• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Recommendation for optical sensor plotter

V

vikcho

New Member
Hi friends,

Need your help in purchasing an optical sensor plotter.
All the jobs I do are vinyl print and cut stickers. Currently using my old Roland SC-545 print and cut machine for cutting the printouts of another eco-solvent machine that I purchased to increase my production. My problem is that mostly I print small decals in different shapes, so I end up printing 100 sq. ft./hrs. but at a cutting speed of 15cm/sec, I am able to cuts around say 30 sq.ft./hrs. If I increase the speed the cutting then it is not accurate. So I decided to purchase a new plotter which can match up to the printing speed with accuracy.

Now here starts my problem. I searched over the net to find out the best solution. Found that Summa is the most recommended brand but they don’t have any dealer here in India. The second recommended brand is Graphtec but most people are found complaining that it fails a lot in reading marks and I have also come to know that from around last 1 year Graphtec have started manufacturing there plotters in China and the quality is now below par. Now I am left with brands like Roland, Mimaki, and GCC. Currently using an 5 years old Roland don’t really know if there is any upgrade in new machine as old one not cutting accurately at high speeds and don’t have any known person using any other machine for the purpose.

Models I have considered by now are Graphtec FC-8000, Roland GX-640 & GX-500, Mimaki CG-160FXII. So please recommend me the machine which can handle accurate cutting with decent speed.

Thanks and Regards
Vikram
 
G

GB2

Old Member
I recently researched the Summa and saw it in a demonstration and I agree that it is a top choice plotter. I have a Mimaki plotter that has been flawless for many years, so I can recommend it. I've found the same things about the other plotters you mentioned in my research too. Having a dealer or a service technician nearby is usually a big benefit but I don't think it is so critical for plotters, especially if you are considering the top choice.
 
V

vikcho

New Member
Thanks Gary, but can you tell me at what speed do you cut your printed jobs using Mimaki plotter and what maximum sheet size with small decals have you cut with accuracy? Also which model of Mimaki are you using?
 
G

GB2

Old Member
I believe that the standard speed I'm using for normal vinyl cutting is 80 cm/s. The maximum sheet size is 54" and it is very accurate on small decals. The tracking ability is fairly accurate up to about 10', I think the Summa is the most accurate tracking plotter. I am using a CG130 FX, 54" plotter.
 
V

vikcho

New Member
That's great, if a Mimaki can accurately cut printed decals at a speed of 80 cm/s. and that too with 10' tracking. It's hard to believe that as my Roland machine I have to cut only at 15 cm/s. for accuracy and also keep the size of print below 3' * 2.5'.
Do you seriously mean that Mimaki can cut printed decal sheet of size 3' x 10' with 100's of small decals of small size like 2" * 3"?
 
wildside

wildside

New Member
we have used the mimaki plotters, and yes they are good machines.

we use a graphtec fc5100, its about 6 years old, and on a regular basis cut small decals at 52" x 12 ft runs. dont know what actual speed we are cutting at, but it doesnt seem like it takes very long to do, never had the next set of prints done before it was done cutting so it is a non issue

we have been eye balling a few summa machines and may head that direction when or if the graphtec acts up
 
Christian @ 2CT Media

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
I Love my ZENCut/GCC Jaguar IV.... it does everything I ask of it and I haven't had one error yet that wasn't my mistake.

I run ONYX X10 and SignPRO to control the plotter.
 
V

vikcho

New Member
Hi 2CT,
GCC Jaguar IV is available here and is in fact the cheapest option. But I tried it out and it failed to cut printed decals accurately. How old is your machine and is it accurate for large files with print and cut?
 
G

GB2

Old Member
vikcho said:
That's great, if a Mimaki can accurately cut printed decals at a speed of 80 cm/s. and that too with 10' tracking. It's hard to believe that as my Roland machine I have to cut only at 15 cm/s. for accuracy and also keep the size of print below 3' * 2.5'.
Do you seriously mean that Mimaki can cut printed decal sheet of size 3' x 10' with 100's of small decals of small size like 2" * 3"?
Click to expand...

Yes, I can definately cut much smaller than 2"x3" at that speed with accuracy. That decal sheet you describe would not be a problem and would be typical of what I normally do.
 
V

vikcho

New Member
Hi 2CT,
Thanks for reply. Cutting a large print of 5' x 12' with accuracy is great. Was it a large single print or small decals? Can you also let me know at what speed do you cut your printed decals?

Thanks to you too Gary now I am considering Mimaki as a great option too. It's much cheaper to Summa and if it can give high accuracy at speed of 80cm/s. it will be ideal for me.

Vikram
 
V

vikcho

New Member
Hi 2CT,
Thanks for reply. Cutting a large print of 5' x 12' with accuracy is great. Was it a large single print or small decals? Can you also let me know at what speed do you cut your printed decals?

Thanks to you too Gary now I am considering Mimaki as a great option too. It's much cheaper to Summa and if it can give high accuracy at speed of 80cm/s. it will be ideal for me.

Vikram
 
Jim Doggett

Jim Doggett

New Member
Hi Vikram,

80cm/s (32 ips) is what most cutting plotters will do, with relative ease. But depending on the complexity of the cutting you'll do, Graphtec with the ARMS alignment is a wonderful, accurate and very reliable cutter. In addition, its cutting is sublime for real easy weeding (saves a ton of time) and it has better throughput due to its supremely well designed blade control / movement. Other cutter makers, including Summa when I worked for them, tried to reverse engineer Graphtec's blade control. It's truly the best in the world.

For example, the henna tatoo stencil makers in India use Graphtecs. Check with them and they'll tell you how well they cut, and especially how running at the same speed, their Graphtecs cut more than other makers' cutters.

"Cut speed" is a relative concept, since acceleration, overcut routines, and more are what truly create high through-put. Graphtec is the reference standard.

Best Regards,
 
V

vikcho

New Member
Thanks Jim,
I know about Graphtec but dealer here are not promoting it as a print cut machine and are themselves saying it is not accurate. Then are promoting flatbed for the job which is many times expensive. Even I took a print of my own to them and the cutting was 1 mm away from where it should be. It might be a settings issue but dealer here is not ready to take ant responsibility for that. Also I have herd that the latest Graphtec machines are being made in China and the quality is now below par. Also here in signs101 you will find many people complaining that Graphtec doesn't sense marks many a times. So I decided to go for Summa or Mimaki.
Vikram
 
smdgrfx

smdgrfx

New Member
It's all in the setup with the Graphtec. I've been running a FC8000-160 for two years now. It took me a few months to the the print/cut dialed in, but now - works all the time. I don't need super speed, so I usually cut at about 30 cm/s. I just finished doing a bunch of decals with runs up to 15 ft. No problem with accuracy. Doing several 4' x 4' runs today with a bunch of 3"x3" decals on them. Should be like cutting butter!
 
Christian @ 2CT Media

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
That was one graphic for a trailer side. We do decals as small as 2" x .75" in multiples of 1000 all the time and the plotter is dead on. We set ours at 30ips upto 50ips dependant on what material we are using.

The biggest thing is spending the time to set the offset up.
 
V

vikcho

New Member
Hi 2CT,
Please let me know the speed you cut your decals at?

Thanks Smd but without dealers support I think it will be difficult to setup the machine by myself. And if it fails dealer will not take the responsibility.

Vikram
 
Jim Doggett

Jim Doggett

New Member
Hi Vikram ,

You'll not be disappointed with the Summa. But I'd advise the S Class, since it's a stouter model thn the SummaCut-R. That helps with tracking, since the forces of moving vinyl back and forth can steer the vinyl if the cutter is not rigid enough. The S Class is, very-much so.

Meanwhile, and just as an aside, I think your Graphtec dealer is trying for a bigger payday by steering you to a flatbed. The FC series, which we sell in the 1000s, is a superb contour-cutting plotter. We package it with all our Mutoh printers, which we also sell in the 1000s, and have tons of happy customers. It's simply untrue that Graphtecs are not accurate.

Ask any Graphtec owner.

Best of luck,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top