[gijoe985]

So, I just got my first vinyl cutter, but did not buy any vinyl yet. I was looking at Spectra Cut II or the Premium Plus from Stahls. Any recommendations? I do want to have a nice quality and easy to work with vinyl. I was thinking cheap at first, but when I broke the prices down by the foot, I figure it is worth a little more to have a good product and to have something that is easy for me to work with, which will hopefully reduce waste.

I got a good deal on an old PUMA II. I probably need to invest in some blades and weeding tools as well.

Anything else?

 

[Cusemom315]

I use echo friendly vinyl from imprintables.com it works great for me

 

[gijoe985]

Is there any real noticeable difference in these vinyls?

 

[Jmelwak]

Premium plus is nice and soft with matte look. It's easy to use too I really haven't used anything else since it's always been good for me

 

[macman29681]

Siser Easy weed, and Siser stretch.

 

[gijoe985]

The Siser stuff I looked at was about $45 for a 5yd roll as opposed to about $35 for the other brands. Is it that much better?

 

[mindworks]

Siser Easyweed is $35 for a 5-yard roll at heattransfervinyl4u.com. $65 for 10 yards. They also offer free shipping with a $35 order. And, they'll split rolls into different colors, so you can get a variety of colors but at the roll price. I have no affiliation with them, other than that I like buying from them.

 

[Blue92]

Depends on what you are doing and the design.

We do highly detailed work with Easy Weed, other with Sport Film. I gave up on Premium Plus for the time being.

 

[gijoe985]

Why did you give up on premium plus?


Also- what do you guys think about buying 20" rolls vs 15"? I figure, if I did 10" graphics, I can get two out of 1 linear foot if I go with 20" wide...

 

[Blue92]

Why did you give up on premium plus?


Also- what do you guys think about buying 20" rolls vs 15"? I figure, if I did 10" graphics, I can get two out of 1 linear foot if I go with 20" wide...

Not fond of the low tack backing of the PP. It works well for larger items but detailed designs do not weed easily.

You didn't mention what brand cutter you have but you will normally lose 1 1/2 inch of the width to the rollers on the outside edge. Max cutable width would then be 18 1/2".

I prefer 20" simply because it does offer more flexibility for design layouts.

 

[macman29681]

Easy weed stretch is amazing you can hardly feel the design at all. I got a few rolls of the Stahl's electric colors late last year when they were 50% of one weekend. They have also been great. They hold up good in the wash.

 

[MauiCustomTshirt]

Pretty sure with the Puma II you can adjust the settings to cut to the outside of the pinch rollers instead of the inside. I do that with my cutter and never loose more than a 1/4 inch.

By the way, we switched to Eco film and never looked back.

 

[calhtech]

Been using Siser for a while now, but recently switched to Premium Plus. It is satin to the eye and almost no hand. The glossy look of Easyweed sometimes is a turnoff to my clients, so I don't have that problem with PP. PP also is about $3 less than Easy weed and is 20" vs 15". So that makes it even bigger savings per/sq inch. Overall the low tact carrier is a ok, especially when I am weeding many designs at once. I can stack them with out worrying about getting them apart, but it can give you some grief on REALLY small detail. (smaller than a pencil lead). Otherwise I give PP a 2-Thumbs-Up! Good Luck
CalhTech>

 

[gijoe985]

Everyone gets a thanks! Very helpful info in these last few posts.

So, from what I can tell, I may want to just buy a bit of the 3 most recommended types. PP, EW, & SCII. I can play around with things from there. I do like how that one company will let you mix and match colors for the 5yd price.

Otherwise- my cutter only came with cords and CDs, so I figure I could use extra blades and weeding tools. I also thought about getting vinyl for decals to play around with.

Would a car decal vinyl be different from a home wall decal?

 

[mindworks]

You would use different types of vinyl for walls vs. cars. I like Oracal 631 for walls. It's removable, won't leave a sticky residue on the walls, and won't pull away the sheetrock or wall texture if you need to remove it. For a car, Oracal 651, and they also make a specialty vinyl for cars and boats... sorry, I can't remember the number of that one, but you can read about them at orafol.com.

 

[gijoe985]

Good stuff, again, thanks.

That and some tape, and I'll have some stuff to keep me busy this next week.

 

[macman29681]

Been using Siser for a while now, but recently switched to Premium Plus. It is satin to the eye and almost no hand. The glossy look of Easyweed sometimes is a turnoff to my clients, so I don't have that problem with PP. PP also is about $3 less than Easy weed and is 20" vs 15". So that makes it even bigger savings per/sq inch. Overall the low tact carrier is a ok, especially when I am weeding many designs at once. I can stack them with out worrying about getting them apart, but it can give you some grief on REALLY small detail. (smaller than a pencil lead). Otherwise I give PP a 2-Thumbs-Up! Good Luck
CalhTech>

Sounds good. I'm going to have to try it.

 

[gijoe985]

General rule of thumb for how small of font you can do?

(I'm sure I can search this... just felt like asking, you've all been so helpful. I bet it differs per what vinyl you use too)



Also- in other news, I am trying to order a little bit of Premium Plus (or just get samples), some Siser Easyweed, and also a sample of the three types of Spectra vinyl. Hope to try them all out. Maybe I'll find a combination I like for different applications. Maybe PP for most things and then EW for detailed jobs... Who knows...

 

[calhtech]

General rule of thumb for how small of font you can do?

(I'm sure I can search this... just felt like asking, you've all been so helpful. I bet it differs per what vinyl you use too)



Also- in other news, I am trying to order a little bit of Premium Plus (or just get samples), some Siser Easyweed, and also a sample of the three types of Spectra vinyl. Hope to try them all out. Maybe I'll find a combination I like for different applications. Maybe PP for most things and then EW for detailed jobs... Who knows...

Hot off the press - This is Premium Plus - pretty small detail. A lil tedious to weed but looks and feels great!

CalhTech>

Sorry for the orientation - click the image twice to see it correctly!!

 

[gijoe985]

Hot off the press - This is Premium Plus - pretty small detail. A lil tedious to weed but looks and feels great!
!

What size is that font? Just curious.