Complete newbie with plotters but need to buy one. Help?

Tintmaster08 · April 22, 2014

I do the tint myself because I cant find anyone who can tint in the area... my company also does $15k / month in dealer detailing and a lot of times I try to help out my detailers so im trying to cut time on tint jobs... If you dont think itll help that much ill just continue without it... pretty expensive piece of equipment lol

If you were closer

Ocala · April 22, 2014

I am solo and use the plotter for the back glass,quarter windows and windshield strips. It saves me a lot of time. As far as the roll up windows, I pick and choose. Since I double cut my patterns, the plotter really doesn't save me much time on them.

April 23, 2014

On your own, the plotter wont save you much time, we have 4 installers "5 when really busy", and a girl dealing with customers and cutting cars, it buys us a tonne of time! If your booked a month in advance, your doing something right! I would consider purchasing the plotter, and hiring some one to run it and do whatever will allow you more time at installing to get that 1 month wait down! With the odd exception of customers who actually want to book farther in advance, we are never more than a week in advance, you dont want customers having more time to "think about it" after deciding to go with you! The less wait the better!

TintJunkie · April 23, 2014

TW, your posts are the only ones that make any sense...thankyou.

Ive been in the argument too many times, and also put my neck out there and made a video. No tricks in place, I was able to load the plotter, choose a pattern, cut, reload with different film, choose pattern, and cut, all in just over 6 minutes. I also took the time in my video to cut loose all the patterns on the peel board. I tried to make it as realistic as possible, as posted here on TD for someone to do the same with hand cutting in terms of speed. I can't argue that hand cut patterns are better, but only due to the software one would use, and some just prefer their own patterns via hand cutting.

So, some of you say, solo wouldn't speed you up. So, you might be suggesting hiring a helper. Ok, how much will that helper, or tinter run you a month with the original question about saving money and time? Also consider, that plotter could boost your sales by integrating vinyl sales in the mix. It does speed the solo guy up.

I bought my plotter used, with software for $2400. Its a Roland CammPro (GX40). I bought it for the reasons TW mentioned. I had a dealership account. It was super efficient to cut patterns and distribute them, with little waste, and I (the owner) was in control of everything. It made sense to me to make my purchase. I soon realized, a plotter can do so much more than just saving waste, time, and making installs faster. I use it today for everything. Still for the occasional auto, deco films with custom cuts, and vinyls. For certain resi jobs, I can cut a plethora of french pains in minutes.

Its an investment that WILL pay for itself in so many ways. Here is my video, that I posted before, challenging anyone to do the same exact thing hand cutting.

I believe this was a Corolla that was cut...WITH THE BACK WINDOW!

justn8 · April 24, 2014

TW, your posts are the only ones that make any sense...thankyou.

Ive been in the argument too many times, and also put my neck out there and made a video. No tricks in place, I was able to load the plotter, choose a pattern, cut, reload with different film, choose pattern, and cut, all in just over 6 minutes. I also took the time in my video to cut loose all the patterns on the peel board. I tried to make it as realistic as possible, as posted here on TD for someone to do the same with hand cutting in terms of speed. I can't argue that hand cut patterns are better, but only due to the software one would use, and some just prefer their own patterns via hand cutting.

So, some of you say, solo wouldn't speed you up. So, you might be suggesting hiring a helper. Ok, how much will that helper, or tinter run you a month with the original question about saving money and time? Also consider, that plotter could boost your sales by integrating vinyl sales in the mix. It does speed the solo guy up.

I bought my plotter used, with software for $2400. Its a Roland CammPro (GX40). I bought it for the reasons TW mentioned. I had a dealership account. It was super efficient to cut patterns and distribute them, with little waste, and I (the owner) was in control of everything. It made sense to me to make my purchase. I soon realized, a plotter can do so much more than just saving waste, time, and making installs faster. I use it today for everything. Still for the occasional auto, deco films with custom cuts, and vinyls. For certain resi jobs, I can cut a plethora of french pains in minutes.

Its an investment that WILL pay for itself in so many ways. Here is my video, that I posted before, challenging anyone to do the same exact thing hand cutting.

I believe this was a Corolla that was cut...WITH THE BACK WINDOW!

I like that video.

I've visited TW and seen why/when/how a plotter can improve your life. Now that I'm getting the type of work that it can benefit the most (pre loading new, unsold dealer cars in bulk)... I want one. This summer I'll see how it goes, and when the time is right I'll get one.

Guys that say it's faster to hand cut also aren't counting the time it takes to clean off the outside of the car in order to make their patterns in the first place. If it's a vehicle where you don't need to shrink side windows, or can stretch/snap shrink on the board, you save a few minutes there and the hassle of working a loop around the car because theirs no reason to clean the outside at all. It all adds up. No big deal on one car, but if you're pumping them out constantly, a plotter is cheaper than another person. And probably more reliable at that kind of wage :lol