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Have you been looking to buy your first vinyl cutter, replace the old one or upgrade to a newer, better one?
Now is a great time.
But read through this page first before you buy anything. There are many sorts of makes and models out there to settle on.
So, you may want to know how they all stack up to each other.
That said, we’re going to try and keep this sweet and simple. We’ll put two brands head to head with each other — Roland and Graphtec — and see how their professional vinyl cutters measure up against entry-level equipment on the market.
There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get right to it.
The phrase “you get what you pay for” has never been more true when it comes around to vinyl cutters. The more money you are willing to spend, the more bells and whistles you’ll get with your vinyl cutter. Performance and cutting speed is one of the key talking points here.
To give you just a reference point, Graphtec CE7000 can cut at the unbelievable speed of up to 1000mm/second, while Roland GS-24 can do just half of that — 500mm/second! If we look at its little brother Roland BN-20, the speed shrinks even further to only 150mm/second! But, there’s a catch to this one… it can also print! You know what it means, right? You can print designs directly onto the material before cutting.
Just some food for thought on performance before you pull the trigger. But it’s not the only thing that matters. Precision is the next thing you may want to consider.
Weeding. Have you ever been a fan of that? Yeah, neither have we. It’s time-consuming… and… can be quite frustrating at times. Especially, if you’re working with entry-level equipment. You just don’t get those astronomically accurate and precise cuts that you would get with a professional vinyl cutter.
With an entry-level equipment, people usually find themselves spending more time on weeding than working on their business. You don’t want to be one of them, do you? Like, can you picture yourself picking and peeling away tiny pieces of plastic for hours on end, day in and day out?
Absolutely not! It’s not the vision of success any of us have in mind!
So, think about stepping up to more professional equipment, such as Graphtec CE7000, Roland GS-24, or Roland BN-20 print and cut machine. All of them will cut through the media like a hot knife through butter.
As the saying goes, size matters. All the more so for print and cut devices. Vinyl cutters are not your typical desktop printers; they take up space in the room. So, depending on where you work, you’ll want to factor this in.
The caveat, obviously, is that the more compact the cutter, the smaller the cutting area, and vice versa. We’re bringing this up because it introduces production limits that you need to consider for your projects.
If you work on big projects or need to make a lot of signs and graphics, a cutter with a bigger cutting area is better. But if you mostly do smaller crafts and don’t have much space, a compact cutter can be just what you need.
Business is a numbers game — every penny saved is a penny earned. And with that thought in mind, you’ll likely save money ordering vinyl in bulk than in sheets. That means a vinyl cutter with a larger cutting area is a smarter choice here. You can feed it vinyl in rolls instead of small sheets, which often come at a higher price per square foot.
In the long run, not only do you save money on materials, but you also reduce waste and the number of times you need to reorder new materials.
A vinyl cutter is only as good as the software it runs. You can think of the software as a sort of ‘’central brain’’ that ties everything together, orchestrates, and instructs the machine, guiding it on what tasks to perform and in what order.
And so it’s important you pick up a vinyl cutter that comes equipped with advanced software and features. To make your search easier, look in the direction of Graphtec or Roland! These two brands have an amazing product lineup. You can’t go wrong with either one!
Could you do more?… with a commercial vinyl cutter as opposed to an entry-level one?
Quick answer: yes!
When you think about it… you can do SO much more! Let us break it down for you; these bad boys are built for intensive industrial workloads. Because of that, you can breeze through your projects in record time. Anything you throw at them, they’re going to handle it with ease. Whether it’s banners, signs, decals, or wall-art.
Plus, the material selection is like a candy store for crafters. You get to choose from glossy or matte vinyl to glittery or holographic effects — the options are pretty much endless.
For one-on-one help simply call 800-891-1094 or live chat with one of our pros!
