Advice on vinyl cutter needed

[Will Hinton]

Hey Guys, I'm needing to purchase a vinyl cutter for the shop and wonder what brasnds, etc. you might recommend.  I'll be cutting mostly things in the quite small to maybe 10 inch range only.  Thanks for any and all advice you can give me from your experience.

[Tom Vieira]

my sister has a cricut, and i used it for cutting some vinyl out for my Sportsman Goodyear.  pretty cool!  she also uses it for her business for promo stuff.  it's plenty powerful for small around the house and one-off stuff.  not a production machine by any stretch...

[frank williams]

Will ...
I have a Portrait by Silhouette .... it works fine, I've been very satisfied with it.
... unlike the Cricut, it doesn't rely on plugin modules for fonts and such.
Frank

[Fredvon4]

It is not much more $$$$ to get a large format like Sparky uses.....it is a  space eatr tho

Often bundled and steeply discounted

When shopping pay strict attention to systems with proprietary software..... upgrades to pro versions (of the software) get real pricey real fast

[RC Storick]

here is what I use https://www.amazon.com/USCutter-Vinyl-Cutter-34in-Bundle/dp/B00CDQGCTW/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1D8RCRZOVBHHU&keywords=us+cutter+mh+871&qid=1559250834&s=gateway&sprefix=us+cutter%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

[Shorts,David]

could anyone post a few before and after pics of using a vinyl cutter on a model? I hear many of those beautiful planes use vinyl, but it's hard to visualize just how much is vinyl and how much is paint.

David

[Will Hinton]

A huge thanks for the replies, fellas.  I did the youtube thing on all these, saw that my (very) small needs can be met with Frank's suggestion, then found out the local Wal-Mart has them, so here I go.
This will mostly be used to accelerate my headstock markings on my guitars, but the airplanes will be eligible for them as well.

[Avaiojet]

could anyone post a few before and after pics of using a vinyl cutter on a model? I hear many of those beautiful planes use vinyl, but it's hard to visualize just how much is vinyl and how much is paint.

David

David,

All the "before" photos are in my Builds.

Combination of the use of vinyl paint masks and vinyl lettering, like on the Skyfall, and vinyl lettering and vinyl graphics as on all others.

I'm in the Vendor's corner, CFC Graphics, I actually provide the modeling community with vinyl graphics, lettering and paint masks.

I specialize in large scale Warbirds.

Please, no stencils, that's something entirely different.

[Richard Imhoff]

Some examples of cutter art.

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

Just cut this tonight.  The two brands of cutters you see in local craft stores are Cricut and Silhouette.  Used this one, roughly, tonight:

https://www.amazon.com/Silhouette-America-Portrait-2/dp/B009GZUPFA/ref=sr_1_5?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_r3nBRDxARIsAJljleGBRxY2E_x98vX3N7LX5_igdBM8SdMEy8eHu3DPsoZtFOyfFS6rc6MaAnLWEALw_wcB&hvadid=198250308607&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1027116&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=580238394502378948&hvtargid=kwd-335683135640&hydadcr=12285_9726189&keywords=silhouette+vinyl+cutter+machine&qid=1559276035&s=gateway&sr=8-5

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

Anecdote:  My sister-in-law has the vinyl cutter.  She operated the printer and did the task called "weeding."  I transferred the result.  Btw, you need both the vinyl itself, which has a liner, and "transfer tape."  I used 3M lint roller sheets for the transfer.

Back to the story:  She advised I go to the local hobby shop, the best one in our region, Hobby Hangar in Chantilly VA, to purchase vinyl sheets suitable for the vinyl cutter machine.  She had purchased them many times.  So I went to the hobby shop.

I asked the hobby shop manager, as well as other employees, where the vinyl for the vinyl cutter was kept.  Myself, I also worked at a hobby shop about seven years or so.  However, none of us could put two and two together.  So I bought vinyl at the craft store, AC Moore or Michaels in my region.

When we finally got together to execute the project, which took about one hour per logo, with the design done in advance, she showed me the vinyl from the hobby shop.  MonoKote trim sheets.  They had them all along, and I had a supply at home.

Peter

[Tom Vieira]

Vinyl cut by my sister.  DMAA Sportsman Goodyear.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Avaiojet]

I cannot comment on cutters because my experience is with just the one I have.

However, I have offered tips and builds using cut vinyl on models.

I mentioned many times, a way to get free vinyl, is to go to a local sign shop and ask for scraps.

You'd be surprised to see what sign shops toss as far as vinyl scraps. Many are larger lengths and could work well in some cutters.

You could also purchase, for next to nothing, their short rolls of transfer tape. Many toss short rolls also.

Free! That has a nice ring to it.

[Sarah Wade]

I bought a Cameo 2 years ago and it's still working well without any big issues.
It's a very good fast budget vinyl cutting machine and the accessories are fairly priced too.
Negative issues could be that the bluetooth is not really the best, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The Silhouette software was a bit hard to learn to use.
I'm using it to cut vinyl and papers, so it was the best choice IMO.

I had to choose between the Brother and Cameo and decided to go with the Cameo, for the reasons I explained.
This article explains it a bit better: https://freshlypickedblog.com/brother-scan-and-cut-vs-silhouette-cameo/
There are better machines out there which can cut 100+ materials, however in this price range this machine is the best IMO.

[Bob Reeves]

11 years ago I bought an earlier version of the Stika SV-8 and it's still working like a champ. Comes with easy to use software and I haven't found a need for anything above what the bundled software would do.

https://www.rolanddga.com/products/vinyl-cutters/stika-desktop-cutter

You can buy vinyl that is specifically for use as a paint mask. Mostly I would cut a paint mask and paint the graphic or lettering rather than stick on the actual vinyl.