Full Version: Cheap Vinyl Cutters
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#2]
1 Mar 2006
To: JimK (JUSTTHE4OFUS) [#1] 1 Mar 2006
Jim,
There have been some good discussions about this on the Cutting Edge Sandcarving Forum (CESF), as well as, SignForums.com. There is a growing group of individuals on CESF that have had great success with these units. I bought a 24" Master about 6 weeks ago for $475, including shipping, but haven't put it into use yet. My reason for buying it was to that it enabled me to produce larger resists for etching bigger glass and mirror pieces. I also plan to use it to do some of my own storefront graphics for my shop.
From: JimK (JUSTTHE4OFUS) [#3]
2 Mar 2006
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#2] 2 Mar 2006
David,
I sent you a PM on CESF and I had read some of the stuff on signforum and I think that for the price, the risk is minimal. I think I can get enough income from it to pay for itself and any beyond that is gravy. For approx $100 difference do you think the 32" is any better than the 24"? I have been watching their auctions on E-Bay and I'm beginning to wonder if they are bidding their own stuff up. They hide the bidder's identity and they seem to always get the price up to the Buy it Now price. I think it was on the CESF that a number of folks seemed to order direct and got a good deal, wondering if that's worth trying. I intend to do banners, sports teams stickers, etc. and of course resists. On the subject of resists I had a brainstorm that after I get good with my blast cabinet and I have them lined up at my door trying to get into the queue, LOL, I'll buy a used van and build a blast cabinet into the back, dust collector on roof, and can also have portable pot and everything powered by generator. I'm just full of ideas, maybe I should start converting some of them into something with a return!
BTW, heard from Troy, the IS400 will ship this week. Should be up and running next week.
Jim
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#4]
2 Mar 2006
To: JimK (JUSTTHE4OFUS) [#3] 2 Mar 2006
Jim,
The 24" works for me because I am only doing blasting in my cabinet. Anything larger than 24" isn't going to fit in my cabinet.
I do sell banners, but use a wholesaler to do these. Now that I am equipped, I will likely take some of this business in-house as production time allows.
I have read the regrets of some who were sorry they didn't start with the 32", but I think that decision should be purely based on what your target market is. You will be wasting a great deal of vinyl or resist material, which equates to money, if most of your lettering only requires a 24" height.
You ought to be excited about your new IS400. Harvey and I are very familiar with Gravostyle 98, so feel free to ask questions.
EDITED: 2 Mar 2006 by DATAKES
From: Awardsguy [#5]
4 Apr 2006
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#4] 4 Apr 2006
I, too, just purchased a 24" vinyl cutter (in Vegas). Plan on using it for masking, banners, t-shirt lettering, signage, car window messages, etc. but am not having much luck in finding any books, videos, etc. on the basics. (Training wasn't included).
The machine (Jaguar III) works well, but I need to figure out how to get the weeded art from the sheet to the banner, substrate, etc. Any tips or suggestions are appreciated.
GK
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#6]
4 Apr 2006
To: Awardsguy [#5] 5 Apr 2006
This is a short tutorial from Roland using their STIKA SX-15 vinyl cutter along with Dr. STIKA Plus software. It provides some you a very basic and simplified tutorial for vinyl application. You appear to be hung up at the transfer tape stage.
All sign making vinyls are sold in rolls in various widths and lengths. The vinyl film has an adhesive on the back side and is attached to a paper backing sheet so it can be easily handled and run through the vinyl cutter without sticking to it.
The first step after the cutting process is to remove all the unwanted waste vinyl from the paper backing sheet. This process is called "weeding" the vinyl. Grab a corner of the vinyl and pull it back across itself until all you are left with is your "Sale!" graphic on the backing paper as shown below.
Complete the "weeding" step by pulling the vinyl waste from the letters that have centers spaces. It is easiest to complete this step using a pair a stainless steel pointed weeding tweezers. You should now be left with your completed sign as shown below.
The next step is to transfer your vinyl graphic to the intended surface or substrate. This is done using transfer or application tape. Transfer tape looks like a giant roll of masking tape and has a tacky backside. Unroll enough application tape to cover your graphic and cut it off with scissors.
Position the application tape containing your vinyl graphic over the intended sign surface or substrate. If you anticipate difficultly in positioning or aligning your graphic, you can spray the substrate with application fluid prior to positioning. The application fluid will keep the vinyl adhesive from sticking to the substrate for 20-30 seconds giving you more time to make positioning adjustments. Once your sign is in the proper position, apply pressure to the application tape and sign using the squeegee to force out all the air bubbles that may be trapped between the vinyl and substrate as shown below.
Grab a corner of the application tape and gently pull it off the sign substrate containing your new vinyl graphic.
:-) You're Done! :-)
EDITED: 4 Apr 2006 by DATAKES
From: Awardsguy [#7]
5 Apr 2006
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#6] 5 Apr 2006
From: William Desrochers (DRAKESIS) [#8]
5 Apr 2006
To: Awardsguy [#7] 12 Oct 2006
Garry,
Yes, Premask is normally available at your vinyl supplier in a maximum of 48" x 300'. They'll cut it to any size you want.
If anyone ever needs some help on vinyl cutting, etc... give me a shout, i'd be happy to help you out.
From: RALLYGUY (RALLYGUY1) [#9]
6 Apr 2006
To: William Desrochers (DRAKESIS) [#8] 6 Apr 2006
Hi,
I have seen a product for vinyl application that comes with a frame and a clear material that you stretch over it much like a screen for silk screening. This is used in place of transfer tape, and can be used many times over, supposedly saving alot of cost of transfer tape. Obviously this can only be used if you are applying the vinyl in house.......Have you used this or seen this product? I have been considering purchasing this as it seems like a slick idea, I just haven't done much vinyl application, and have no idea if it's worthwhile considering this product, or if the standard transfer tape is the way to go.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
From: William Desrochers (DRAKESIS) [#10]
6 Apr 2006
To: RALLYGUY (RALLYGUY1) [#9] 6 Apr 2006
Its called the SpeedPress, I've never used it but have talk to others that have one, its good for small signs, banners, magnetics.
All i can say is Paper tape is dirt cheap.
With the SpeedPress or similar device it's not bad, but I generally tape or hinge stuff rather than lift it and stick it by eye.
If you see youself doing high quantitys 200 or more of the same piece than go it.
Another alternative to paper tape, is Clear tape or Exac-Tac, normally the Clear & Exac can be reused quite a bit.
From: RALLYGUY (RALLYGUY1) [#11]
6 Apr 2006
To: William Desrochers (DRAKESIS) [#10] 6 Apr 2006
Yep....That's the product that I was referring to....I figured for the investment....it was a pretty slick option.......
I will keep both options in mind....
From: William Desrochers (DRAKESIS) [#12]
6 Apr 2006
To: RALLYGUY (RALLYGUY1) [#11] 6 Apr 2006
Something that is worth the investment is the weeder/sheet saves time and the wrist!
From: RALLYGUY (RALLYGUY1) [#13]
6 Apr 2006
To: William Desrochers (DRAKESIS) [#12] 6 Apr 2006
Yeah, We make our own screen printing frames (out of wood and metal) so I figured it wouldn't be all that hard to do that and buy the material, or the other repositionable clear tape that you had suggested.
I've never seen a weeder/sheeter....What a cool product. Now with the money I save with the frame......I might be able to buy the weeder/sheeter....:)
Thanks again for the suggestion. We have been using a print laminate and cut system for industrial grade labels (been selling well) and I was hoping to expand into some of the vinyl signage to compliment our full color banner options. Running a graphtec FC 7000 At 54" wide. So far so good......
Message 3058.14 was deleted
From: Ron (RONRUSH) [#15]
6 Apr 2006
To: ALL
I'm interested in purchasing an inexpensive vinyl cutter. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for brands or models or suppliers??? I am sponsoring a local dirt track so there are a few race cars I could pick up to letter plus I would like to use it for other sorts of signage. I use CorelDraw 12 with my Epilog laser. I assume this software is compatible with creating vinyl graphics too.
Ron
From: RALLYGUY (RALLYGUY1) [#16]
6 Apr 2006
To: Ron (RONRUSH) [#15] 6 Apr 2006
We have been very happy with our Graphtec cutter.
I couldn't be happier. I did several months research on them, and really liked what I could get with the FC family.
I tested a 36" in house for a month then committed to a 54".
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#17]
6 Apr 2006
To: RALLYGUY (RALLYGUY1) [#16] 6 Apr 2006
I have heard great reviews of the Graphtec plotters. Your comment is right in line with the others I have heard. I guess this explains why Engraving Concepts selected it as their brand of choice for plotters.
From: RALLYGUY (RALLYGUY1) [#18]
6 Apr 2006
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#17] 6 Apr 2006
Oops,
Guess the one we had for a month was a 30" thought it was a 36"...Nice machine. Affordable too. We just wanted something that would match up to our printer width.
I started my initial research here on this forum as well, and was directed to them.
So far it has handled everything that I have thrown at it...The registration on print/cut projects is really impressive.....I honestly didn't expect it to be as accurate as it is.
From: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#19]
6 Apr 2006
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#17] 6 Apr 2006
David,
I tried to follow your link to engraving concepts and got the following message:
ÂÂÂÂ
Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /graphtec_vinyl_systems.htm on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apache/1.3.33 Server at www.engravingconcepts.com Port 80
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#20]
6 Apr 2006
To: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#19] 6 Apr 2006
Ken,
I checked the link again and it seemed to work fine on Internet Explorer 6. What browser are you using?
From: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#21]
6 Apr 2006
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#20] 6 Apr 2006
David,
Internet Explorer 6