printer/cutter what should i choose | Signs101.com

Hello everyone
we are a small medium manufacturer of industrial product ( pressure washer and industrial vacuum ), all of goods are made in steel and then powder coated, we outsource our sticker that we used, but i am looking to buy a printer cutter to do it in house.

first its not about money issue, but to be self-sufficient at the end, that move if i do it will cost me far more than continuing doing what we do. we already have in house design departement, we have the space i still have a room 20 x 30 that i could use for that

question, do i should buy a bigger machine than what i need ( i am looking for a roland SG-300 ) , i dont know the use since i never own one, i wanted to use it only for us. i have no plan to print for other, but sometime when you have the equipment opportunity knock at the door

i read on other post latex printer might be more adequated for my needs but do their media will work with powder painted surface

i know nothing about printing, feel free to propose something i might looking the wrong side

sorry for my typo i am a french frog canadian

regards Why don’t you check Summa DC5-SX? It’s the best thermal printer cutter combination out there and unlike inkjets it doesn’t need constant use, servicing and cleanups to keep the heads from clogging. Very low power unit, no ventilation needed because no harmful outgassing, and you don’t need lamination to get 5 years outdoor performance. Spot colors are available, so are metallics and chrome/gold, and I think it would be a better choice for your particular need. It’s cutting performance is better than any brand as well.

You can get really nice used ones, and performance-wise a DC4 is the same with the DC5 series. The difference is network connection availability of the 5 series vs UsB only 4 series, color touch screen vs B&W and a 7x faster processor which is really not necessary, especially if you are printing vector graphics. Airmark sells them, and the customer support is awesome too.

With thermal printing, you can also print on colored plotter vinyl which would give you a whole new set of options.

They come in 30” and 54” sizes. 30” can hold 5 rolls of ribbons, 54” can hold 8 at a time. Unless you want to print large graphics or a lot of different spot colors in a single batch, the smaller SX should work better doing decals. Easier to deal and store the shorter roll media too.

Why don’t you check Summa DC5-SX? It’s the best thermal printer cutter combination out there and unlike inkjets it doesn’t need constant use, servicing and cleanups to keep the heads from clogging. Very low power unit, no ventilation needed because no harmful outgassing, and you don’t need lamination to get 5 years outdoor performance. Spot colors are available, so are metallics and chrome/gold, and I think it would be a better choice for your particular need. It’s cutting performance is better than any brand as well.

You can get really nice used ones, and performance-wise a DC4 is the same with the DC5 series. The difference is network connection availability of the 5 series vs UsB only 4 series, color touch screen vs B&W and a 7x faster processor which is really not necessary, especially if you are printing vector graphics. Airmark sells them, and the customer support is awesome too.

With thermal printing, you can also print on colored plotter vinyl which would give you a whole new set of options.

They come in 30” and 54” sizes. 30” can hold 5 rolls of ribbons, 54” can hold 8 at a time. Unless you want to print large graphics or a lot of different spot colors in a single batch, the smaller SX should work better doing decals. Easier to deal and store the shorter roll media too.

I did look for that printer , but on summa web site their printer are invisible unless I am not on the right on I used to work in a manufacturing place that decided to do all its own packaging. They spent hundreds of thousands on equipment to do that - Had to hire a few guys just to take care of packaging. Took up a ton of space... within 3 years, they sold all the equipment and went back to outsourcing.

Being self sufficient is one thing, but in the end its going to cost you a lot, and i mean a lot more than outsourcing is. If you still dont care about the price....

You'll also need a laminator. I'd suggest hp latex's print + cut since it doesnt take up too much space, and a laminator. You'll also need a 4x8 table to work on minimum.. bigger if possible.

HP Latex Print & Cut Solution - HP 115 54in Printer and 54in HP Latex Edition Vinyl Cutter Printer + Cutter, set you back about 15k Canadian.

Royal Sovereign RSC-CW 55" Wide Format Laminator Laminator, about 7K.

so 22K, plus you need vinyls, laminates, etc. A decent rip computer...


lets say about $ for a roll of good material (You want it to last the same length as your products.. which I hope lasts 7+ years!) we'll say about $2-3 in material for 12" x 12" square, after including waste/lead for cutting. 40-50 cents in ink... another 20-30 cents in wear and tear, you're looking at about $4 per 12" sticker.

So theres your cost - I imagine your paying more for your stickers, but after you factor in cost of the equipment... you'll see your ROI is probably a few years... but now lets consider the non cost factors.

You have to train someone to run the printer. It's not like a desktop printer - You can load your companies logo in, and the red will come out orange, blue will come out purple... You'll spend hundreds of hours trying to nail your colors right. And without a $ device, and hundreds of hours of more training... it'll never be spot on.

Once you learn how to rip, you'll have to learn how to laminate, how to cut, and realize it's not a click of a button... itll take you or one of your guys a good day/half a day everytime you want to print decals... even small amounts. It takes us the same amount of time to print/cut 100 decals, as it does 10,000 decals. So for small runs... you're not going to really save anything.

Now lets say you master everything. All the material/time lost while training aside... It takes one tiny mistake, and you're throwing away hundreds of dollars worth of material and labor. Laminator pressure not down enough? The whole batch is garbage... Cutting not deep enough? Garbage... forget to change one color to match your design? garbage,...

Get the idea? I'm not against you doing everything in house, just know what you'll be getting into. Being self sufficient is fine... But unless you want to spend half of your time running a printer instead of your business, you're still going to be reliant on training an employee to run the printers.. and when he leaves, start from scratch.

I think it's a bad idea...us sign shops, we outsource a ton of stuff we dont do in house. We dont do our own powder coating, we don't do our own metal bending (Most of the time), it just doesnt make sense for us to take on them tasks when someone else can do it far cheaper, far quicker, and more importantly... far better quality than we could do it.

So realize the quality of your work wont be as good as a shop that specializes in it - If you're ok with that... Talk to Grimco, or NDgraphics. Tell them your needs, and they'll be more than happy to show you sample prints, and go over the pros/cons of each machine. I've found they're pretty honest about machine limitations, and stand behind the products they sell.

I’ve had a brother scan and cut for almost 4 years. It’s gotten so that it will not cut deep enough through vinyl or HTV on the right side of the designs. If I make it cut deeper than it cuts through the backing on the left side and just enough on the right which cause problem.

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So I guess I am in the market for a new plotter. Thinking about buying another brothers but I can get a US cutter for a little more but it uses Signmaster cutting software. Is that software easy to use? I know it’s basic just used to for cutting only, brother’s software does a lot more but I do most of my custom stuff in Illustrator.

@daddycreswell I don’t have a brother scan and cut but I do use other vinyl and fabric cutting machines.

Make sure the mat is clean, from what you are describing I would say you have residue build-up on one side of the mat causing one side to sit higher in the machine than the other. This can cause the pressure sensor to misread the cut depth when starting causing a situation such as you describe. Also, check the thickness of the mat on all sides with a pair of calipers, and inspect the mat for creases that could be pushing a portion of the fabric up causing the pressure issue.

Does the machine have any ability to be leveled along the y-axis?
Most plotters/cutters I’ve worked with in the past have either an automatic or manual screw on each side of the y-axis for re-leveling the cutter. I would check the user manual for that option or call brother support.

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Failing that I would personally open the machine and check that the rail hasn’t come unseated etc. But that is entirely my personal approach and obviously depends on your comfort working with machines.

Beyond that I cannot offer much advice as I don’t have personal experience with the specific machine.

I have a pcut (basic Chinese machine) so may not be the same and can’t see why it would not cut as on mine the blade sticks out of a hole which sets the cutting depth (ie0.3mm). level of the pattern would have nothing to do with it as has pressure behind it that pushes it down and the needle would push in by 0.3mm. The only option I would have is to increase the depth of the needle so it sticks out further or possibly up the force it puts down on the holder.
Might have no similarities with your machine but on mine, tilt shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Is the pressure going weak on one side for some reason?

Pressure lose on one side is all I can come up with. I can extend the blade out further and it will cut through the HTV and it’s carrier, which is a pain to deal with when there are multiple lines of text trying to line up and space them. I’ve googled and ready everything I can find out about the problem but haven’t had any luck. So I ordered a new one…had no other choice. Got 20 shirts to do by 1st of next week.

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