Thinking about using a plotter to cut tint

[Jayz81]

Hey everybody. I am contemplating using a computer cut system to start cutting film. I have been tinting for about 12 years now, and want to get peoples feedback about this . If you are currently cutting on a plotter , has it been good for your business ? What are some of the drawbacks ? I am looking at buying a 40" graphtec plotter and I will most likely be using precision cut from LLumar. I have some concerns because I am tinting anywhere from 20-60 Volkswagen's a month. Any feedback would be appreciated , and thanks in advance.

[Stryper]

I think if your using Llumar they have a plotter/software package they have setup and use. Contact them and they will hook you up if your using enough of their film. Or at least they used to.

[Bizzar1]

If you want to save a ton of time and can accept the fact that your top edges won't be 100% perfect, get one. Use it as a selling point and offer a standard cut (plotter) or "hand cut/crafted" upgrade to the customer for that ultra tight micro-edge look. It is also VERY useful on back windows when using a dark film, layering factory SUV glass, pesky rear spoilers in the way of a clean cut, itty bitty quarter windows behind side mirros etc. Just spit them out the plotter and slap it in.

[Tintguy1980]

Once you buy into an automated cutting system, do not hang up the knife. In fact, patterns are made precisely to the car they were taken from by seasoned tinters; not all cars are created equal. The variables that affect pattern fit are many and not limited to, 1) Not all top edges are (buff) shaped the same so your micro-edge will be a point of contention more than you would like and is why PrecisionCut has long and short roll down offerings; so you can lay a long pattern in place on the outside and cut a fresh micro-edge to fit the car in the bay. 2) Molding never stays in the same place from one side to the other and will settle over time. 3) Rubber gaskets will shrink over time so the pattern that fits a brand new car's port nicely may not fit the same after five years sun exposure. 4) Black ceramic border coating can vary. 5) If a back winodw is over-shrunk during heat forming it might leave a sliver light leak on a border. 6) Some car mannies change a back window slightly half way through their model year range. 7) Your pattern fit preference may not be what the pattern has; what is called personal-preference compared to a pattern that needs be fashioned to suit one thousand + users. 8) Independent choice of plotter might lead to conflict between plotter and software to the point a pattern may be shorter or longer than it's suppose to be and, 9) the last I can think of at the moment that may impact your peace of mind using a cutting system is, the brand new car in front of you may not be in the library yet!

Otherwise, they are a great tool to boost productivity and allow an upcharge for 'handcrafted' work as stated by another.

Oh and you can expand into PPF, and vinyl, etc.

[TintWizard]

Good posts guys !

I use the Tint Tek 20/20 but same thing applies.

I have to say though that the last few templates I've done and summited for Tint Tek have scanned very accurately.

I can say that because I cut the original , then installed the plotter version and it came out exact.

I think the last one I did was a 2014 Forte and 2014 Rondo

[Jayz81]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I am going to give it a shot . Is it hard to fine tune template for a certain make of car that you are tinting consistently with precision cut ?

[AGT1]

^{no it's not hard to fine tune a pattern with pcs IT'S JUST A PAIN IN REAR TO FOUND OUT THE FIRST PATTERN DID'N T WORK. Hint throwing money in the trash!}