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Need graphtec blades in bulk... where?

Flame

Flame

New Member
Curious if any of you have ever bought plotter blades in bulk? I am looking to buy a LOT of blades, and the $17 a pop hurts the pocket book... a lot. I go through about a blade a week with the material I am using (lots of perf cuts, lots of 18mil+ material). So that's $68 a month in JUST PLOTTER BLADES. Oweeee


Anyone know of a good source to buy, say, 20 or more at a time?

appreciate it folks.
 
Vinylman

Vinylman

New Member
rcook99 said:
Flame have you ever tried Cleancut blades from Ross. If you search you will see that he has good reviews by the people that have used them on this forum. Heres a link http://www.cleancutblade.com/
Click to expand...

Flame:

Just curious?

If you are going through "$68" worth of blades a month, you must be cutting A LOT of vinyl.

Properly priced the cost of your consumables SHOULD be factored into your selling price. If not, restructure your pricing.

And if your math is correct, the blades average out to about $2.66667 per day over a thirty day month. You SHOULD be able to afford that, considering the amount of money you must be making cutting all that vinyl??:thumb:
 
jiarby

jiarby

New Member
yeah, flamey.... time to up your prices (maybe $1-2 a job) to absorb that expense!

+2 for Ross
 
Flame

Flame

New Member
jiarby said:
yeah, flamey.... time to up your prices (maybe $1-2 a job) to absorb that expense!

+2 for Ross
Click to expand...

I've been absorbing them, but always like to trim off edges to save a little.

If I can get the same quality blades for only $4 a pop, that could save me $600 a year, so by doing my research now I could save enough to buy a new Lazy Boy once a year. :)
 
R

rcook99

New Member
Flame
If I can get the same quality blades for only $4 a pop
Click to expand...

I would have to say you may be dreaming:rolleyes: if you want them for $4 a pop in less you are buying them in very very large quantities but good luck.
 
Flame

Flame

New Member
rcook99 said:
Flame


I would have to say you may be dreaming:rolleyes: if you want them for $4 a pop in less you are buying them in very very large quantities but good luck.
Click to expand...


Well in the link posted above they are just a hair under $5 each... close enough for me!!! :)
 
R

rcook99

New Member
Flame
Well in the link posted above they are just a hair under $5 each... close enough for me!!! :)
Click to expand...

My bad Flamey, I did not look at the link above until I read your post:banghead::doh:. Hope they work out for you.
 
jasonx

jasonx

New Member
Flame:

I'm in the same boat as you and do a lot of perf cutting. I don't go through as many blades as you but find I need to separate my perf cutting blades to my normal kiss cut blades. Once I start perf cutting the blades aren't as good for kiss cutting.

I've gone through a 5 pack of original graphtec blades in a couple of months. Here my supplier charges nearly $100AUD per blade. Thats about $80USD at the moment.

So I tried some of the blades off ebay for perf cutting. Got 5 blades for $50AUD delivered. I've got them in both my graphtecs perf cutting and so far they seem on par with the original graphtec blades.
 
Neil

Neil

New Member
jasonx said:
Flame:

I'm in the same boat as you and do a lot of perf cutting. I don't go through as many blades as you but find I need to separate my perf cutting blades to my normal kiss cut blades. Once I start perf cutting the blades aren't as good for kiss cutting.

I've gone through a 5 pack of original graphtec blades in a couple of months. Here my supplier charges nearly $100AUD per blade. Thats about $80USD at the moment.

So I tried some of the blades off ebay for perf cutting. Got 5 blades for $50AUD delivered. I've got them in both my graphtecs perf cutting and so far they seem on par with the original graphtec blades.
Click to expand...

Hey Jase, how do you get your Graphtec to perf cut?
I mean, I know how to tell it to do it, and I have meticulously played with the settings, but whenever I've tried it it just screws everything up into a mangled mess.

I have been led to assume it's just impossible to cut through the backing - even with lots of tabs to hold it together- and successfully complete a sheet of decals.

I'd love to know how you do it coz I'm about to ditch my FC-7000 and buy a Mimaki cutter based on seeing it do perf cuts.
 
Bigdawg

Bigdawg

Just Me
Neil said:
Hey Jase, how do you get your Graphtec to perf cut?
I mean, I know how to tell it to do it, and I have meticulously played with the settings, but whenever I've tried it it just screws everything up into a mangled mess.

I have been led to assume it's just impossible to cut through the backing - even with lots of tabs to hold it together- and successfully complete a sheet of decals.

I'd love to know how you do it coz I'm about to ditch my FC-7000 and buy a Mimaki cutter based on seeing it do perf cuts.
Click to expand...

:thread

Neil, sounds like your perf cuts are too long without enough "no cut" in between the cuts. We're perf cutting on our graphtec but I hate to do it. Just seems like a lot of wear and tear on the machine...
 
jasonx

jasonx

New Member
Neil said:
Hey Jase, how do you get your Graphtec to perf cut?
I mean, I know how to tell it to do it, and I have meticulously played with the settings, but whenever I've tried it it just screws everything up into a mangled mess.

I have been led to assume it's just impossible to cut through the backing - even with lots of tabs to hold it together- and successfully complete a sheet of decals.

I'd love to know how you do it coz I'm about to ditch my FC-7000 and buy a Mimaki cutter based on seeing it do perf cuts.
Click to expand...

Hey Neil,

Firstly I run two FC8000-160's. I think the FC7000 doesn't have the second tool position for the perf cuts. The Mimaki I saw is like the FC8000 model.

Anyways I do find its a balancing act between blade depth, pressure and cut line pattern.

If your doing small decals I find a cut length of 30mm and a non cut length of .3mm to work well. My blade depth is .50 (is this setting in mm? I'm at home will check in the morning).

My current pressure ranges from 20-24 depending on blade wear out. This is for a monomeric vinyl I use. Laminated graphics need the pressure up at around 36.

Send your job in "Restrict Media Movement".

Have "Autoweld" Off in cutting master.

I find the more that the media moves back and forth the greater the chance of your decals poping out and having a mess.

To be honest I must perf cut upto 100-150 linear metres a week and don't have one problem perf cutting.
 
Neil

Neil

New Member
Thanks Jason/Bigdawg.
I reckon the second tool position is the key - this is what the Mimaki has. Still, it's worth me perservering with this as I'd like to figure out if it's do-able on the 7000.

I'll try reducing the cut length as I had it around 50mm (2").
 
jasonx

jasonx

New Member
Reduce your cut length to 15mm. It should be harder to get out. Then slowly work your way up to a greater length to make it easier.

Does the FC7000 have a cut line pattern under the condition setting?
 
W

woolly

New Member
hi Jason yes the 7000 has it under conditions but can be set as required in cutting master.

Neil on my 7000 i have a felt cutting strip as the blades are damaged as they turn through 90 deg on a normal cutting strip.

graphtec uk supply it but i understand the the US people no nothing of it.

imo if you are serious about perf cutting then my choice would be a summa s class T but a lot of dosh.

woolly
 
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