Vinyl cutter recommendations for a novice?

Rizzzz thought this was worth mentioning said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 10:34am ET

Complete novice but interested in buying a vinyl cutter to make personalized mugs, signs, maybe t-shirts — to sell, but as a very limited gig. The cricut is seemingly a waste of money. I heard stuff good and bad about the cameo silhouette. Ideally I 'd like to spend about $300, but up to $450, if it’s worth it —- as who knows how that’s going to pan out. Maybe it’s successful; maybe not. Any suggestions, tips, recommendations for this endeavor?

9 comments, 14 replies
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RiotDemon said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 11:14am ET:

Welcome to Meh. Just curious why you picked this website to get recommendations as your first post ever?

Why is the Cricut a waste?

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- @RiotDemon Most people [who think that] would say it’s the design software and also the fact you don’t own any designs you might create using the software. Also more limited on sizes you can cut or print.
  
  msklzannie said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 9:58pm ET
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yakkoTDI said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 4:37pm ET:

Darn. I thought this was going to be about records.

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- @yakkoTDI we can make it be about records, doesn’t look like OP is coming back.
  
  Ignorant said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 5:05pm ET
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capguncowboy said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 5:09pm ET:

Part of me thinks this was a spam post, and Meh staff removed the shady links. Oddly enough, it sounds like something a regular would ask. Now I’m starting to think all you regulars are just spammers playing the long game and waiting for your opportunity to trick me into clicking on a spam link.

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- @capguncowboy A lot of us volmods end up just deleting the post if there’s nothing else of substance except spam.
  
  RiotDemon said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 6:19pm ET
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- @capguncowboy Why would you think we are all working the long game? Especially when there are such powerful tools to eliminate spam from your inbox like this handy anti-spam utility I found. Once my life was spam-free I was able to start eating a more healthy diet, and my workouts were more efficient thanks to this incredible dietary supplement. I still wasn’t sleeping well though, until I found this little miracle device.
  
  ruouttaurmind said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 6:24pm ET
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- @capguncowboy @ruouttaurmind
  What? No giphy, RU?
  
  mike808 said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 6:45pm ET
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- @mike808 Wouldn’t have been as stealthy. Unfortunately I was sabotaged because something went awry with the auto-play switch in my URLs.
  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  
  ruouttaurmind said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 6:59pm ET
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- @capguncowboy If only you knew the money I’ve made off of all the toys & tools I’ve recommended.
  
  blaineg said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 8:54pm ET
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- @ruouttaurmind Try this one!
  
  mike808 said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 9:04pm ET
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mike808 said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 9:06pm ET:

Before you jump into cutting vinyl, you should start out with something easier, like cheese.

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- @mike808
  when i cut the cheese everyone opens the windows.
  
  cattylaq said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 9:59pm ET
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djslack said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 9:13pm ET:

Might I suggest this to cut vinyl.

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- @djslack “Might I suggest this site to cut vinyl.”
  Thanks for suggestion. This was pretty cool.
  
  Rizzzz said Sat, Sep 12th 2020 at 10:43am ET
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- @djslack @Rizzzz
  ““Might I suggest this site to cut vinyl.”
  Thanks for suggestion. This was pretty cool.”
  
  Thanks for the suggestion-suggestion. I found it very useful.
  
  InnocuousFarmer said Sat, Sep 12th 2020 at 10:50am ET
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msklzannie said Wed, Sep 9th 2020 at 10:07pm ET:

In case the OP does come back to this thread and wants an answer to the question, several of us here have different Cameos. I personally have both the 3 and 4. I got the 4 (new) from Woot when it was on sale for $199, which is $100 off list price. I also upgraded the software to Business Edition so all of the software’s capabilities are unlocked.

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- I have the original Cameo at work. The Silhouette software is reasonably powerful as it is, I didn’t even realize there was anything to unlock!
  
  Granted, for what I do I’m usually just importing artwork as JPG and tracing it. I didn’t know I could upgrade to import vectors, that’s good to know.
  
  Regardless, it does everything I need it to do, which realistically isn’t much. When I first got it I primarily used it to make stencils for our cases that I would then spray paint, as well as decals for a few vehicles. Great, flexible product.
  
  smigit2002 said Thu, Sep 10th 2020 at 12:10am ET
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- @smigit2002 If you do decide to upgrade, purchase the upgrade from Swing Design. They always have the upgrades at discounted prices.
  
  msklzannie said Thu, Sep 10th 2020 at 12:16am ET
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- @smigit2002 I upgraded to business edition so I could run more than one machine at a time.
  
  One Cameo 1, two 3s, one 4 plus (15" cutting width), and a Curio. I also have a Mint, which runs on it’s own software.
  
  lisaviolet said Thu, Sep 10th 2020 at 1:03pm ET
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Tadlem43 said Thu, Sep 10th 2020 at 2:44am ET:

I used to do screen printing, pad printing for promo ad products. etc. It’s way more lucrative than vinyl.
Get a good screen press or even start out with a heat press and work up from there.

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Rizzzz said Sat, Sep 12th 2020 at 7:33am ET:

Thanks friends for your valuable feedback

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djslack said Sat, Sep 12th 2020 at 1:59pm ET:

Well that was a new fun spamming game. A little slow paced, and lost quickly, but an interesting attempt nonetheless.

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