Vinyl Express Q130 Plotter

[mwood]

I am looking at upgrading my 24" cutter for the SignWarehouse Q130. It seems a little pricey to me. How much difference is there between an entry level cutter like the Q130 and comprable sized cutter from China.

I am thinking for the $3500 difference, I could probably afford to screw up a little vinyl.

SignWarehouse is also really pushing their ARMS (Auto Registration system) for cutting around printed graphics. How important do you feel this is? Shouldn't I be able to manual register a less expensive cutter to cut properly around a graphic?

Thanks for any info... Fire Away!

 

[Techman]

It seems a little pricey to me

If you plan to earn a living with it. And, if its the tool you need. Buy it and quit worrying about the price. The price of a good tool is never a consideration. The cheaper you buy the harder it is to expand. Usability is the worry.

Shouldn't I be able to manual register a less expensive cutter to cut properly around a graphic?

No.

 

[cOrKinSA]

...I am thinking for the $3500 difference, I could probably afford to screw up a little vinyl...

DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT save money in that direction! Before my buddy sold his Chinese plotter, I was having to help him with all his jobs. Here are some issues pertaining to the cutter.

• Machine is loud as hand vacuum.
• Forget cutting borders.
• Letters in between layout don't cut clean.
• Goodluck after three feet.

After spending 2 to 3 times the vinyl every job, it just isn't worth it.

 

[mwood]

Yeah, thats what I thought. I had researched enough to know I didn't want to skimp on a printer or laminator, but I was just hoping.....

I'll just bite the bullet, or rather, I'll just let Visa bite it.

Thanks.

 

[New Guy]

I feel dirty because we bought an "off brand" plotter about a year ago. We bought it because we had one particular use for it, which consisted of about 5-10 minutes work a week. It was cheaper to buy the plotter than pay the shop minimum to the guy who was doing it for us each week.

It quickly paid for itself and opened up some good opportunities. However, about 4 months in, it started making a noise, and whatever was causing the noise was causing major cutting issues. It was essentially doing a perf cut when the noise happened. Called support. Answering machine. Emailed support. No answer. Finally two days later, I got them on the phone. Held the phone up to the cutter while running, they said "We have no idea, never heard that before or seen the problem. Send the cutter back and we'll look at it and see if we can find the issue".

1 week to ship, 1 week for them to repair, 1 week to get it back. I had orders. No way I could do without the machine for 3 weeks.

They never did resolve the issues. At the time, I thought what I was going through was just normal for vinyl plotters. We recently bought a new Graphtec, and I was stunned when I saw it run. Simply stunned.

I never felt like I made such a poor decision as I do looking back on it all. The new machine is very fast, incredibly accurate, and weeding is a dream.

Looking back, I should have bought the quality machine from day one. Realistically, the price is nothing if you're using it. What's the difference? $5 day for a good machine vs. $1 a day? I can promise you the quality machine will earn you $4 more per day in speed and quality.

Just my experience.

 

[rcoman]

Q-Series 130

I can say , 1) I own a 130, 2) I love it 3) when Sign warehouse tells you it is the SAME as the graphtec, they are lying. it is made BY graphtec and is very close to graphtec, but it isnt identical. it cuts with a little less force, a little less speed and cannot use the corel plugin's. there might be some other issues but that is all I can remember off the top of my head.

Sign Warehouse threw in SO MUCH stuff with my q-130 I simply had no choice but to go with them. and Joey was helpful.

ARMS is helpful... and standard of the Graphtec MK2, if you will be contour cutting prints. if you are strictly cutting vinyl and wish to never grow your business then it is not worth talking about.

Great Cutter still the same. I suppose the Graphtec FC7000 MK2 would be ummm.... greater......

 

[Jim Doggett]

How much difference is there between an entry level cutter like the Q130 and comprable sized cutter from China.

To clarify, Vinyl Express Q Series cutters are the polar opposite of entry-level. They are superior to and outperform every other top-of-the-line cutter on the market, with one exception: Graphtec Cutting Pro FC series.*

*Many here can explain why I'd say this :^)

The difference between the Q Series and what typically comes from China is so vast I'm none too keen on making a comparison. It's truly orders of magnitude:

Chinese (very, very low-end, in components and manufacture)

Entry, mid-level (large number of makers here)

Pro level (the field gets smaller)

Best of breed (Graphtec, Q Series, Summa ... in that order)

Best Regards,

Jim

 

[ChiknNutz]

...
Best of breed (Graphtec, Q Series, Summa ... in that order)

Best Regards,

Jim

That's quite a claim coming from an ex-Summa guy!!!

 

[bjones]

if given the choice i'd go for an actual graphtec branded unit over a q-series. Like someone else said before, the Q series is *made* by graphtec, but not identical and gets ZERO support from graphtec. In my case there's a functional issue with the firmware of the Q-series whose Graphtec counterpart also used to have... but the graphtec version got an update to fix the firmware issue while the supposedly same unit from Signwarehouse does not get the same fix. This kinda cheesed me to the whole 'OEM' equipment thing. I can see features being added held back from OEM units but a much needed FIX to a problem and telling me to pound sand because I bought OEM kinda sucks when you spend 3-4k on a plotter.

 

[Jim Doggett]

That's quite a claim coming from an ex-Summa guy!!!

Hi GX,

Yeah; ironic. :^)

But I think an objective look at the roll-fed cutter cateogry would support the claim. Graphtec has truly advanced the state of blade-movement art. I'm not an engineer. But I've seen the output -- and throughput even when cutting as "slower speed" -- and I must concede, Graphtec is simply the best-cutting roll-fed plotter I've ever experienced.

Given the many similar qualities in the Vinyl Express Q Series, I think it's not unfair to suggest it wins the silver medal. But arguments could well be made in both directions. So suffice it to say, it's impossible to go wrong with Graphtec, Q Series or Summa. Get any one of them, and the user-experience will border on a love affair.

Best,

JD

 

[Techman]

Get any one of them, and the user-experience will border on a love affair.

There is a vinyl jockey / hand painter here who loves his Roland cutters...

I kept telling him that one day when he gets a real cutter running servo motors then he will know nirvana. Well, he got a deal on a upper level Roland and now understands what I was saying.

If he ever gets a super cutter then he will be fully in heaven. Right OP???

A good machine is just about what jim said..

Get any one of them, and the user-experience will border on a love affair.

 

[cOrKinSA]

Yuppers!
When I got my Summa and started cutting I didn't have anyone at the shop to preach my love to about it!
Is it wrong to love a machine this much!?

 

[Rodi]

Sign up at signwarehouse first, they have some great deals pretty regularly via email.