Need Help Need help on Upgrading Software and Cutter

[Duane Keel]

We have started doing more T-shirts lately and want to upgrade our Cutter and Software.

We have a Windows XP LXI 7.5 version of software and a Old Serial plug Lynx 60 - 24" cutter. ( it has been a good machine with zero problems )

I have a new Windows 10 PC with a Intel Quad-Core i5 , 16 gig ram and a 2TB HD to run it on and not sure if i can get drivers for my Lynx 60 so I am looking to replace it also.

I would like to stay south of $1000 for both software and cutter if possible.

I would also like to do rhinestone cutouts with it if possible.

Thank you in advance.

 

[rjssigns]

Too bad you're so far away. I have a Summa D610 I'd let go cheap.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Under $1000 you are going to have to sacrifice on size or quality. You can get a 15" Graphtec CE6000 for around $1000 and they are good machines for t-shirt material but somewhat limiting due to size. If you need a 24" wide plotter there are plenty of cheap Chinese cutters on Ebay for under $1000. If you want to go name brand though, you will be looking at more like $1500 - $2000 for a 24" plotter. Luckily most plotters come with software these days so you shouldn't need to worry about that.

Also, try hooking up your plotter to the new computer. It's worth a shot. I run old stuff on new computers all the time and since you are using a parallel port, it doesn't need a driver as long as your cutting software works on the newer OS granted you have a parallel port on the new computer which is unlikely. You can get a USB to parallel cable though.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Under $1000 you are going to have to sacrifice on size or quality.

This is the big thing right here. Sub $1k usually still gets you in the high end consumer space when it comes to cutter and software, especially if trying to do both for under that.

Luckily most plotters come with software these days so you shouldn't need to worry about that.

I can only speak for the Roland GX-24 as that is what I use and the CutStudio program that comes with that is fairly lacking. It would be far better to get Inkscape and directly cut from that program then to use CutStudio. It's not terrible bad, but using CutStudio for anything more then cutting (as in designing) it is significantly limited and once one gets the hang of it, cutting directly from a vector program isn't all that bad, just have set things up manually (like overcut, which the OP is going to have to do for bling templates). And there are extensions (some open source, some commercial) that will extend the functionality of Inkscape as well.

Also, try hooking up your plotter to the new computer. It's worth a shot. I run old stuff on new computers all the time and since you are using a parallel port, it doesn't need a driver as long as your cutting software works on the newer OS granted you have a parallel port on the new computer which is unlikely. You can get a USB to parallel cable though.

I would see about getting a parallel card to install in the new computer and go from there. While true workstation computers tend to still support the older ports (I know my 2 yr old Lenovo Workstation does), probably not going to find one on a big box store bought computer nowadays.

OP: If you can't get the legacy software running (which is kinda iffy with the rolling release nature of Win 10 now and given their new mission of trying to make Windows lean, but it does depend on the programs as well), could always try to VM an XP appliance on your computer (have enough RAM for it anyway) and use your software that way. You'll still need to either get a parallel card or get a parallel/usb adapter. There are ways around it to continue to still use the legacy software, just depends on how complex you want to get with it.