Discussion Plotter/Cutter of Choice?

[Tommy Viv]

hey all

i am currently using an HP Latex 315, and soon going to be setting up my HP Latex 365…

I’ve been having some pretty discouraging issues with my current “HP 54 Cutter”

what do you run? what’s your all time favorite plotter, and what do y’all recommend?

p.s. i’m interested if anyones selling any used equipment or have a go-to recommendation!

located in SC


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[balstestrat]

If you have a love hate with HP/Summa, Graphtec is probably the next logical choice for you.

 

[Tommy Viv]

If you have a love hate with HP/Summa, Graphtec is probably the next logical choice for you.

any specific model you recommend? do you feel as though summa may be more user friendly than HP?

am i correct to believe that this HP 54 is the same as a Summa D 140? are they identical machines/interchangeable parts?

I’d consider replacing whatever board has failed and “transform” it into a Summa..

does that sound logical?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[brdesign]

Summa is my first choice in plotters. I wonder if HP did something to screw it, they do have a habit of making things user-friendly by disabling all the advanced options on their equipment. I have also had a great experience with Mimaki plotters. Old Gerber plotters were built like tanks, but I don't know if the newer equipment is still relevant. Graphtec is also a good choice. I have had some bad experiences with Roland plotters especially if you try to use anything other than Roland's own software.

 

[Tommy Viv]

Summa is my first choice in plotters. I wonder if HP did something to screw it, they do have a habit of making things user-friendly by disabling all the advanced options on their equipment. I have also had a great experience with Mimaki plotters. Old Gerber plotters were built like tanks, but I don't know if the newer equipment is still relevant. Graphtec is also a good choice. I have had some bad experiences with Roland plotters especially if you try to use anything other than Roland's own software.

Thank you for your opinion!

I will do some research on Graphtec plotters, as well as continue to check out Summa.

do you feel as though the OPOS sensor (such as on Summa as well as HP) is necessary? Or do you think that is just a convenience...

Do you have any specific recommendations on Graphtec or Summa?

Have you checked out the US Cutter Titan 3??

 

[Solventinkjet]

You can't go wrong with a Mimaki, Graphtec, or Summa.

 

[Geneva Olson]

any specific model you recommend? do you feel as though summa may be more user friendly than HP?

am i correct to believe that this HP 54 is the same as a Summa D 140? are they identical machines/interchangeable parts?

I’d consider replacing whatever board has failed and “transform” it into a Summa..

does that sound logical?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have an HP315 and I just purchased a Graphtec FC9000 cutting pro. 54 inch. I LOVE it.

my old plotter was a roland camm 1 pro. which seemed to work fine..but it was built in 2007 so I figured it was time to upgrade.

 

[balstestrat]

any specific model you recommend? do you feel as though summa may be more user friendly than HP?

am i correct to believe that this HP 54 is the same as a Summa D 140? are they identical machines/interchangeable parts?

I’d consider replacing whatever board has failed and “transform” it into a Summa..

does that sound logical?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That HP Cutter is pretty much 99% Summa. It's made by Summa, parts from Summa, only firmware says it's "HP cutter" and they wanted a network port on it which didn't exist before on D140.
I think today Summa and HP even have the same part numbers on both of their inventory.
But if you would get a Summa, definitely upgrade to S2.

And yes, get a machine that has a mark detection. You do print&cut, you 100% need it.
I would not touch that US cutter...

 

[Precision]

Graphtec 8600. Great machine. Usually the troubles you have with this one, is just lack of knowledge.

 

[FireSprint.com]

We have 2 FC9000 Graphtecs and are about to get more as we ramp up our sticker production. Tried summa and mimaki and our workflow worked better with graphtec.

If the Graphtecs can't handle it, we run it on our zund g3s.

 

[GC Decor]

We currently have multiple Summa’s running, they are work horses. They are fully automated with onyx, we just have to load the rolls and walk away. We have take up wheels on them so they can run full rolls without much input, other than die cutting and sheet cutting. We have to unload more often when using these features. Summa picks up the barcodes and starts cutting. They have been great for decals, die cutting stickers and there sheet cut feature is a huge time saver. I haven’t tried Graphtecs so I can’t comment there. I would also call around to dealers and see what’s available, our last summa was 6 months out.

 

[Stickerman]

I'm using a Mimaki CG-FXII Plus Series and I always have trouble setting it up to die cut stickers that have been printed by our Mimaki UJV 100-160 printer (UV). Do I need to fiddle with the blade height for each different sticker, because the UV ink sits ontop of the vinyl and makes it a tiny bit thicker depending on the outside colour of the sticker?

 

[hybriddesign]

We have a Mimaki CG-FXII and the cutter performs flawlessly but the interface through Mimaki's RIP is a bit of a mess and not very intuitive. You also need an older copy of Illustrator to make the plugin run properly. I'm guessing once we get it set up in Onyx correctly that will help but sometimes I really wish we had bought the Graphtec. Our rep didn't carry graphtec and we really like our rep but the Mimaki is just a bit of a pita to operate sometimes.

 

[depps74]

hey all

i am currently using an HP Latex 315, and soon going to be setting up my HP Latex 365…

I’ve been having some pretty discouraging issues with my current “HP 54 Cutter”

what do you run? what’s your all time favorite plotter, and what do y’all recommend?

p.s. i’m interested if anyones selling any used equipment or have a go-to recommendation!

located in SC


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I cut a lot of stickers and labels on all sorts of materials. Graphtec is the only way to go IMO. I tried a Summa, and despite their great rep, my experience was awful. I got a lemon, could not cut right. I swapped the motor, the carriage the cutting strip the blade holder and a few other parts before returning it of a $1500 restocking fee. I was pretty furious at the time with them, but their response to my issues was terrible too. Graphtec's do have limits with the thicker stuff, but I been using my Graphtec for 10 years and not had one problem with run off the mill cad vinyls I couldn't resolve in a phone call or email that was immediately answered. I am looking to sell my 30" so I can get a bigger 60". If your interested I can let it go for a $3000? Let me know DM if that sounds good.

 

[Rayd8]

Care to share your issues? I have multiple Summa's and have a bit of experience with them?

 

[regardstobuck]

My first plotter printer setup was the HP 315 as well. Now we are running an HP365 latex with a summa tangential 160 plotter with flexi. Sooooooooo much better than the drag knife 315. We cut a lot of thicker materials and have had zero issues with the tangential… we absolutely love it.

 

[spectrum maine]

hey all

i am currently using an HP Latex 315, and soon going to be setting up my HP Latex 365…

I’ve been having some pretty discouraging issues with my current “HP 54 Cutter”

what do you run? what’s your all time favorite plotter, and what do y’all recommend?

p.s. i’m interested if anyones selling any used equipment or have a go-to recommendation!

located in SC


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i need a driver for cm 300 windowsxp willing to pay need asap

 

[spectrum maine]

i need a driver for cm 300 windowsxp willing to pay need asap

 

[Geneva Olson]

i need a driver for cm 300 windowsxp willing to pay need asap

have you checked with global garage website?

 

[frankzilla]

Graphtec, Currently running a fc8600 and it's been fine. Really looking forward to retiring it to get the FC9000 with takeup reel, but it still has years to go...
If you're not running OPOS already, its pretty great, but if your market doesn't have the need, then obviously don't worry about it. Workflow is the most important thing on OPOS, which is most dependent on your RIP. The FC9000 series and Onyx will print barcodes, and the plotter will go through and plot/reel as it goes, reading each prints barcode to know what to plot next.

To help OP decide... my comment on this is that your FC8600 still has MANY years to go, you'd have to wait til the software is obsolete to run it before you retire it from actually working unless something tragically failed on it.

Have an FC9000 now with a new business, and there are new features and benefits I could have used previously with the FC8600, but if I didn't need to buy another one, I would have been totally fine with the FC8600. Workhorse.

The Mimaki software is less intuitive and I've had problems with Mimaki accuracies. You sorta have to screw up intentionally to not have the Graphtec work for you.