# Is this Craft Robo Cutter too good to be true?



## iw94 (Dec 10, 2009)

I've been looking for a cutter that can trim down the polymer backing on inkjet transfer paper, but after abit of research, it seemed that the Roland Gsomething was the only option as other cutters could not cut thin materials like transfer paper effectively. However, the Roland cutter seemed to cost alot, (£1200 or something around there). I just came across a cutter called the: "Craft Robo", and in the description it states how you can use it to cut inkjet transfers. The cutter only costs about £250, so really i'm just wondering if there's a catch that i've missed, or have people unnecessarily been splashing out 4x as much for a cutter that features the function available in a £250 cutter?

The Craft Robo CC200-20 plotter/cutter

Cheers


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## mbarton557 (Nov 12, 2009)

i have a Roland PC600 and have done t shirt transfers with it. I am thinking I could do the same with my Summa w OPOS unit if the depth of the knife is set right. I will be geting my new plotter this week and will try and will report back with the results.


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## gprockhill (Jan 6, 2010)

The craft robo does indeed do contour cutting. It's limitation is that you need to cut your vinyl down to 8 inch width. Its software also allows you to cut without a vector. I believe there are also ways to make carriers to minimize the expense of purchasing new ones designed by the company. It's nifty.


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## iw94 (Dec 10, 2009)

I'm not planning on doing vinyl anytime soon, i only really want to minimize the time I spend trimming down the excess polymer on heat transfers. 

So if it can indeed do this, why hasn't it cropped up in posts before? I searched for cutters that were capable of cutting round transfers and everyone on the forum just insisted that the Roland GX24 (?) was the only cutter capable of this.


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## jean518 (Sep 23, 2009)

The criteria is that the cutter needs to have the optic eye and best if it has servo type motors. Accuracy is key. Level of cutter part quality is part of price difference as well as features.


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## gprockhill (Jan 6, 2010)

I have a friend on another forum who uses the robo craft exactly as you have described and loves it. It has replaced his need for a scissors. You might benefit from chatting directly with him about his direct experience. I have the robo craft but have not used it yet for contour cuts. He does all the time. The forum is Apparel Decorators Forum and his handle is MXRacingDad. I am sure he would be willing to share his experience. Everyone there is quite helpful and supportive.


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## CodeShirts (May 15, 2010)

I use one regularly for this exact purpose, it works very well even cutting the polymer from JPSS without going through the backing paper too much. Many people recommend more expensive cutters because they're more versatile and have a larger cutting area but if you aren't planning on cutting anything larger than A4 (or around 210mm x 500mm) then you can't really go wrong with it.


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## Startup Guy (Jan 26, 2011)

This is very interesting, seriously thinking about getting one of these for trimming off my transfer papers.

Does anybody know which accessories are necessary to be able to do this?

For example, on the ads I checked you can choose software as an extra option (for around 90 usd)


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## TwistedLogik (Jul 11, 2010)

I have a Craft Robo right now and its great for what you are planning to do. The Roland is really more for vinyl cutting and if all you are going to use it for is for cutting excess from transfer paper then you should seriously consider getting one. I believe it ships with an A4 carrier sheet as well. Hope this helps


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## Startup Guy (Jan 26, 2011)

Nice, I really like this thread, this looks to solve all my problems!

Someone mentioned earlier that cutting JPSS is no problem, is it the same with 3G Opaque? I'm thinking that maybe that paper is a bit thicker or so?
Beginner question I guess  ...

I checked on the big brother of C330-20; "Craft ROBO Pro
CE5000-40-CRP", which of course cuts much deeper and looks like a more competent machine. But that's listed for around 1000 usd, so that is a hefty difference .


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## Nick Horvath (Feb 26, 2010)

The Craft Robo will work great for cutting inkjet paper. If that is your main use for a machine, then that is the one I would suggest. If you ever plan on doing vinyl, the machine is way too small, for which I would recommend a larger vinyl cutter.

For people that already have these machines, you can use vinyl on it, you just have to trim the vinyl first.

As for cutting regular inkjet paper, do not forget that you need a backing.


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## iw94 (Dec 10, 2009)

TwistedLogik said:


> I believe it ships with an A4 carrier sheet as well. Hope this helps


Phil, what is this "carrier sheet"? Do you attach the transfer to a backing paper of some kind? 

Thanks guys, I began to give up hope on finding an affordable cutter!


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## Nick Horvath (Feb 26, 2010)

iw94 said:


> Phil, what is this "carrier sheet"? Do you attach the transfer to a backing paper of some kind?
> 
> Thanks guys, I began to give up hope on finding an affordable cutter!


A carrier sheet comes with the cutter. It is what you would put your vinyl or paper on to feed through your cutter and cut.


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## Startup Guy (Jan 26, 2011)

I'm also curious about the carrier sheet..
Which properties does it have? Do you have to change it often? Etc...


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## TwistedLogik (Jul 11, 2010)

Nick Horvath said:


> A carrier sheet comes with the cutter. It is what you would put your vinyl or paper on to feed through your cutter and cut.


Basically what Nick said


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## TwistedLogik (Jul 11, 2010)

Startup Guy said:


> I'm also curious about the carrier sheet..
> Which properties does it have? Do you have to change it often? Etc...


Craft Robo Central: : FAQs

This should answer some questions, hope this helps


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## Startup Guy (Jan 26, 2011)

All in all it seems that its not too good to be true then..
I'll order my machine tomorrow


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## CodeShirts (May 15, 2010)

The carrier sheet is just a piece of plastic with a sticky side to attach things less than 210mm wide, it's also needed if you wanted to cut something without a backing as it will keep everything in place and protect the cutting strip. You don't need it for inkjet transfers (at least the papers I've used) as the blade just goes through the top layer.


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## Startup Guy (Jan 26, 2011)

Thanks code shirts, good to hear, I'll be using it mostly for ink transfers.


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## ppts160 (Jan 16, 2011)

I have had a craft robo for about 2 years and find it very reliable. It was originally made by Graphtec for the home crafters market. There are offers of free software when you buy but think twice before buying software you don't need. It will cut from coraldraw useing cutting master. The only reason I upgraded to A Graphtec CE5000-60 was the amount of cutting I do of flex vinyl for t shirts. The robo was too slow and overheats if you are churning out lots of heavy work but I still use it for small jobs.


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Its a good little plotter, well worth the money.


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## Krewella (Feb 9, 2011)

Can I just say you can make your own carrier sheets really easily with a laminator...had mine 4 years and have never bought an offical carrier


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

Startup Guy said:


> I checked on the big brother of C330-20; "Craft ROBO Pro
> CE5000-40-CRP", which of course cuts much deeper and looks like a more competent machine. But that's listed for around 1000 usd, so that is a hefty difference .


The CE5000-40 is identical in every way to the CE5000-60 except for the size. It's literally just a shorter CE5000-60. I have it and love it. I didn't need the 24" size, so used the money I saved on a heat press.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

If your gonna contour cut with the CR-200 understand you won't be able to do full 8.5x11 images. In fact much smaller. It seems to work best in reading the registration marks if they are about 2" or so in from the edges.


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## Startup Guy (Jan 26, 2011)

A lot of good information on this thread for me. Thank you all.


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