[csnell]

I have a small screen printing operation and I would like to add vinyl cutting(not printing at this time). I have some questions. Can I do signs, decals and heat press with the same cutter and software? I do a lot of sports uniforms. Will I be better off to cut and heat press my numbers and team names? I am Intel Mac based with XP running on VM Fusion. Will I be okay with the design software? And finally, any recommendations on size and brand cutter?

 

[Joto Paper]

With a cutter, you can do sign, decal, and heat press apparel vinyl. You just need to get the different types of vinyl for the different purposes. Most cutters come with some sort of software to create the cut lines. But most people also would have their own design software. The most popular design software to be used in conjunction with the cutter is Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator.

Most cutters will have plugins for the two programs.

Since you are doing sports uniforms, I would suggest you get heat transfer vinyl that has the sublimation blockout property so that the colors of the uniforms/jerseys don't bleed onto the vinyl!

Good luck!

 

[IYFGraphics]

Along with the above recommendations, you asked about a cutter a Roland GX24 would be a great choice and will hold it's value for many years, you'll also need a good quality heat press for the heat applied vinyl. Doing signs you'll need lots of basic stuff like transfer tape, squeegees, weeding tools, and a nice big flat table....something else you can do with cut vinyl is banners.

Hope this helps.