[Oa] Desktop cutter

[Carol P]

Hey everyone,
 
Well...I have a Craft Robo, which I've throroughly enjoyed.  However, the cutting width is nowhere near 12"--it's somewhere around 7.75".  There is a Cricut machine that cuts 12" wide, but the only way to cut anything interesting with a Cricut machine is to purchase additional  third party software (specifically, SCAL or MTC--you can't use Corel, AI, Inkscape, etc.) It's not sophisticated software, either.   
 
Check out this chart:  it should help you get a handle on what's out there.
http://www.paperthreads.com/bonus/paperthreads_machine_compare_112008.html
 
Carol
Extreme Cards and Papercrafting
 
> Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2011 14:01:21 -0700
> From: andrew at evermore.com
> To: eric.broekhuis at gmail.com; oa at evermore.com
> Subject: Re: [Oa] Desktop cutter
> 
> 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
> 
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