[RuzCustomTees]

Hi everyone,

I know I can do the research online, but nowadays there is so much information on the web that you get confused and cannot find the answer you are looking for. I rather would like to ask here and have the first hand opinion of those who are familiar with both.

I need to buy a vinyl cutter machine that will not only cut the vinyl papers, but also will cut the regular heat press papers. This is one of the biggest issues we are having at the moment. When we print on a heat transfer paper for dark fabric, we cannot contour cut it accurately, and we need a machine that will do it for us.

I am indifferent between Roland GX-24 and Graphtec CE5000-60 24". Can anyone who is familiar with these machines tell me if they will do the task that I described above, and if so, which one would be a better choice?

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[royster13]

For many years both Roland & Graphtec made high end machines.....As the demand for lower price models grew, they both responded with "cheaper" models....So these both represent the botton of the food chain for both brands....Both have lots of happy users and will do what you are looking for and serve you well for many years....

However, if you really want to step up, Signwarehouse has their Q-Series cutters which are re-branded Graphtec FC series.....This series is quite a step up from the CE series and not much more money.....If you ask, sometimes you can get Package 3 (LXI Master) or Package 4 (LXI Master Plus) for the price of Package 1....LXI is re-branded Flexi which is very serious software.....

 

[rturner381]

Hi everyone,

I know I can do the research online, but nowadays there is so much information on the web that you get confused and cannot find the answer you are looking for. I rather would like to ask here and have the first hand opinion of those who are familiar with both.

I need to buy a vinyl cutter machine that will not only cut the vinyl papers, but also will cut the regular heat press papers. This is one of the biggest issues we are having at the moment. When we print on a heat transfer paper for dark fabric, we cannot contour cut it accurately, and we need a machine that will do it for us.

I am indifferent between Roland GX-24 and Graphtec CE5000-60 24". Can anyone who is familiar with these machines tell me if they will do the task that I described above, and if so, which one would be a better choice?

Thank you so much in advance!

What graphics software are you using, Illustrator or CorelDraw?

 

[charles95405]

Either machine will work...the GX24 is probably the easiest to set up and use the contour cut function. Royce is correct in his comments

 

[RuzCustomTees]

That is not known yet too. At the moment I am using T-Shirt Factory and photoshop for the designs for heat press. But I will have to use a new software to use with the vinyl cutter. Your question actually creates another good question: Which software is easy to use?

 

[rturner381]

That is not known yet too. At the moment I am using T-Shirt Factory and photoshop for the designs for heat press. But I will have to use a new software to use with the vinyl cutter. Your question actually creates another good question: Which software is easy to use?

The bottom line is the graphics software. You have to be confident, comfortable, and relaxed with the software. Why? Because the cutter operates on the premise, "...garbage in, garbage out..." Nothing happens until you have the design ready to cut.

 

[RuzCustomTees]

Which software would recommend? (As I haven't used any software for the vinyl cutter yet, I don't know yet which one I will be more confident with)

Thanks!

 

[royster13]

As far as I know, both these cutters come with their own software....You may not need any other software....

 

[RuzCustomTees]

So in that case I guess we go back to the first question: What is your recommendation regarding the machine?

P.S. Everybody who replied above with your recommendations; your opinion is priceless, and thank you very much for sharing them with me!

 

[rturner381]

As far as I know, both these cutters come with their own software....You may not need any other software....

here is the web link for Roland's CUT STUDIO CutStudio Software

Here is the link for Graphtec's i-DesignR® CE
Graphtec America: Cutting Plotters, Vinyl Cutters, InkJet Printers, Wide Format Image Scanners, Data Loggers, Acquisition platforms, Electronic Testing Instruments, Craft Robo, i-DesignR

 

[GraphixGuys]

I think royce is right on the cutters having thier own simple create and cut programs. These programs like LXI and Flexi are good for simple sign making and are easy to use. We prefer to use Illustrator for all of our vectors. It has a larger toolset to work with. Also, the pin tool in illustrator is tricky to learn but once you do it is one of the strongest tools you can use to create clean smooth cutting paths. You also have to make sure you set illustrator to not recognize no fills / no strokes as they can be a pain when they are hidden within your cuts.

 

[GraphixGuys]

I also agree with royce with the cutters. We have a q160 cutter for over 4 years now and it has been a workhorse. We got ours from signwarehouse along with a mutoh falcon outdoor II and our printer breakdowns are in the 20+ and our cutter breakdowns have been 0. I really don't like signwarehouse's support but the cutter is good quality.

 

[Jbanuelos85]

For my vinyl cutter i currently design my shirts in illustrator, It took a bit to get used to making all my designs into vector format and alot of wasted vinyl in learning how to make my design vinyl friendly. Its a learning curve and the more you use it the easier it gets. There's alot of great information on the site and everyone is happy to help get you started.

 

[rturner381]

Which software would recommend? (As I haven't used any software for the vinyl cutter yet, I don't know yet which one I will be more confident with)

Thanks!

Are you using any graphics or desktop publishing software currently?

 

[RuzCustomTees]

Are you using any graphics or desktop publishing software currently?

I am not sure if I understood the question, but let me tell you what we do currently.
We have a software called "T-Shirt Factory", and we jut drag any picture on its platform and, if needed, we add some text etc. and then print the result and heat press on the t-shirts.
We haven't done any vinyl work yet, that is why my understanding of anything related to vinyls is very limited (including the equipment and the software). Hope it answered your question...?

 

[Jbanuelos85]

You would need to learn how to vectorize images in order to have your vinyl cutter complete the design that is imputted into the software. You cant drag any file onto the software and print it out, I would recommend you review youtube for more information and a visual on how the whole process is completed. Its not difficult just takes some time to learn

 

[zee1234]

Hi everyone. I'm kinda new in this busyness and in this forum too. Sorry if I'm asking this question in a wrong place. But I still got do my thing. I'm trying to buy one of those machines that listed above. And the only question I'm facing is this, Where should I buy it so that if in case it will not improve my business I could return it.
Thats all I got for now on
Thanks in advance

 

[rturner381]

Hi everyone. I'm kinda new in this busyness and in this forum too. Sorry if I'm asking this question in a wrong place. But I still got do my thing. I'm trying to buy one of those machines that listed above. And the only question I'm facing is this, Where should I buy it so that if in case it will not improve my business I could return it.
Thats all I got for now on
Thanks in advance

Zee1234, where are you located; buying new or used; using illustrator or corel; will your core business be heat applied graphics OR adhesive back vinyl graphics?

 

[royster13]

....Where should I buy it so that if in case it will not improve my business I could return it....

I am not aware of any vendors that would allow a return on this type of equipment....

 

[GraphixGuys]

Where should I buy it so that if in case it will not improve my business I could return it.

I doubt you will find any place to return it. Some suppliers have a buy back program if you are upgrading to bigger equipment. Also, cutters hold thier value pretty well for electronic equipment. You can sell it for a loss but the hit won't be that hard compared to a printer or computer.

If you are aiming to fail... You are aiming to low.