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Looking for a laminator and XY cutter

bigben

Not a newbie
We are moving in december and we are looking for new equipment. Right now the Kala mistral 1650 laminator and Kala XY cutter is on our list. We mostly do murals and interior stuff.

Due to a lack of space in our current shop, we did not had a laminator. We only needed it maybe once or twice a month and use a friend laminator. In the new shop tho, we will try the vehicle wrap market so the laminator will be used almost daily. So the laminator will be also use to premask cut vinyl and mounting vinyl on boards. The kala mistral 1650 is around 15k$cnd. I was wondering if this amount is justified or should I go for something less expensive. So I need some opinion, suggestions and feedback on this.

For the xy cutter, I never had one. This will be used mainly to cut our murals but also cutting almost every thing that is printed. We do lots of posters and backlit film. I would like to be able to cut the one off print too if possible. The idea is to automate the production as most as possible for efficiency. Again, all opinion, suggestions and feedback is welcomed.

Thank you. Ben
 

CMYKprnt

New Member
Only you can know whether it makes sense financially. The Kala laminator is a great machine and there are two options which I am sure you are aware. As far as the XY cutter - I haven't used the Kala but I have used the Fotoba X and XY. There are several models but the cuts are not as accurate as a flatbed cutter but they're faster than a flatbed. We have the latest and greatest Zund L-3200 and cut all our wall graphics on that machine. My personal opinion is I always choose to spend more on quality than trying to save money. I always feel like I make it up when I don't have to tinker with machines when they do not work.
 
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