Best Vinyl Cutter

Especially when you come into contact with these machines for the very first time it is not easy to find a high-quality vinyl cutter. It would be a smart idea to find a vinyl cutter that mixes pace with accuracy to break down for you if you really want to start making your product look professional. Ultimately, bad machines produce poor quality and frustration, of course. One mistake newbies made is that when they make the choice, they primarily look at factors such as strength, speed and price. That’s an awful approach! You should instead concentrate on the practicality of the machine and whether it is able or not to live up to reasonable cutting standards.

If you buy a digital cutting machine, there are many different things to consider. Therefore, let’s look briefly at some of the questions before buying one. You can get the best cutter for your needs if you know the answers to these questions.

Are you an artist, a small business, or a professional manufacturer?? But you must first remember what your new Vinyl cutting machine is to be used for. It may seem simple. A desktop computer should satisfy your demands more than just you are a keen maker and a hobbyist just starting out on the field of vinyl cutting. You will need a machine with a lot more of finesse than a home vinyl machine if you are a small company that serves for vinyl cutting, signing and other services.

Have you got a few hundred or a few thousand dollars to spend? Only a few hundred bucks can be used for the cheap electronic cutters for beginners, so you have to keep it in mind. While it may be great to have a low-cost vinyl cutter when you first start up, because you get more experience, it is also necessary to push you to further push your creativity with your own designs. However, there are fantastic options for all price points regardless of your budget. Bear in mind that the more you become addicted to vinyl cuts, the more likely you are to leave the less expensive models behind.

Whatever your priorities, the best option on the market always has to be looked for. You’ve come to the right place if you haven’t decided yet. We have selected, examined and tested 5 of the most popular cutters. See them below. Test them.

#1: Cricut Explore Air 2 Mint

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In the home craft cutting market, the features in Cricut’s Explore Air 2 are without a doubt the leaders. The newest Cricut cutting machine is quick, versatile, precise and so simple to operate. It’s not shocking that so many of them are transferred to Cricut and add to their floating base. To beginners who want to dip their toes into this art of scrapbooking and cutting retro transfers to add to their latest tee, Cricut Explore Air 2 is perfect for use. The Explorer Cricut Air 2 will not deceive you. In fact, this system would also be recommended for small businesses like Etsy. Nevertheless, a word of caution: if you operate a bigger commercial company to add vinyl cutting solutions, then this system would simply not work, so you better take something like a KNK Zing Orbit into consideration.

The best feature of Explore Air 2 is its slashing pace, which is twice as fast as the original 2015 Explore Air version. And while Cricut has given us no exact description on how fast Explore Air 2, the contrast is quite clear between this version and Explore Air. According to Cricut, the Explore Air 2, which makes this craft cutting machine especially flexible, can cut more than 100 different materials— from lightweight clay, to pads and cloth. Many specialized vinyl cutters are only able to cut out a number of different types of vinyl, so it is a good idea to buy a compact cutter like this if you think you are going to slice some type of material.

Pros

• It is ideal for home use
• It can cut all kinds of materials
• It comes with a fine point blade
• It comes with a housing
• It has a cutting mat
• It can be used with Cricut Pens
• It can be used with the Scoring Stylus
• It is fast
• It allows users to import their own designs
• It features a wireless connection

Cons

• Speed is the only thing that differentiates it from its predecessor

 

#2: Silhouette Wireless Cutting Machine

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You will notice, if you used Cameo 2 before, that with Cameo 3 the major change is that it’s bigger. The 3rd model is bigger, larger, weighing more than the 2 models. Nevertheless, the Cameo 3 is able to maintain a tidy and sleek look with most computer shielded by the perfectly curved lid. It looks unbelievably sleek and looks fabulous in your craft. The Cameo 3 also enhances the cameo 2’s room. There are two additional cutter blades or pens that you should always be on hand for a convenient storage compartment at the left.

The long space that is used for storage becomes most useful when used with a small vinyl cross-cutter compartment and a wider compartment for more blades and other accessories. The cover of the Cameo 3 now covers most of the skin, as well as the touchscreen. We definitely appreciate a covered touch screen, not one visible during the operation of the device. The dashboard features a number of guides that are easily accessible and help new users to the Silhouette community or to cutting machines generally. The AutoBlade represents the greatest improvement in the quality of this product and is compatible only with the Silhouette Cameo 3 and the updated Portrait 2. The Silhouette Cameo will bear two different tools concurrently. This allows you to draw, cut or cut without having to switch to one tool. The Cameo Silhouette 3 can cut materials twice as thick as the Cameo 2! This is the biggest improvement of the Cameo 3 comparing to previous models.

Pros

• It is nicely designed
• It has a compact shape
• It can be used for professional purposes
• It cuts into vinyl, paper, cardstock etc
• It cuts into materials up to 12 inches wide
• It has its own software
• It features Bluetooth connection
• It features dual carriage
• It includes a USB cable
• It comes with a cutting mat
• It features AutoBlade function

Cons

• It operates quite loudly

 

#3: KNK Zing Orbit

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You’ve found that if you’re looking for the best vinyl cutter for the money! The KNK Zing Orbit is available both in the 15′′ and 24′′ models, and we confess that the larger model is rounded by customized hobbies like the ones from Cricut and Silhouette. KNK Zing Orbit 15′′ is a serious craft cutting machine with a super-powerful 1000 g cutting force, 15 inch cutting width and a cutting length limited by the imagination. It has of course some disadvantages, which should be taken into account, but in our opinion, the pros will certainly outweigh the disadvantages.

The Zing Orbit is a great machine to think about whether you have worked with Cameo or Cricut Air Silhouette before. This Zing vinyl cutter is not a conventional-setting and enables you to control anything in terms of blade length, cutting power, pinch feeding and number of passes you are using, as opposed to these two vinyl cutters mentioned before.

This is why the Zing Orbit KNK is not a beginner’s unit. If you are prepared to take the next step and monitor the vinyl cutting designs in a totally creative way, this is your tool! The Zing Orbit crosses your vinyl cutter (I’m thinking of you, Cricut and Silhouette) and your professional vinyl printer and plotter (hideously expensive), such as those offered by Roland or Graphtec. If you are prepared to expand your creative wings, but not ready to enter commercial-grade die cutting machines for the financial dip. The new KNK device is also distinguished by an improved interaction between it and cutting code. You will be relieved to know that this isn’t going to happen with the Zing Orbits if your work is ever compromised by the fact the cutter has become overloaded.

Pros

• It has a compact design
• It comes in dark color
• It features wireless connectivity
• It can be connected to your devices using USB
• It has a strong cutting force
• It is adjustable
• It is compatible with Mac

Cons

• Its software is sold separately

 

#4: Brother ScanNCut 2

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A 300 DPI color scanner is given for the Brother Scan N Cut 2. You will scan the width of the mat to 12′′x 12′′. In a cut-off template you can search anything: images, hand-drawn drawings, cut-offs of magazines, scanned pictures from your phone, characters in your favorite books for children and whatnot. If you are talented at calligraphy or find a good reference in a magazine, you can even create your own font. The ScanNCut detects cuts from scanned pictures automatically. The computer can then decompose the model directly from your assigned content or save the designs in the internal memory for future use, variation or combination with other patterns. The Scan and Cut 2 has a 4,85′′ LCD touchscreen that offers great editing features. This is perhaps our favorite part about Brother’s software as this means that you do not have to remove your designs from a screen. No need to hook cables or be concerned about Bluetooth and temperamental Wi-Fi.

The touchscreen offers a decent range of editing features. Of course, you will get more from most computer editing software, but it is enough to create and edit new designs. 531 different designs, plus a further 100 quilt designs. It also has seven different fonts from which you can choose to add letters. Brother recently created a Windows and Mac desktop version so that it can now be used offline. It is a big improvement that will make technology easier for people in various work environments. The main disadvantage is that CanvasWorkspace still is a quite simple technology and provides limited tools for development. So if you need a stronger design program, you will have to design it in something like Illustrator or CorelDraw and import it to your brother’s machine in the workspace of Canvas.

Pros

• It can be used right out of the box
• It can be used with a PC or smartphone
• It has a touchscreen display
• It has a built in scanner
• It has 631 built in designs
• It has 100 quilt designs
• It has 7 lettering fonts
• It has wireless network transfer capabilities
• It allows you to create mixed media projects

Cons

• The instructions are not as detailed as they should be

 

#5: Janome Artistic Edge Digital Cutter

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Janome is particularly renowned for its reliable sewing machines and it does not deceive its users by entering into the world of digital craft cutters. The Janome Artistic Edge is available in two sizes: 12′′ wide and 15′′ wide. Apart from a KNK Zing Orbit 15′′, which comes in a broader range of applications, the 15′′ is the only cutting tool for the craft. It is costlier than a craft trimmer on a first level, but its flexible design makes the Janome Artistic edge one of the best electronic cutting machines I’ve ever seen, both for cutting material, width and computer efficiency.

The machine is equipped with a 3-blade bottle, each with red, yellow or blue caps. There is a particular purpose for each blade. The red cap is suitable for standard and medium weight vinyl papers. Blue is available for stock of heavy cards, and other heavy materials such as magnets, foam, chipboard and material of crystal template. When used with stabilizer, the yellow is for light and medium weight cotton. If you want to create a template with the knife, the blades can be replaced with plumes.

The blade in the carrier is also easy to place. The black screw is first connected with the arrow and then fixed.  This is particularly easy due to the big size of the black screw. It has some nice features, which make it great to set up a cut. The rate, size, form and more can be defined. The small rose circle with the plus in it shows that you have selected the top-left corner to start the cut. You must align the blade on the paper at this point.

 

Pro

• It is well designed cutter
• It is easy to use
• It includes a cutting mat
• It includes a tuning blade holder
• It comes with 2 hexagon wrenches
• It has a standard cutting blade
• It has a thick cutting blade
• It supports USB connection
• It includes 3500 embroidery designs
• It has 3 durable LED lights

Cons

• It has some over-complex features that might confuse beginners

Questions

 

Do all Vinyl cutters have printing options?

The printer options isn’t present in all vinyl cutters. You can use both of these for printing if you have two cartridges on your vinyl cutting machine, as it saves you more time and you will do the job twice as fast. If your decal supplier only has one cartridge designed for printing and slicing, you may have trouble printing it after cutting. It’s better to get a two-cartridge machine therefore.

Everything said and done if you want a vinyl printer, make sure you leave nothing to be desired about the quality of the prints. An average vinyl printer can give you 100 points per inch of maximum quality while a truly good one gives you better quality prints of 600 points a inch, which gives you more vivid colors and designs.

 

What are the extra accessories that come with a vinyl cutter?

Some companies only supply an enclosed user manual for the vinyl cutting machine. You can use accessories such as sketches, spatulas, vinyl trimmers and many others for quicker results and greater efficiency. Nevertheless, these extra pieces are not available for all labels. It is advisable to buy brands that supply these tools and accessories. You can do this with the same pleasure as you order your stencil cutter if you have placed an order. In addition, it saves you time and cash to buy these separate accessories.

 

Should you choose the vinyl cutter by purpose?

This is the main problem to resolve before all else. Because personal vinyl cutters are different from commercial ones, it is best to choose which way to go at the beginning. If you’re interested in printing decals for cups, paper handicrafts, children’s drawings or greeting cards, vinyl cutters at home will be the best way to do it. These take up less space, are lightweight and tend to be silent machines to avoid waking up everyone in the house. Additionally, these vinyl machines are perfect when you’re a novice and want to test the water before going deep.

However, you should opt for a commercial vinyl cutting machine if you’re someone who likes to start working on more complex designs or on materials other than vinyl for the purpose of building a more complex crafting business. These machines can continue to operate without any hiccups, which prevent large printing jobs from being impeded and delivered on time. These are actually more costly than the normal machinery for cutting. You will clearly need a larger room and keep in mind that such a machine is not always ideal for home use.

Conclusions

The first step in the successful creation of a production line is to find the best vinyl cutting machine. Actually, the only restriction is your imagination once you find the right unit. You can add new dimensions to your craft and experience new works of art with real fun.  T-shirts can be produced right away, anywhere your home thanks to the compact design of these cutting machines. A quality vinyl cutter is the fastest ticket to win over the markets, with its design and craft niche increasing so quickly. And although for commercial reasons you are not here, these devices will give you a wonderful time-out.

In a market full of options, however, it would take a little research to identify the right machine. After conducting a thorough study and comparing various market options, our judgment is that Cricut Explore Air 2 stands pretty well at the helm of the best fame vinyl cutter hall. It is only one of the many reasons why we like it to be able to offer a remarkable cutting power and to remain fast and accurate.

Just to clarify, the decision regarding which cutter you are going to decide on is purely personal, so that you can examine your particular needs versus the information that we have provided in this article, in order to make an informed decision.