodies. I know I cannot do this without getting a cutter.
I am a young motivated entrepreneur and I do not have very much money... Hence heat pressing and low cost cutters, but I am excited and confident about this site and I am ready to advertise it as heavily as possible.
Thanks for any and all help you can provide.
Last edited by mrkiki911; February 10th, 2009 at 10:37 PM.
I think the Laser will offer more versatility. Contour cutting allows you to cut a previously printed transfer.
I also am looking into adding a cutter. Last week I purchased the Copam CP-2500. I read many reviews on this unit and it rated really well, UScutter also has a two year warranty. I was deciding between the LaserPoint and the CP-2500. I think the fact that the CP-2500 had more downward force is the reason I picked it. Have you looked at the forums on uscutter.com?
I recently purchased a Creation P-Cut from US Cutters, and am very happy with it. Definitely look at their forums, there is a lot of helpful info and tips (not to mention cut ready graphics) on there.
Contour cutting lets you print an image and then perform a cut around the outside edge. If you are planning on printing pictures onto transfers, then applying it to a shirt, contour cutting will be a very nice feature (saves you the trouble of hand trimming). If you plan on text and shapes, you will not need contour cutting. I looked at your site, I don't think you will need the contour cutting, but maybe someone with more experience will chime in.
I also looked at the laser point, but I have read that the pcut and refine series do a better job of cutting small shapes and text, apparently something in the cutting head design is different in the laser point. Also, most of the users in the uscutter forum seem to agree that the refine and pcut are built a little better (sturdier) than the laser point.
As I stated, I have been very happy with my pcut. No problems, and cuts great. I have not needed to use their support, but I hear they are very helpful. There is actually a section on their forum to help people with other brands of cutters, I think that says a lot. I have also seen many posts on here from people who did not buy from us cutters, and Ken (the owner of us cuuter) has definitely gone the extra mile to help them. I would definitely recommend buying from them.
I figured I would start with a pcut, and once I started getting some business and making money (which has already started happening : ) ) I could always upgrade. The price of a cutter is not a substantial investment, so if it doesn't work out as planned, it is not like a huge loss. Eventually I plan on getting a Roland, but will have my pcut as a backup.
I have both a US Cutter and Roland. The US Cutter work good but it doesn't have the optical eye. I still use it and never really had any problems except setting up. Their service is great.
I have a LP24 and love it. The few problems I had were pretty much the same everyone else had and the answers were on the forum.
If you plan to do a lot of contour cutting, the optical eye of the Roland would be MUCH better than the laser registration system of the LP, but several people have got it to work no problem.
The PCut and the LP are the same cutter except the laser. The Copams are the higher-end models that US offers.
I got my Copam 2500 yesterday... and this machine is very nice! Very well built. It was very easy to install... the manual sucks! But the forum had all of the info I needed to get started. I did my test cuts and even cut images with the SignBlazer software. The signblazer probably could use an update but for half of the price of the roland, not to mention this unit comes with a stand, I am very pleased with this product!
thanks everyone! this is the exact feedback I was looking for. I will most likely be cutting pictures in the future, so I will probably be going with the pcut. I am in the process of redoing the site, so it is just on default template right now. I just got my shipment of tshirts and 1000 business cards. I am ready to start passing the cards out on campus and getting the word out!
I bought a PCut about a week ago, still haven't set it up yet tho. hehe
and you should buy it directly from the UScutterdirect.com website, it seems to be cheaper than those ebay offers.
PCUT/USCUTTERS - cheap cutter questions 
Very well built. It was very easy to install... the manual sucks! But the forum had all of the info I needed to get started. I did my test cuts and even cut images with the SignBlazer software. The signblazer probably could use an update but for half of the price of the roland, not to mention this unit comes with a stand, I am very pleased with this product!
