Vinyl cutter plotter

[Neville Stewart]

Hello all, a little bit beyond the pale, but you always seem to come through with info. I've found a Summa SummacutD760 vinyl cutter on Craigslist in Austin, but cant find much info other than consumables are still available & 2000 seems to be last year that model was made. My questions are is it worth $2000, he says he paid $8K for it. Other newer models by Summa are in the 5 to 6k range, so I guess that might be possible, but would I be buying a headache? TIA Neville

[Joe Pelonio]

No way, in my opinion.

Yes, it may have cost that much then, but prices have dropped dramatically. You can get a brand new 30" Graphtec for less than that. Mine was $4,000 about 5-6 years ago, but they are less than half that now. My graphtec has had no problems in this time with daily use 6-8 hours. Even the Summa D-75R 30" new is only $2,495.

Also, as you might suspect, parts for old models are hard to find and expensive. On plotters with age the most common failure is the head, which wears out and becomes "sloppy" and can cost $2000 to replace.

[Scott Shepherd]

I'm with Joe. If it's just a plotter and doesn't have the eye on it to read registration marks, then you can buy a very nice, fast plotter for $1200-1800, in the 30" range. With the eye to read the marks, you're looking in the $2500-3000 range for the same size.

Machines are getting better by the year now, so I agree, I'd have a hard time buying any machine like that with that kind of age on it.

I don't know what size you're looking for, but if you're serious, give Graphtec a look and never pay retail price for it.

[Neville Stewart]

Joe & Scott, thanks for your input. I'm looking into a plotter to cut borders behind CNC cut letters/shapes so as not to have to paint 1/4 inch lines by hand. So I'm not sure exactly what my needs are yet, but I guess I dont need a high speed/wide format superduper unit. An example would be an excised letter, place vinyl on it, then a smaller raised or v carved letter on top of that.

[Scott Shepherd]

A Graphtec CE model would do just fine. It runs from a Corel Plug-in, so there's no additional software needed unless you want it to be.

I think I saw the CE models in the 24" range around the $1200-1500 range at the last show I went to. You can buy less expensive plotters, but it's always nice to get the good stuff and not have to worry about anything.

[Joe Pelonio]

Scott, I understand the people you bought the Copam from are now selling Graphtec too, CE5000 24" for $1,249.

[Brian Stoddard]

Its true you can get a new cutter really cheap but the quality does not compare to an older better built machine. Graphtec makes a great cutter but the CE5000 is a toy compared to a more robust machine - I know I bought one. Its fine for what I do now since most of my work is on the router but it does not feed well at all and causes errors running off track. I have had 48" Summa and Mimaki cutters that I ran complete rolls through with no problems.

You could probably get that Summa cheaper but its a sturdier machine than the CE5000 - assuming it works well.

If you dont cut very much than something like the CE5000 is a great way to go.

[Joe Pelonio]

Its true you can get a new cutter really cheap but the quality does not compare to an older better built machine. Graphtec makes a great cutter but the CE5000 is a toy compared to a more robust machine - I know I bought one. Its fine for what I do now since most of my work is on the router but it does not feed well at all and causes errors running off track. I have had 48" Summa and Mimaki cutters that I ran complete rolls through with no problems.

You could probably get that Summa cheaper but its a sturdier machine than the CE5000 - assuming it works well.

If you dont cut very much than something like the CE5000 is a great way to go.

I'm glad you chimed in on that one, I've never used the CE5000, but my FC5100-75 has been great.

[Neville Stewart]

So Brian, if it(Summa) works well, how much do you think it should be worth?

[Mike Null]

Neville

I suggest you contact Roy Brewer over in Dallas. He may have something or know where to find something that'll suuit your needs. He's a Graphtec distributor. He's also a member here.

http://www.engravingconcepts.com/

[Scott Shepherd]

I too have the FC, so I can't comment on the CE, other than to know it's the less expensive model without the ARMS system on it.

One thing that cracked me up was when I bought it, all I heard was how it was so competitive and to sell it to me at that price, they had to forfeit their own commission, etc., etc. Fellers and Signware both sell the same model for $2795 all day with no discounts.

When it arrived, it came FedEx freight and it had the value stuck on it for insurance purposes. $1795 is what it was insured for

I'd highly recommend the new machine, FC or otherwise over a 8-9 year old machine that's no longer made. With a new machine you'll get at least a 3 year warranty, phone support, and service. With a 8 year old machine, you get what you got.

Just my two cents. If Roy sells Graphtec, give him a call.

[AL Ursich]

I bought the Copam and never opened the box and when the guys out West started selling Graphtec I was able to send it back and upgrade to a FC7000MK2-60. If I did it again I would get the 30 inch.

AL