[Oa] Desktop cutter

[Andrew Crawford]

On 3/4/11 10:50 AM, Eric Broekhuis wrote:
> Hello all,
> I'm tired of cutting everything by hand! I'm starting to look for a
> cutting machine. I would like one that would cut at least 12" wide. What
> do people on this list use? What are some things that I should be
> looking for in a cutter?
> 
> Thanks,
> Eric Broekhuis

Hi Eric,

I'll take a stab at this.  I hope others will chime in with other
information and opinions.

A desktop cutting machine has made it a lot easier for me to prototype
OA designs and, to do short production runs.  I first started trying to
do something along this line when my uncle was selling vinyl sign
cutting equipment ("cutting plotters") back in the 1990s.  It was ...
challenging.  I am pleased to see the development of these machines into
the newer "craft cutting machines" we are seeing now.

I have an original-model ("yellow") Klic-N-Kut machine.  Unfortunately,
the developer made some design decisions that resulted in some serious
flaws in those machines.  Without going into too much technical detail,
they have some problems with accuracy and consistency that is generally
perceived as "skewing."

So, for example, my KNK will cut a sub-millimeter perfect OA design,
then cut the card out slightly off of rectangular (by a millimeter or
two).  It is also difficult to do things like cut cards with backing
cards that have matching slots for various adhesive-free mounting
techniques.

There are also some software usability issues.  The KNKs are driven by
proprietary Windows-only software that is use protected by a USB dongle
(a physical key that must be plugged in to your computer to use the
software).  By contrast, most other cutters can cut from any vector
graphics software by means of a customized "printer" driver.

These are probably only issues for you if you try to buy an older, used
machine.  I have been able to figure out ways to work around these
issues to some degree.  So, if anyone has one of these machines, I'd be
happy to make suggestions on how to get acceptable results from it.  I
wouldn't buy an older KNK machine for OA use at this point, though.

The heir to the KNK is the Blackcat cutter:

  http://www.blackcatcutters.com/

By all accounts, the Blackcat machines are far superior to and, less
expensive than the older KNK machines.  I do not have any direct
personal experience with them at this point, though.

One of the big selling points of both the KNK and Blackcat machines is
that they are able to exert a lot more pressure (cutting force) than
many other consumer-grade cutting plotter machines.  I can, for
instance, cut heavy plasticized or vellum backing cards and foil with my
KNK machine.

An appropriate Blackcat machine would be around $700 USD.

I know a lot of people on this list use the Craft Robo machines:

  http://www.graphteccorp.com/craftrobo/

I have seen some excellent work done with Craft Robos.  Check out some
of Jeff Rutky's flickr set, for instance:

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/enwhysee/sets/72157600902239977/

There is an older model of Craft Robo and, a newer model.  By some
accounts, the older model was better made.  I have no direct experience
with either.  Maybe someone who does can weigh in on this.

Craft Robos are quite a bit less expensive than the Blackcat machines
(around $200 USD for the entry model).  They also provide a lot less
cutting pressure/force.  So, they are limited to cutting thinner stock.

I know there are some other cutters out there.  I see some in retail
outlets now that appear to be targeted at scrapbookers.  I don't see any
evidence that those are particularly good or economical candidates for
OA artists.  Perhaps someone else will have some experience with these
other machines and, let us know about them.

If money is no object, you can do some amazing work with a laser cutter.
 Epilog makes some $7000 to $10,000 USD machines that cut most paper
stock quite handily:

  http://www.epiloglaser.com/legend_mini18.htm

I hope that is useful.

Best,

-- 
Andrew Crawford