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ady347
21-03-2011, 03:02 AM
ok, i have been looking on this forum and cant find a answer so here goes

been looking at this as a 1st cutter for a novice who knows nothing lol

http://www.mdpsupplies.co.uk/craftrobo-silhouette.asp?gclid=CM3IjpXH3qcCFQRP4QodLSYx-A

i understand a cutter can cut vinyl but i have a few questions! my question might sound stupid but anyway.

1. what type of vinyl is used on a heat press/shirt if you wanted to do a basic logo in a plain colour?
2. if you print something on transfer paper and want to use a cutter to cut it out, how does this work? do you print on the transfer paper then insert that paper into the cutter?
as you have the image on your computer i guess it cuts the image from that, but you have the printed paper loaded into it?

mrs maggot
21-03-2011, 08:30 AM
1. heat transfer vinyl - see the vinyl section

2. using registration marks, i think martin put that information on your other post in printers? - there is lots of information on craft robo, what it can and cant do, youtube videos etc try this one to get started http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dpe0FuajQk

noobie_uk
21-03-2011, 08:37 AM
Hi,

1. There are a whole bunch of different vinyls for t-shirts that give different effects etc. Have a look at www.xpres.co.uk, they have a good range with instructions for use and explain what there best use is etc. The type of vinyl you use is also dependant on the material of your garment.

2. To print and cut transfers you need a cutter that can "contour cut". You print out your image with 3 registration marks then put the printed piece into your cutter, set the cutter to look for the registration marks and it should then scan the media. Once it's found the marks it can work out where the image is and where to cut.


This is a VERY basic explanation, have a look on youtube for videos on contour cutting.

mrs maggot
21-03-2011, 08:59 AM
no probs noob. its one of those things - a lot of this information is already out there on companies websites, BMS, Target, etc maybe we should put a glossary together ?

skru
29-03-2011, 01:33 AM
My suggestion : DONT BUY THEM THIS IS A TOY !!! NOISY,TRICKY,EXPENCIVE ! save some £ and buy proper one Roland,Summa if You are serious about cut !

any problem plese ask ! ;)

gstk
29-03-2011, 09:50 AM
When we started up we bought a set up from The Magic Touch ( www.themagictouch.co.uk ) They were pretty helpful. Before you spend hard earned cash I think a lot of suppliers might do the same. Go and see them and they will demonstrate the various bits of kit with no obligation. It might give you a better idea. It isnt as easy as everyone thinks. Also I think Graphtec UK is based in Shrewsbury - might be worth asking them if they have any dealers near you to go and see.

mrs maggot
29-03-2011, 10:16 AM
its a good basic cutter, some people use them all the time, but you are limited on size, as its only A4 depends on if you are doing this for a hobby, friends and family - or hoping to build a sustainable business.

Kaz
29-03-2011, 11:37 AM
My suggestion : DONT BUY THEM THIS IS A TOY !!! NOISY,TRICKY,EXPENCIVE ! save some £ and buy proper one Roland,Summa if You are serious about cut !

any problem plese ask ! ;)

Many people use this cutter as and don't have any problems with it.

There's always going to be an element of noise from a cutter as it does it's thing. Would love to have a cutter that didn't make any noise, then I could be cutting all night long, lol

Paul
29-03-2011, 01:30 PM
down with kaz! This toy helped me understand cuting prosess and countur cutting. Also it helped meake some money for biger machine. I recomend it if you know nothing about cutters as CR is very simple to set. also if you planing to cut odd sticker or small tshirt vinyl then yes. go for it. If you wish to do slightly biger design and faster cutting then go for larger one.

Regards to what skru mentioned about noise i must say i dont know any quite machine with this price tag or even double that. But again. I know nothing about cutting.

bikertec
29-03-2011, 04:58 PM
down with kaz! This toy helped me understand cuting prosess and countur cutting. Also it helped meake some money for biger machine. I recomend it if you know nothing about cutters as CR is very simple to set. also if you planing to cut odd sticker or small tshirt vinyl then yes. go for it. If you wish to do slightly biger design and faster cutting then go for larger one.

Regards to what skru mentioned about noise i must say i dont know any quite machine with this price tag or even double that. But again. I know nothing about cutting.But great with printers. :D

skru
29-03-2011, 05:14 PM
Many people use this cutter as and don't have any problems with it.

There's always going to be an element of noise from a cutter as it does it's thing. Would love to have a cutter that didn't make any noise, then I could be cutting all night long, lol

I use maybe 7-8 cutters till now Craft Roobo is entry level and very limited . obviously is far beter than all chines cuters ( OEM ) from market . This size You got for example Roland STIKA , Roladn -quaiet beter soft .A3 cuting area ect ....

mrs maggot
29-03-2011, 05:21 PM
skru - a lot of these members are just after an entry level cutter, a lot of them are just starting out and are doing hobby/small work from home. Roland etc price wise everyone would love to own, but few home buyers can manage

Kaz
29-03-2011, 05:50 PM
obviously is far beter than all chines cuters ( OEM ) from market

That's a fair bit of generalistation you're making there.

I've got a chinese import, it's a 54inch cutter, and hasn't caused me any problems since I got it up and running, and a few others on the forum are also using chinese imports without problem.

Oh, and the one I have is a Roland clone.

Where do you think most of the cutters etc are made? Even the big branded items ;-)

AJLA
29-03-2011, 05:58 PM
Our little machine last year churned out 1200+ designs for us and has done more than a 1000 to date this year alone, we are soon preparing for a big 3 day show so it will be working it's little socks off again. I haven't even counted what it produced up to last year.

I have recently purchased another (still in it's box) for back up, it has to give up at some point hey.

The width is not an issue for me and it's a perfect machine for what it's required to do, would highly reccomend!
Very affordable start up to test the waters with too.

Paul
29-03-2011, 06:19 PM
down with KAZ again :)

Kaz
29-03-2011, 06:24 PM
LOL Paul, I'm fed up with people making sweeping generalisations.

Just because it doesn't work for them, doesn't mean it won't work for someone else.

This is supposed to be a help forum, not a put everyone down forum ;-)

Paul
29-03-2011, 07:16 PM
yep. Same herw. I got chinese one too. And if you saw video in review section then you can see that is doing what i want it to do. I also own chinese press and mug press. I am very happy to compare results with any one that use expensive gear. I can also compere my print quality and color accuracy with any one. ;) chinese not always mean wors.

skru
29-03-2011, 07:56 PM
Yes all good for simple lettering and cut circle , lol . IS my opinion and I will never ever advice any one of buying cheap becouse is expencive ,

John G
29-03-2011, 08:04 PM
Massive overkill advising someone to get a Roland just to cut a few heat pressed lettering/designs - I do agree that you get what you pay for, and for accuracy - the Roland would be better, but as a start in the business, a chinese cutter is money well spent. Anyway - are they all not made in China? or with Chinese components.

BTW; I started 7 years ago with a self imported Dingtec, and its still cutting true now!

Kaz
29-03-2011, 08:12 PM
My chinese import does intricate designs aswell, not just bog standard cutting ;-)

Paul
29-03-2011, 08:46 PM
As John said. you geting what you payed for. but belive me. I cutted some akwared designs on my cutter and it cut perfect!

John G
29-03-2011, 08:50 PM
Yeh!, they can do very intricate designs but I was talking about running 2 or 3 metres of vinyl through, without it running off.

Kaz
29-03-2011, 09:06 PM
Not tried anything like that yet John, most it's ran through is about half a metre at once, and it didn't run off

Paul
29-03-2011, 09:18 PM
ooo. never done nothing like this. i think is for banners? I do only for my t-shirts. again. money well spend.

mrs maggot
29-03-2011, 09:41 PM
today i have run just under 10mts of white vinyl 4 mtrs of red through my cutter, not sign vinyl just a load of t shirt stuff - lined up and running perfectly, but then i do have a nice creation P cut that i have had for a few years now, never missed a beat (touching wood) and now own a 2nd one

John G
29-03-2011, 09:42 PM
I do signs for industrial units on ali composite panels which are around 2440 x 610 and used to do advertising hoarding for a football ground which were 3m x 1m foamex. long wheel base vw sprinters are a decent length too!

If it was a run of single colour text i'd run it at 3m but sometimes mine would struggle with the tracking so would have to patch and replace certain letters.

Like I said though - more than happy with my cheap Chinese Dingtec plotter which paid for itself after its first 3 jobs - 7 years ago.

mrs maggot
29-03-2011, 09:45 PM
thing is john 7 years ago the chinese were turning out decent stuff, now they churn out copies of copies each one cheaper than the last, mark has a motorcycle business, and its the same there - stuff gets cheaper and cheaper

John G
29-03-2011, 09:46 PM
WOW - don't think mine would do a continuous run (line of text) of 10 mts + If its just a load of single logos put together like a jigsaw it would as it doesn't matter about registration, but a line of text it would run off near the end and the text wouldn't be in a straight line. maybe a need some new clamp wheels or whatever they are called.

John G
29-03-2011, 09:47 PM
True, alot changes in 7 years

mrs maggot
30-03-2011, 10:33 AM
i normally run mine through and then back again, so the amount im going to use is unwound and then wound back on the roll, looser than pulling it straight off if that makes sense, that normally avoids a run off, but John mine was a run of t shirt vinyl, not 1 long run of a logo or slogan, just 10mts of prints in one continuous cut. it the static and how tight its run that i think affects its pull though, hence why i always run it through first.

a couple of weeks ago i gave my gritted rollers a brush over, and i think they are the better for it - the grip feels better

John G
30-03-2011, 10:49 AM
I do that - feeding the vinyl through then back.

I had a sign to do the other day and pulled through what I thought was enough vinyl - sent it to cut then went to do something else - came back and the last few letters were cut into each other and overlapped. The weight of the roll must have been too much for the grip roller to pull through and it must have slipped.

I'll clean my grit roller but I still think I may need some new rubber wheels - I definitely need a new cutting strip, its been well marked over the years.

bikertec
30-03-2011, 03:35 PM
LOL Paul, I'm fed up with people making sweeping generalisations.

Just because it doesn't work for them, doesn't mean it won't work for someone else.

This is supposed to be a help forum, not a put everyone down forum ;-)I got this with a certain other T shirt forum. Told that everything I had bought was rubbish and I should bin it all and spend thousands on decent equipment. Strange it still doing what I want it to do. BTW never use said forum again.

Kaz
30-03-2011, 04:03 PM
Not been back there either, they are very rude on that forum :(

AdamB
30-03-2011, 05:26 PM
Are we on about the forum for t-shirts?

bikertec
30-03-2011, 08:18 PM
Yes but other stuff to mainly american though but they do have an English section. I think its aimed at the big boys. t shirts forum thingy.