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New here...questions

Justin (Inactive)

New Member
Hello everybody. I'm new here and have a few questions I hope you can help me answer.

First, a little history so you know who I am and my experience. I ran the sign shop for a family (mine) owned business for about 4 years. Our equipment consisted of a 24" Ioline Studio8 plotter run by Scanvec software. In the time I used this equipment, it ran flawlessly and I produced lot's of great jobs with it, from 4' x 8' site signs to small stickers and everything in between. This ended in 1999 when the business closed. We did offset printing as well and that was the direction I went in at the time.

Fast forward to today. I now have my own offset printing business and the desire to make signs has never left me, so I want to get back into it. I have been studying this forum for a few days, and also looking at new equipment. My how times have changed. There seems to be lots more options out there these days.

Now to the questions. I am looking at the [FONT=Arial, Helvetica] 24 inch Graphtec CE5000-60, to get back into the business. This particular plotter has the option of coming with signmaking software, LXi. My question is, there seem to be several levels of this product, from apprentice to master. The cost difference is $600, which is substantial. Is there that much difference and would I regret getting the lower level? I also have CorelDraw and use it daily, so I know this can do a lot of things for me.

Any other advice you might have would be appreciated. I am trying to keep this as simple and cheap as possible while still getting equipment that will last and be as problem free as possible.

Thank you.
Justin
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chopper

New Member
lxi is a oem version of flexi sold by sign warehouse, but if you do alot of work with corell I would just stick with that there are programs that allow you to cut directly from corell one is called cocut and the other is called winplot,there are are others but I dont know what they are called...
there are threads here on this I think in the software section, I use sign lab
so I cannot comment on the use of the cocut and winplot but I have read about them here you may want to post a question in the software section..
hope this helps // chopper
 
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Justin (Inactive)

New Member
Thanks Chopper. That's the kind of info I'm looking for. I had browsed through some of the sections here, but this gives something a little more specific to search for, rather than stabbing in the dark. Thanks again.

Justin
 

signage

New Member
Welcome Justin from PA
I am pretty sure that the Graphtecs still come with a program called Quickcut which is similar to the Flexi Cut manager that works with CorelDraw.
 

iSign

New Member
I have a low end Graphtec CE1000-60. It has been a real workhorse for 8 years. I've never learned much about jigher end Graphtec plotters because it still works like the day I bought it with no other care besides new blades & a cutting strip (& once I hjad to replace a sensor for detecting the end of the vinyl)
 

Jackpine

New Member
"Now to the questions. I am looking at the 24 inch Graphtec CE5000-60, to get back into the business. This particular plotter has the option of coming with signmaking software, LXi. My question is, there seem to be several levels of this product, from apprentice to master. The cost difference is $600, which is substantial. Is there that much difference and would I regret getting the lower level? I also have CorelDraw and use it daily, so I know this can do a lot of things for me."

If you get the Graphtec CE5000 and not the private labeled cutter it comes with a disk that cuts from Corel or Al. I always have used a cutting program myself. I think they are worth it. CoCut, SignLab, Felxi, SignTools, CiberCut ,they will all do the job.

Welcome to the group.
 
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For the price of a 24" Graphtec, you are not far from a 30" Roland. You can still get some CX-300's at around $2,000. Rolands also come with software to let you cut directly from Corel or Illustrator. Rather than spend money on software, I would spend money on hardware. Welcome.
 

Pro Image

New Member

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Any other advice you might have would be appreciated. I am trying to keep this as simple and cheap as possible while still getting equipment that will last and be as problem free as possible. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Thank you.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Justin[/FONT]


Justin A few more $ in the start will save you thousands in the the long run.........Get the best that you can afford and upgrage as you go..........600.00 now might save you 6,000 tomarrow.............

And Howdee from SW VA...
 

2NinerNiner2

New Member
Bonjour de Montréal, Justin :)
salut.gif
 

Justin (Inactive)

New Member
Thank You!

Hey everybody, thanks for the warm welcome. This seems to be a great place with TONS of useful info. I appreciate all the suggestions. I'll be looking around some more with these in mind and see what's out there.

I guess my main concern is wanting to buy new for the warranty and support.

I am very excited about getting back in this business. I have really missed it and wish I had gone in this direction a lot sooner...but hey, I'm getting there.

Thanks again and happy sign making!

Justin
 
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