A good cheap plotter

[pierce8468]

I have sen tons of post's about cheap plotters, and I want to post this to help some of you out. I bought a cheap ebay plotter for my house when I have graphics to cut out, but I need to be home with my daughter. I also wanted a back up, in case my other plotter went down. ( yes even the best brands die on you, and when they do expect it to be gone for about two weeks) Anyway I bought this one off of ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/WIDE-LARGE-50-Vinyl-St...ter-WStand-CUT-

I will admit it is not as good as my other plotter, but it does do the job. I have used it to cut both vinyl and tint. I would definatley reccomend this plotter to someone who is looking to buy an inexpensive plotter. As I said it will do the job needed, and not brake your bank. If you end up using it all of the time, then by all means go and pick up a better plotter in a year or so. On the other hand do you want to be that guy who posts's his almost new plotter in the classifieds section, because he spent a boat load on it and never used it? Look at it like this. If you end up not using it much, your not out much. If it ends up bieng used all of the time. Then you can keep that one as a spare, and go get a better plotter!

Pro's of this plotter

Very inexpensive

mine came with a cheap art cut software disc. I dont use it, but good for someone who has no cutting software

It will cut both tint and vinyl

Easy to figure out, and use

Stiil looks good in a shop. ( custmers can't tell a high end plotter from a ebay cheapie)

Cons of this plotter

the force can only be adjusted by 10's ( not a big deal for vinyl, but makes weeding tint harder sometimes if your cutting graphics

Cuts slower then other plotters. If I take my speed past 12 it just wont cut properly

you have to reset the origin every time you turn it on.

Louder operation then ohers, but not obnoxious.

[Guest darkdan]

Link not working.

Does it do tint WELL? Thin 1 mil films too?

[pierce8468]

Yes it will cut the thin films. I cut this out of a 1mil dyed 20%. As a matter of fact, the plotter in in the backround of the reflection. I took that plotter over to the my new shop first. becuase I didnt have an alarm set up yet. If your looking for a good cheap plotter then I would reccomend this one from experience!

[pierce8468]

Oops wrong pic. Sorry here is the right pic.

[Guest darkdan]

Well, at least ONE gun has a lock on it.

Personally, I feel locks are only needed if you have young children or a crazy significant other (combination locks are my personal choice).

[Guest SIR TINTSALOT]

how are you cutting your tint graphics? are you masking them first and then cutting them? or just loading the tint straight from the box to the cutter?

I only use my cutter for vinyl and tint graphics, but I always premask the clear liner first, then cut the tint side, weed, then tape the tint side and apply. If there is a easier way please fill me in.

[toodark]

Sir Tint, Do you apply the graphics to another layer of film? If so, Y are you premasking the tint before it goes through the plotter

[TTS]

When I do tint graphics I just load the tint and cut. Weed out excess, apply to pattern, install pattern & graphic.

No muss

No fuss

No messy applicator brush

[pierce8468]

Well, at least ONE gun has a lock on it.

They normaly don't get lock's, other then put into the locked case. I only put locks on them when I have my nephews over, or other kids I don't feel safe with. The little 22 rifle hasnt been used in a while and thats why it still had a lock on it.

Personally, I feel locks are only needed if you have young children or a crazy significant other (combination locks are my personal choice).

how are you cutting your tint graphics? are you masking them first and then cutting them? or just loading the tint straight from the box to the cutter?

I only use my cutter for vinyl and tint graphics, but I always premask the clear liner first, then cut the tint side, weed, then tape the tint side and apply. If there is a easier way please fill me in.

I just cut straight from the roll. Although your way may be a bit better since the tape would allow me to ad more pressure, and get a better cut on the more intricate stuff. I am going to try your technique out in the next few days. I will let you know what I find out about witch technique is better.

[Guest SIR TINTSALOT]

it's the way I learned back in the day and never tried to just load the roll right in to the cutter. I premask the clear side and then cut the tint side with the cutter. after I weed it and tape the other side too it is easy to apply in one piece. Maybe I'll adjust my pressure and try it your way with some scraps to see what happens.