# GRAPHTEC CE6000-60 VS Roland GS-24 help me choose



## shine8210 (Jul 26, 2017)

I'm in a bit of a pickle here. Which one is best??

GRAPHTEC CE6000-60 or the Roland GS-24

It's going to be used for cutting vinyl for T-shirts

If it had to come down to one of these two which one would you guys choose? and why? 

Any help is greatly appreciated.


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## 1090gal (Aug 2, 2016)

I have the graphtec and absolutely love it. It was less expensive than the Roland and carried (and supported) by a local supplier (no Roland suppliers near me) and my old cutter broke down in the middle of a job, which is why I purchased it when I did. I had originally planned to go with the Roland. I have not used the Roland, so can't compare, but I can tell you I cut every type of htv and flock with absolutely no issues with the graphtec. It is fast, accurate, and quiet. It is easy to learn to operate (I watched the training videos that came with it). My htv weeds like a dream. I think you can't go wrong with either cutter - I went with the lower price and local source. 


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## Amw (Jul 2, 2012)

Have used both. We prefer graphtec plotters over Roland.
I find them to be better for production.
We have never had one break down in 16 years (we have 3).
The CE6000-60 would be perfect for you.


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## bwdesigns (Aug 10, 2006)

I have had a Roland for 15 years, great, but I was doing research into a new cutter, and would choose Graphtec 6000.


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## shine8210 (Jul 26, 2017)

Thanks guys this really helped me out. 
Going with the GRAPHTEC CE6000-60


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## PatWibble (Mar 7, 2014)

My Graphtec is great for t-shirt vinyl. Cuts really well, and for t-shirts I am really happy with it.

Totally useless for sign vinyl because the tracking is no good on extended (2m+) lengths, without the added media basket. I loose an extra 10cm (4") of cutting width when doing large sign or vehicle graphics. You can't set it to print an extended run of signs and leave it unattended. The media will have pulled to the side after a few metres.

The media basket is about £400 in the UK, which is a complete rip-off for a couple of pieces of metal and a bit of cloth. I bought a 24" inkjet printer that cost about the same as the Graphtec, which came with a media basket included, so there is no reason for it to be an expensive extra on the Graphtec.

The media holder at the back will also drive you mad. The vinyl flies off it for a pastime.


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

PatWibble said:


> My Graphtec is great for t-shirt vinyl. Cuts really well, and for t-shirts I am really happy with it.
> 
> Totally useless for sign vinyl because the tracking is no good on extended (2m+) lengths, without the added media basket. I loose an extra 10cm (4") of cutting width when doing large sign or vehicle graphics. You can't set it to print an extended run of signs and leave it unattended. The media will have pulled to the side after a few metres.
> 
> ...


I can run sign vinyl through my CE6000 and it tracks perfectly. I could also do the same thing with my CE5000 and never had any problems.


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## PatWibble (Mar 7, 2014)

theflowerboxx said:


> I can run sign vinyl through my CE6000 and it tracks perfectly. I could also do the same thing with my CE5000 and never had any problems.


Mine doesn't.
Even in Graphtecs own brochure they only guarantee 2 metres (or 5m with the basket). I can get longer if I pull the rollers in a few inches at each side. The only reason I have a problem with it is that I do a lot of signs on 24" substrate, so I need the full 58cm width, and it gets annoying cutting two or three at a time. 
And I'm pissed at the price of the media basket - £100 would be way more than it needs to be, not £400.

Like I said, it is great for t-shirt vinyl, because I rarely cut more than 2m at a time.

I would certainly buy another one, if I needed to.


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## 1090gal (Aug 2, 2016)

Interesting. I haven't done a run off a roll more than 11-12 feet. It worked fine for that, however. 

Flowerboxx, Pat Wibble: please share your techniques for cutting off rolls so we can try to learn from what works and what doesn't. 

I agree that if I don't pull out some "leader" off my loaded vinyl roll on the back, it can get jerked when the material advances and fall off the rollers, this is less when I make sure both rollers are free-wheeling (i.e. neither roller is locked in place). 

I rigged a large Sterilite bin (almost as wide as potential cutting width on the machine) to hang off the crossbar of the stand in order to catch material. I don't know if this might solve the "crooked feed" problem Pat mentions, above, but it sure works nice to keep my vinyl from getting dusty and dirty were it to fall onto the floor, and it cost under $10 or so. YMMV. 


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

No technique, I just roll out enough vinyl for the job so it isn't pulling from the roll. and of course make sure it's line up straight when I load it.


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## PatWibble (Mar 7, 2014)

1090gal said:


> Flowerboxx, Pat Wibble: please share your techniques for cutting off rolls so we can try to learn from what works and what doesn't.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The main thing on longer graphics is not to get too greedy with the maximum width. Graphtec quote a max width of 603mm, but only guarantee 584mm. On anything over 1m I usually set mine at 575mm. Roll enough vinyl out - shouldn't have to, but until Graphtec redesign the media holder then we have no option.
On long (3m+) vehicle graphics or shop facia signs I always run the full length vinyl through the machine ( use the 'fast' button) to make sure there are no tracking issues. This is a good indicator, but not a 100% guarantee that there are not going to be tracking issues.
On long graphics, slow the cutting speed down. 
I have cut a few 6m shop signs recently, using expensive 12yr outdoor vinyl, and reduced the cutting width to 500mm just to be sure.

Not a problem on shorter runs, or if you are prepared to cut one or two signs at a time. I do several weekly runs of multiple 24 x 32" signs (an industry standard size in the UK). I have to cut no more than 3 at a time if cutting full width, which is OK if weeding there and then, but sometimes it would be nice to cut a full run in one go, unattended.

This is not meant as 'graphtec bashing', just a realisation of some of the limits of the machine.
I have never had a problem with the cutting quality, and the machine is easy to use and reliable.

Like I said in an earlier post, I would buy another, but if I was doing more signs than garments then I would upgrade to Graphtecs FC8600.

And Graphtec, do something about the price of that media basket. £400 is way too much, and way more than it needs to be.


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## BCGal (Apr 14, 2018)

Hi,
Why is the CE600-40 15" more expensive than the CE Lite-50 20"?


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## Jamyn (Jul 9, 2015)

shine8210 said:


> I'm in a bit of a pickle here. Which one is best??
> 
> GRAPHTEC CE6000-60 or the Roland GS-24
> 
> ...


I am generally happy with my Graphtec, but customer service, in my experience, has been simply atrocious. 

Go with Roland - I know I will for my next cutter.


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## solm96 (Mar 9, 2012)

I started with the GX24 then moved to a Roland Print Cut setup. I recently sold all of that and just purchased a Graphtec CE6000 and love it. Much better cutter than any of the Rolands I had.


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## aldonhara (Sep 20, 2015)

I haven't owned the newer Roland GS but I did have the previous GX model. Now I have a Graphtec CE6000-60. You can't go wrong with either Roland or Graphtec. The one huge thing that I found is that the laser for contour cutting on the Graphtec was far Superior to the Roland GX. My Roland GX would sometimes have a hard time registering the marks on laminated material (probably because of the reflectiveness and shine of the laminate). Now it could be that my Roland GX was getting on in it's years or maybe, if it was the case of the laser not being as good as the graphtec, they may have fixed that problem with the new GS model. But my Graphtec hardly ever has registration errors and if it does it's usually because of human error and not the machines fault.


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