Plotters

Our shop began to check out plotters for tint and for paint protection. Have any of you checkd these out or better yet do you have one. Any input would be appreciated.

we bought one for tint but now we use is for graphics 90% of the time

How much is a good one, where do you buy them, blah, blah, blah??

Signwarehouse.com
will find most anything you need my friend

IT, did you buy one from them? I did and I would like to talk to you about yours if you did too. PM me and let me know.

thanks for the info Image Tint

Fastlane... no I bought out a sign company & they had all the equiptment already, but I do get some materials from them.
They just happen to have the biggest selection of plotters than other sign suppliers.

IT, do you have or know of someone who has one of their plotters? I have a 24" Lynx and have had some "issues" with it. Not much help from their Tech Support.

I DO QUITE A BIT OF CUSTOM FLAMES, AND OTHER TYPES OF DESIGNS BUT I FOUND OUT IT TOOK TOO LONG FOR ME TO GET THE DESIGN PERFECT ENOUGH TO CUT. SO NOW I HAVE A SIGN GUY THAT CUTS ALL MY STUFF OUT FOR ME. ALL I DO IS TAKE HIM MY PICTURE,DRAWING OR IDEA AND HE GETS IT BACK TO ME IN A DAY OR TWO READY TO INSTALL. SAVES A BUNCH OF TIME AND ALWAYS LOOKS THE BEST.

I use the Tint Tech 20/20 system 4 years now. Tinting since 1983. There is nothing like a plotter. Life is very good now. If you want speed and quality..... We will do 2500 cars this year. Working with 2 or 3 guys .30 or so hours a week , no lie.

We are looking into that same plotter. What type of problems are you having with it. I don't want to buy a huge POS.

Thanks.

When you are looking at buying a plotter make sure it is going to work with ALL the software your going to use. I have a MASTER and it is awsome if the only thing your going to use it for is vinyl. I want to use it for tinttek but it is not compatiable with the software

We are looking into a plotter just for vinyl. We would rather do tint the old fashioned way to compensate for any flaws in vehicle design.

Which programs will you be using? The Master plotters are nice for only vinyl

I am not too sure yet. I have Adobe Illustrator that can be used, and if we buy one from Sign Warehouse I will use the software that comes with the cutter. I can't remember what the name is except something LXI.

I can make you a hell of a deal on a MASTER one if you are only going to use it with vinyl software

What kind of deal are you talking about???? Send me an email since I have no messenger privaliges..... info@diamondcustoms.com

Thanks!

Tint Tech 20/20 ?
So with the plotter/cutter do u just print the design then cut out the tint? or can you cut out the tint with the plotter/cutter?

the plotter cuts the film for you

.....badly.

Yep... depending upon the person cutting the pattern for the database and how good is the equipment being used to digitize the patterns that were cut or the skills of the person digitizing.

Then there's the issue of interior components not being in the exact same position on any two like cars.

Minor obstacles...

not minor, MAJOR. it would be in my shop anyway. par doesn't cut it with me.

ploters suck i,ve got 1 guy working for me no more than 40 minutes per car haven't had a redo since sept

Then it would be no more than 35 minutes had you or someone up front cut the patterns by plotter...

hey metint, do you use plotters, and if so, what plotters and what software do you use or recommend? i'm looking into these and its diving me !any suggestions would be really appreciated.

not tintguy, but i've been using a plotter for just over a year now.
I use tinttek 20/20. It definitely took time getting used to it. I love it now. I also cut paint protection film using ##$### software designs but LLumar film.

I've had some going back and forth from tinttek to ##$###.
They work on different languages and different com ports. I've learned lots about computers this past year.

I'm happy. saves lots of time!! Hope you have lots of patience or you are very computer savy.

Good Luck.

I don't use them, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

LLumar's contract with Tinttek expired the beginning of 05... LLu now has their own software providing tint, PPF, and some graphics patterns for cut out on Graphtec (and Rowland, I think).

Interested? Just check with the LLumar distributor for your region.

"I don't use them, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night..."




smartass

Thanks for all your replies.

Do you know that the Master will not work with tint or PPF films? What specific problems have you had with the Master?

i just purchased the lynx from sign warehouse but i plan on using it for signs and if i can cutting custome designs in tint. anybody know if this machine will work for that. i just ordered it and it should be here in a day or two

For me, the real question should be what software are you going to be using to run this plotter....The plotter is only going to be as good as the software. Do you have experience with PPF?

no i don't. got the machine the other day and it seems to be what i was looking for, something cheap that will do the job.
did a few signs and it cut the vinyl perfect. i'm going to try to cut some tint flames today i'll let you guys know how it goes.

as for the software issues i use corel draw, and i'm still figuring out the software that came with it

corel is a great program. do you use an add on cutting software like sign tools or do you cut right from corel?

make sure you pull the blade in when cutting tint, or you will cut up the plastic guide on your plotter.

thanks for the advice, i've cut tint before but on a buddies set up, now that i got my own it's gonna be a few days before i get all the kinks out of it. i didn't get a chance to try cutting tint today...too busy.
as for cutter software i use the lxi and production manager that came with it. works cool so far

Plotters can be huge time savers and profit boosters. Be leary though. You get what you pay for. They can be headache inducers and bottom line busters. Graphtec or Rowland will get the job done with vinyl, PPF and window film up to 7mil. Less expensive plotters are not adjustable enough to get good cuts with thinner films....at least in my experience.

I would recommend buying both the plotter and whatever pattern software you intend to use from the same source with an understanding that support is also included on both items. If you don't, you will end up with a software tech blaming the hardware, and a hardware tech blaming the software everytime you have a problem. Several of the major film mfg's offer such systems and support. Look for a system that is developed AND supported in house.

We have a 60" plotter for sale. It a DGI OM-130 from solargard. $4800 plus shipping. We are selling this one because we purchased a digital printer, optical read plotter, laminator package for our sign business and we do not need tow of them. The OM-130 from solargard cost over $9000. We have used it on most all of our tint jobs and it have been flawless. A plotter will pay for itself in less than a year so if you need one contact us at dale3132002@yahoo.com.

We have a lynx 24 from signwarehouse.com and we have had it for over 2 years and its great.