Need help choosing a cutter/plotter

718 Views 9 Replies 3 Participants Last post by splathead, Nov 13, 2017

Paul1980

Discussion Starter · Nov 12, 2017

Please help.....
I am after a vinyl cutter plotter to make my T-shirts. Most of my T-shirts are black T-shirts with a white logo or white T-shirts with a black logo.
I have looked on the monster shop website and spoken to one of the sales team and they have recommended a package with a vinyl cutter and heat press, for about £500.

I have since found the silhouette cameo three cutter plotter.
It is slightly more expensive than the vinyl cutter plotter from monster shop and is slightly smaller but appears to do the job.

I am only churning at most 4 t shirts a day, would this be a good machine to purchase, and is the software easy to use? I recently downloaded the signcut program that comes with the monster shop package to see what it was like, and it looked very complicated!

Is the silhouette cameo software easy to understand?

Many thanks.
Paul

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splathead

· #2 · Nov 12, 2017

Post a link to your monster package. How wide is their cutter?

With the silhouette you're limited to how wide a design you can cut. It's a 12 inch cutter but that may not mean you can cut a 12 inch design.

Also, buying vinyl in bulk (roll) does not come as small as 12 inch. So you're wasting a lot of vinyl using a smaller cutter.

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Paul1980

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 12, 2017

Hi Joe, thanks your reply.
Here is a link to the monsters hop package. https://www.monstershop.co.uk/pixma...yl-cutter-plotter-signcut-pro-software-bundle

I see the cameo only has a 12inch width, but most of my logos are no bigger than 10 inches. It's a very simple logo and I am buying it literally just for that. Perhaps it's a very expensive purchase given what I will be using it for.

I picked vinyl printing initially because I was told it was longer lasting on garments and pretty durable, is there a cheaper vinyl cutter on the market that would do the job, or an alternative form of printing that I can do myself from home that will be long lasting and won't crack? My logo can be seen at this link...
http://instarix.com/media/BbR8jEzlFeQ

Paul

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into the T

· #4 · Nov 12, 2017

you can download the cameo studio software for free and play around with it

if you have a vector of the logo shoot it over to me and i will send you the studio file back
(save you from purchasing the designer edition package)

we buy our vinyl in 20" rolls and have very little waste with the cameo (we have a freezer bag with scraps after two years)
by the time we do baby onesies to adult 2xl there is not much left over

you just have to do a little more thought about what design sizes your cutting
example: adult large design 12"x12" vinyl = 8"x12" left over, which i now use for another adult med-xl thinner design or two toddler tees

the nice thing about the cameo is it retains a great resale value (it is always in demand),
so if you ever do decide to upgrade you can recoup most of your money

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into the T

· #5 · Nov 12, 2017 (Edited)

edit: your shoe logo will be a pain to weed (not impossible by any stretch) there are a few tricks to make it easier

the triangle logo is great and will be a much easier weed,
easier to remember as well and evokes a sense of hieght/ascent/grandeur

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splathead

· #6 · Nov 12, 2017

Paul1980 said:
I picked vinyl printing initially because I was told it was longer lasting on garments and pretty durable

It's not as long lasting as screen print. Vinyl will crack sooner or later.

if all you have a limited set number of designs you plan on cutting, plastisol transfers may be a better option. You'll still need a heat press but you won't need a cutter.

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Paul1980

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 12, 2017

Hi Joe,
I have not heard of that before, plastisol printing. How does that work, do I need a special printer or anything??
Can you explain to me how it works and what equipment other than a heat press I would need please.
Really appreciate your help with this.

Paul

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Paul1980

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 12, 2017 (Edited)

Hi Edward
Thanks for your advice there.
Yes that would be great, do you have an email address I can send it to? Where do you buy the vinyl from for it. Yes I see what you mean about the resale value.
I downloaded the software yesterday and had a play with it, maybe you can help, maybe it's an issue or maybe it isn't, but I worked out how to import an image and trace it, when I dragged the original image away and was left with the trace, the red lines of the trace weren't dead straight for the triangle etc, I don't know if that would affect the vinyl cutting and make it rough edged, or if there is a way of smoothing out the lines?

Paul

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into the T

· #9 · Nov 13, 2017

yeah, the trace is ok in cameo, it does require some playing with the settings
it is better than most though

click the edit points button (far upper left symbol menu, second from the to, right below the arrow),
this will show you all the vector points/nodes om the design and allow you to manipulate them
zoom in to get a better idea of what is going on

but it can spit out a vector with too many nodes (select all then simplify), or if the raster is low-quality it takes some/much manual tweaking of the settings

it works best with a decently sharp black design
then bump your high pass all the way right

best case is to do your vector work elsewhere and import into studio for minor tweaking or text additions
or, if you can, use studio for your designing

i utilize all three methods and sometimes all three for one design
great fun!

if you are not enjoying your program, move along

that is why i don't use my illustrator, except to convert ai files to svg
you want to undo an edit press ctrl-z, pretty normal/standard
now you want to undo the previous edit,
press these seven buttons, whilst spinning 12 plates on 10 sticks
and we call that 'sinking a whisker 276b', to prove how we set the industry standard

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splathead

· #10 · Nov 13, 2017

Paul1980 said:
I have not heard of that before, plastisol printing. How does that work, do I need a special printer or anything??
Can you explain to me how it works and what equipment other than a heat press I would need please.
Really appreciate your help with this.

Paul

The easiest way to get them is to have them made by companies that specialize in them. Then all you need is a heat press to apply them.

It's like screen printing directly to a shirt except it's screened on transfer paper instead. Them you apply it as needed to your garments.

Here is a list of companies that can make them for you. http://www.t-shirtforums.com/plastisol-transfers/t77081.html

If all your selling is your logo in a specific size on garments, a cutter is kind of overkill.

If you like the flexibility to have various sizes of your logo, or to create, on the fly, other designs to apply to garments, then a cutter is better to have.

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