# Vinyl cutter for contour cutting paper and cardboard?



## zzzeitgeist (Aug 8, 2010)

Hello,

I know this is a t-shirt forum focussed on cutting vinyl but there's such a wealth of information here I really wanted to ask all of you for advice.

1. I'm looking at the Roland GX-24 vinyl cutter however, I'm not really interested in cutting vinyl. I'm really only interested in contour cutting (all the way through) plain pieces of paper and light cardboard for some projects I'm working on. I've been told that the GX-24 is totally inappropriate for my needs and I should look elsewhere if I want a device (mainly) for cutting paper and cardboard all the way through; do you agree? Could you please recommend me a machine?

2. Alternatively, I have also been told the GX-24 is a good machine for my needs if I'm willing to buy carrier sheets for the paper/cardboard I'm cutting. Is this a good idea?
Could you recommend a carrier sheet for me?
Can I use a carrier sheet multiple times or throw it out after each use?

Thank you so much for any advice,
Michael.


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## bungy (Aug 24, 2006)

This would be ideal for your needs.
It's only new... so I don't have any price info.
FC4500 series:Imaging products:Graphtec Corporation

Also :welcome:


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## zzzeitgeist (Aug 8, 2010)

bungy said:


> This would be ideal for your needs.
> It's only new... so I don't have any price info.
> FC4500 series:Imaging products:Graphtec Corporation
> 
> Also :welcome:


Thanks for the suggestion, Steve. Unfortunately I just found a price for that machine which says it's about AU$12,000, and AU$2,000 is probably about my budget. Any other suggestions?


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## zzzeitgeist (Aug 8, 2010)

bungy said:


> This would be ideal for your needs.
> It's only new... so I don't have any price info.
> FC4500 series:Imaging products:Graphtec Corporation
> 
> Also :welcome:


Hi Steve, thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I just found a price for that machine online listed as AU$12,000 and my limit is really around AU$2,000, any other suggestions?


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Dependiong on what size you are thinking off, the simple craftrobo should do you fine.


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## zzzeitgeist (Aug 8, 2010)

ino said:


> Dependiong on what size you are thinking off, the simple craftrobo should do you fine.


Hi ino,

Would I still have to use a carrier sheet for contour cutting paper/thin cardboard on the craftrobo?


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## bungy (Aug 24, 2006)

Craft Robo Info here --> What is CraftROBO? : Craft ROBO-GRAPHTEC


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

The Craft Robo only has a maximum of 230 g of cutting force... which is fine for cutting paper and cardstock, but not cardboard! You need a LOT more force for that and I'm not convinced that even these new FC4500 can handle cardboard with only 600g of force. It will depend on the thickness of the cardboard as well as the density.

My recommendation any time I have a customer who needs to cut a a particular material is to have them send me a sample and I test cut it myself on our 950g KNK/ACS cutters to make sure it will work okay. Be leery of a dealer telling you it can cut any kind of cardboard or chipboard without having it tested first. Also... the quality of the resulting cut depends on the size and intricacy of the images, too. Circles are easy to cut compared to lettering, for example.


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