[FPF]

I want to start doing my own decals so I'm considering a cutter. 100% of these decals are going on boats. I would like to spend around $500. Which one would you buy (brand/model) and what vinyl would you recommend for this application? It obviously needs to withstand the harshest conditions. A 24" width is plenty big for my needs. I have Adobe CS6. Im not sure if most of you use that or if they come with another software. Thanks!

 

[BrianHahn]

At that price point, consider a Saga or GCC unit.
For vinyl for boats, you will want to use cast vinyl such as Oracal 951 or Avery 900 Supercast. Also consider an overlaminate for added protection.
Both the Sagas and the GCC units have plug ins to run directly off of Adobe Illustrator however, sign cutting software helps out a lot and is usually worth the investment.

 

[Blue92]

At that price point, consider a Saga or GCC unit.
For vinyl for boats, you will want to use cast vinyl such as Oracal 951 or Avery 900 Supercast. Also consider an overlaminate for added protection.
Both the Sagas and the GCC units have plug ins to run directly off of Adobe Illustrator however, sign cutting software helps out a lot and is usually worth the investment.

Yep 100%

I went with the GCC Expert 24 LX.

Had two problems, both covered under warranty in the first year, and this April 25th is the 3 year mark of it being up and running.

I'm actually sitting here doing 30 items for delivery later today.

 

[FPF]

Yep 100%

I went with the GCC Expert 24 LX.

Had two problems, both covered under warranty in the first year, and this April 25th is the 3 year mark of it being up and running.

I'm actually sitting here doing 30 items for delivery later today.

Is the optical eye that you pay for with the LX worth the extra 140 bucks?

 

[BrianHahn]

An optical eye on a cutter takes a little of the alignment time away from the alignment process. The difference in alignment time for a Saga unit using Dragoncut with the semi-auto laser Vs. the optic eye is perhaps about 1 - 2 minutes per sheet. So the price difference calculation would be that in order to pay back the difference you would need to look at an hourly rate. Say $30 per hour. Compare this to the price difference ($140 in the case you mention) and you would be at 4-2/3 hours. At a 2 minute time savings per sheet, you would get to 140 sheets. So if you did 140 sheets of contour cutting in say a year, then your payback would be about a year. If you only do contour cutting occasionally, it probably wouldn't pay for itself in a reasonable time frame.

Of course there is also the coolness factor of having the automated system....

 

[Blue92]

Is the optical eye that you pay for with the LX worth the extra 140 bucks?

Brian is correct from a pure dollars and cents point of view.

I wanted have the capibility to do contour cutting if needed so I went with the 24 LX.

 

[FPF]

Is this one a good deal? they want 200. here are the details:

Slightly Used USCutter 28" Vinyl Cutter Plotter with Stand MH-721 - $200

Dual position carriage (front position for plotting with a pen or marker).
Three fully adjustable pinch-rollers allow you to use a flexible range of materials.
Superior ball-bearing dual roller media roller system allows you to place material on top of rollers rather than putting roller through material each time. (Huge time savings!)
Roland compatible blade holder gives you access to the most economical blades available.

 

[BrianHahn]

Seems like a nice price. Any time you are buying a 'slightly used' cutter from someone other than a vinyl cutter company, send them your own vector art image and ask that they cut it with the cutter. If you are getting this from US Cutter it would likely be OK.

 

[FPF]

awesome thanks!