# Pre-Order your Zing!!!



## FatKat Printz (Dec 26, 2008)

Klic-N-Kut.com: KNK Zing (Pre-order)

KNK Zing




**again no affiliation with KNK**


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

Your link to a thread doesn't work, says I don't have permission?

Intriguing price but I have to wonder about the 14" cut since most apparel and sign vinyl is sold in 15 inch widths...


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## FatKat Printz (Dec 26, 2008)

The tsf link was removed due violation of tsf rules.. 

But, the Zing links should work.


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## Blue92 (Oct 8, 2010)

tfalk said:


> Intriguing price but I have to wonder about the 14" cut since most apparel and sign vinyl is sold in 15 inch widths...


Says it cuts 14" and handles up to 15" material.


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## cbs1963 (May 31, 2007)

The print-cut feature looks promising as well. The down force is very capable for the price. Looks great for heat press vinyl. Hope it works as well as it sounds.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

Wonder if the motor is a stepper motor or servo?


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

charles95405 said:


> Wonder if the motor is a stepper motor or servo?


It's a hybrid, just like our current Groove-E and Maxx models.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

Would you please explain a hybrid motor? I did a google and found nothing about a hybrid motor.
the knk web site does not show the type motor. Personally I would not use any thing but a servo motor for heavy work, but that is just my preference. Again let repeat that it's just MY preference. That is not to say stepper motors are bad...just that they are not for me


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

The owner of Accugraphic posted this several years ago, when the same question came up... fairly certain you'll remember this since you were actively posting at that time in the majority of the KNK and ACS threads:

We use a Hybrid motor and control system that has Micro Stepper motors. They are much smoother and accurate than standard steppers. There is not necessarily a correlation of price difference from Stepper and Servo. This can be a very deep subject and I don't think I should go here because it will take me hours to properly portray the technicalities. Some companies call closed loop stepper systems" Servo" and there is a lot of skewing of the truth. Some of the most expensive CNC systems use Stepper and some Servo. It comes down to quality first and method for purpose and lastly and still important is price. Servo systems are most always much faster than Stepper but when you can only cut a said material so fast what is the need to have a system that can exceed a maximum cutting speed of the material.

Regards

Gary


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## cbs1963 (May 31, 2007)

Thanks Sandy. My take is that it still comes down to quality. If the machine is well made with quality parts then the experience of using the machine should be positive. I really appreciate manufacturers who strive to make quality machines at affordable prices.


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## DivineBling (Sep 14, 2010)

Chet, I couldn't agree with you more!


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## FatKat Printz (Dec 26, 2008)

I was not posting this for Sandy or KNK.. I simply wanted people see that a new product in a affordable price range is available. How many times do we see the post "what cutter should I start out with?" or " I need an inexpensive (replaced with the ch***p word I hate so much) cutter" or "is this eBay cutter good".. 

I personally do not have a KNK cutter and love my GCC Cut3000 but when I saw this I immediately thought to myself that will be great for smaller scrap pieces that my cutter can't cut. Yes, I know there is the Craft Robo but when you have a cutter with 400grams of down force (I know may not be a lot) its kinda hard to use scrap on something that does less than what my current cutter does. I would love if GCC had something smaller in this price range. I really don't want to learn more software but this past weekend, I was able to do 20 shirts with my scrap pieces (because I just got my cutter and I am still learning to optimize my space) but anyway we all know that scrap is still money and throwing it away is just plain dumb. 

$400, I am sure this cutter will pay for itself.. 

just my opinion..


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

You can also take all those scraps and put them on a cricut mat and use them all up, heatpress vinyl, sign vinyl ect.


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## cbs1963 (May 31, 2007)

I am a big believer in starting out with what you can afford, you may never make a dime from it. Many never really do. What I need is capable and dependable and easy if it can be. Oh did I miss affordable on a real budget. Upgrading is the best way to learn without getting into financial hardships for most. Scraps are free, I always keep some on hand for tests and hiccups. Great stuff. As far as size, I have a 24 inch cutter and most vinyl I cut fits in a square foot. So the smaller size will be fine for t-shirts. Functionality and ease of use to me are very important. Price seals the deal. Lower overhead, better price point, more sales hopefully.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

Then I guess a Hybrid motor is a stepper motor on steroids. Fair enough...I still prefer a servo...it will last longer...That is just MY opinion...


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## cbs1963 (May 31, 2007)

Cutters and plotters seems to have been a machine that has not really changed massively over the last several years. Right now the pressure seems to be on producing at a lower price point to meet the economic needs of our current situation and future. I am always encouraged when companies work to make a quality machine at a lower price point. I hope the trend continues. Having said that, industry will always need truly heavy duty cutters that produce all day every day. Many of us are just looking for the quality at a lower production scale and price point. Not to mention if the company can make the steps in the hybrid stepper motors "micro" enough, the difference might become negligible. We can always hope.


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## DCans (Nov 21, 2009)

Any new word on when these will be shipped or what the shipping cost will be?
I've been stung by shipping before so I always check before I exchange any of my money.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

lol That's funny!!!!

They are in Apopka, which is like 30 minutes outside of Orlando.


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## FatKat Printz (Dec 26, 2008)

Print and Cut on the KNK Zing.avi - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzl7Uu2zGN8




Look what I found!!! Check it out the Zing in action.


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## luvhorses (Jun 10, 2011)

Sandy do you know if the Zing will accept other file extensions from programs like Corel Draw or Adobe? I'm seriously considering ordering one but very new to the industry and just got my heat press. Didn't get the high end one BUT think I got one that will do what I need, at least until I'm making some good $$ and can justify the more expensive ones. But now would like to cut my own patterns. I can cut rhinestone templates on this one as well; right? by using the Make it Cut software???? Sorry for all the questions and somewhat scattered but having a tough Tuesday lol


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

No problem! Happy to answer your questions, Annette!

Make The Cut will import EPS, AI, PDF, and SVG files. You can also directly copy/paste from AI into MTC... possibly Corel Draw, but I don't have Corel installed to test it for sure.

And then yes, you can cut your templates directly from MTC to the Zing as well as a number of other cutters in the hobby market.


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## luvhorses (Jun 10, 2011)

Sorry to sound really stupid but what do you mean "from AI into MTC". I'm sure it's a matter of just "getting my hands dirty" and getting in and working with the program. I was playing around a little bit with a silhouette program to create my own template for rhinestones from a clip art picture. Is this similar or easier. Sorry. I almost need a hand on demonstration but I'm sure I'll get through it.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

I may have misunderstood. I thought you already were designing templates in Corel Draw and/or Adobe Illustrator. If you were, then you could select an image that is open in Adobe Illustrator and select Edit>Copy and then, in Make The Cut, you could do an Edit>Paste in Place and your image would be ready to cut from MTC. Does that make sense?


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## dazzabling (Sep 21, 2011)

You can convert a Corel Draw to an .eps, .ai or .pdf but you can't convert an .ai to .cdr. 
Also, if saved correctly in Illustrator you can import an .ai into Corel Draw. Usually, it needs 
to be uncompressed for it to import (.ai) in Corel Draw.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Print and Cut???

I didn't see any printing going on in that video.

All I saw was cutting.


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## dazzabling (Sep 21, 2011)

I didn't see anyone say print and cut? Yes, you saw it cutting but like some of the cutters out there you can cut a pre-printed item and feed it through the cutter. Sandy explains it better.. 

But if you are looking for a print and cut in the same machine usually these are larger and more expensive.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

34Ford said:


> Print and Cut???
> 
> I didn't see any printing going on in that video.
> 
> All I saw was cutting.


"Print and Cut" is the term used when you print to any printer you own and then the cutter can cut out the shape with extreme precision. The Zing has a laser alignment light that you move to three different printed registration marks and then the software uses triangulation to determine where the image is located on the printout.

The guy who programs Make The Cut made the process even easier than our prior software by having the laser light automatically "guess" where each reg mark is located! If you place the printout along grid lines on the mat and place the mat straight into the machine, the laser will move to within ~ 1/8" or less each time and then you just click on buttons in the software to get it dead on for each mark. It's very easy to learn how to do. Here's a video to see how the process works. This was done on a Groove-E using an alignment pin but the laser works the same way on the ZIng:

Using Make The Cut to do a Print and Cut to a Klic-N-Kut - YouTube


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

I should add that you don't have to perfectly align the printout for the process to work. You can put it at a 45 degree angle or even sideways and it's still perfectly accurate. You just have to move the laser much further to each of the three reg marks.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Well thats your way of getting interest.

Print and cut to me is being able to print and cut like a eco-solvent on one machine, not two.

This Zing is just a cutter no matter what.


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## cbs1963 (May 31, 2007)

34Ford said:


> Well thats your way of getting interest.
> 
> Print and cut to me is being able to print and cut like a eco-solvent on one machine, not two.
> 
> This Zing is just a cutter no matter what.



The point Dennis is the zing will cut pre-printed material for about $20,000 less than the machine you would use. If money was not an option we would all have industrial machines. Sadly, it is.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

34Ford said:


> Well thats your way of getting interest.
> 
> Print and cut to me is being able to print and cut like a eco-solvent on one machine, not two.
> 
> This Zing is just a cutter no matter what.


The term "print and cut" is standard usage by all companies in the paper crafting market, which is one of our primary markets, as well. Here are the web sites of some of our competitors:

Xyron Product Category | Xyron Wishblade

http://www.bosskut.com/gazspecs.pdf (3rd bullet under Gazelle Features)


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## luvhorses (Jun 10, 2011)

SandyMcC said:


> The term "print and cut" is standard usage by all companies in the paper crafting market, which is one of our primary markets, as well. Here are the web sites of some of our competitors:
> 
> Xyron Product Category | Xyron Wishblade
> 
> [media]http://www.bosskut.com/gazspecs.pdf[/media] (3rd bullet under Gazelle Features)


 
Okay now I'm getting more confused and hope I didn't just waste my hard earned money. It is my understanding and please correct me if I am wrong, that I can go onto my computer and bring up a picture with the appropriate extension in Make the Cut etc and then send it to the Zing to cut it out. In other words its like a printer but instead of using ink to create a picture it has a blade that cuts out the design in whtever colour of vinyl or paper etc I put in it. If the picture on the computer screen has three different colours in it and I just sent the whole picture /image to the Zing and only put in one colour of paper, vinyl etc into it then I will get the image in one colour. There is on ink that will go on wht is being cut out. Or another way to look it is if I want a particular image then I would print it out on a printer and then take that page and bring the picture/image back up on my computer screen and send the printed page with my image on it through the Zing to cut it out:right? 

Sorry for being so long but wanted to be sure what I was saying would make sense and hopefuly it didn't confuse anyone. Am I on the right track because I want the Zing to cut out rhinestone templates and also letters and images on vinyl to then heat press onto shirts etc. Have I got the right machine ???

Thanks everyone in advance for your help.

Annette


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## DCans (Nov 21, 2009)

You've ordered what you think you have Annette.
They are all taking about another feature that it has, but it will do what you are buying it to do.
It will cut the outline of a vector image out of whatever color vinyl you put in it, 
just like a laser printer will print on any color paper you load into it.


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## luvhorses (Jun 10, 2011)

DCans said:


> You've ordered what you think you have Annette.
> They are all taking about another feature that it has, but it will do what you are buying it to do.
> It will cut the outline of a vector image out of whatever color vinyl you put in it,
> just like a laser printer will print on any color paper you load into it.


 
THANK YOU very much for putting my fears to rest. That's the problem with being a newbie to this stuff, I can get confused easily, lol Have great day.


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## grooveegrl (Nov 2, 2010)

Sandy,

Any update on when the Zing will be shipping out?


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## CreativiTEES (Sep 1, 2010)

I have never heard of this, I have a silhouette and I was going to upgrade to the cameo when it came out this month. Any body know of any differences besides the zing cutting 15 and the cameo cutting 12? I love what I can do with my machine now, is a zing going to be that much better? I have gotten pretty good with the silhouette software too.


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## sandyj (Jan 18, 2011)

I too have a silhouette and love it for what it can do. What it can't do, besides the size, is cut paper of any real substance as it has a low cutting force. I believe that the zing will have a downward force of (around) 750 gms, double or triple what the silhouette can do. The new Cameo is supposed to be the same as the silhouette, just able to use 12" paper, so no additional cutting force. Also, one of the problems with the silhouette is it has trouble find the cutting registration marks on darker paper. With the laser registration system, YOU tell it where the marks are, so it won't matter what color paper you are using.

If you are only cutting vinyl, the silhouette/cameo would be just fine, but you would have to have it cut to size to fit in the machine. The Zing has been said to cut 14.5" wide, and handle widths (I think) up to 17", so 15" vinyl will fit just fine.

There are a number of videos out showing the zing cutting. If you are interested in it, you can go over to the make the cut forum and ask questions, and/or download the trial version of make the cut to see how it works. Just don't purchase it, a copy comes with the machine.

All Discussions - Make The Cut! Forum


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

grooveegrl said:


> Sandy,
> 
> Any update on when the Zing will be shipping out?


Yes... currently we are estimating that it will ship out to customers the first week of November.


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## analandry (May 23, 2011)

Any idea on shipping charges?


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

analandry said:


> Any idea on shipping charges?


It will be a flat rate $19 to all 48 contigious US states.


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## grooveegrl (Nov 2, 2010)

Will it only work with Make The Cut software? I use a Mac & don't really have any desire to install Windows as well... I am really thinking about pre-ordering though. Looks like a great little cutter for the price!


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## luvhorses (Jun 10, 2011)

SandyMcC said:


> It will be a flat rate $19 to all 48 contigious US states.


 
Hi Sandy: Any idea of shipping costs to Canada, London Ontario to be more specific.???

I've now got people asking for T shirts with Vinyl lettering so I hope I can learn the software quickly and the process just a quickly to make these people happy. told them it would be at least the end of November before I could do anything for them, which they seem okay with, hope that's enough time to get the cutter and learn it lol


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

grooveegrl said:


> Will it only work with Make The Cut software? I use a Mac & don't really have any desire to install Windows as well... I am really thinking about pre-ordering though. Looks like a great little cutter for the price!


Currently, Make The Cut is the only software that works with the Zing. However, if other software companies choose to make a plug-in for the Zing that will be fine with us. We wouldn't try to block that from happening in the same way that Provo Craft blocked other companies from selling software that cuts to the Cricut.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

luvhorses said:


> Hi Sandy: Any idea of shipping costs to Canada, London Ontario to be more specific.???
> 
> I've now got people asking for T shirts with Vinyl lettering so I hope I can learn the software quickly and the process just a quickly to make these people happy. told them it would be at least the end of November before I could do anything for them, which they seem okay with, hope that's enough time to get the cutter and learn it lol


We actually will have the Zings at our warehouse in London, Ontario, so you're in luck! The shipping should be very low for you. The cost of a Zing in USD for Canadian customers is $440 plus shipping. We have several Canadian dealers and if you want their names/email addresses, just let me know.


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## mike9 (Sep 21, 2011)

can someone compare the zing to the new silhouette cameo?

I am in need of a cutter of at least 12" for heat transfer paper. Mostly need this for putting ink onto darks. This is my first cutter. Right now I am only able to make white shirts (and cut the designs out by hand). Can someone please recommend somehting for me? I only need to cut heat transfer paper for lights and darks.

thanks!


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## CreativiTEES (Sep 1, 2010)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I just asked the same thing and someone answered it four days ago


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

mike9 said:


> can someone compare the zing to the new silhouette cameo?
> 
> I am in need of a cutter of at least 12" for heat transfer paper. Mostly need this for putting ink onto darks. This is my first cutter. Right now I am only able to make white shirts (and cut the designs out by hand). Can someone please recommend somehting for me? I only need to cut heat transfer paper for lights and darks.
> 
> thanks!


I have yet to see a side-by-side comparison of the two cutters. They are both shipping within the next 4 weeks so there's not a lot of user reviews yet.

As far as functionality: the Cameo has a maximum of ~230g of cutting force. The Zing has 750 g. Since the heat transfer paper requires very little, you should be fine with either machine. 

The Cameo cuts up to 12" in cutting width. The Zing cuts up to 14.5". 

For print and cut applications, the Cameo has an optic eye and uses an automatic process for detecting the printed registration marks. The advantage to that is no manual process or calibration required. The downside is that the optic eye sometimes fails to read the marks and the marks must be printed on an opaque white material. The Zing has a laser alignment light and a manual process whereby the laser automatically moves to within 1/4" of each mark, but you must manually use arrow keys to get the light dead center. The disadvantage is that takes about 30 - 45 seconds for this process. The advantage is that it never fails and your reg marks can be printed on anything that YOU can see.

Speed wise, they should both be able to meet your needs. The Zing can cut a lot faster, but that's only needed for applications such as engraving or coloring with a pen. 

Software-wise, the Zing comes with Make The Cut and the Cameo comes with Silhouette Studio. There's not a lot of side-by-side comparisons yet for these two. I know someone who is adept at Silhouette Studio and is actively learning MTC so that she can do a side-by-side comparison but these are always tough to present without bias. Plus there's a new software program for the Cameo that is an additional $60 and will have more features... but again, I don't know anyone who can fairly compare the two. BUT... you can download the current Silhouette Studio for free and MTC has a trial version that you can play with... it limits the exporting of files and cuts with a watermark.

Hope this helps!


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## miktoxic (Feb 21, 2008)

grooveegrl said:


> Will it only work with Make The Cut software? I use a Mac & don't really have any desire to install Windows as well... I am really thinking about pre-ordering though. Looks like a great little cutter for the price!





SandyMcC said:


> Currently, Make The Cut is the only software that works with the Zing. However, if other software companies choose to make a plug-in for the Zing that will be fine with us. We wouldn't try to block that from happening in the same way that Provo Craft blocked other companies from selling software that cuts to the Cricut.



so the answer is no, it doesn't work with a mac. what developer is honestly going to spend money to make a plugin for a papercrafting (scrapbooking) cutter? anyone that ignores the mac market at this point is totally underselling themselves and tells me they don't have the resources to pay programmers to write code for another platform.




SandyMcC said:


> The term "print and cut" is standard usage by all companies in the paper crafting market, which is one of our primary markets, as well.


standard usage by that market, not pro-end market. what you are talking about is contour cutting. this 'zing' does not print and then cut. it takes material that was already printed and will cut it. hence it contours cuts.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

miktoxic said:


> so the answer is no, it doesn't work with a mac. what developer is honestly going to spend money to make a plugin for a papercrafting (scrapbooking) cutter?


Well, Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) is another direct competitor of MTC in the paper crafting cutter market and they DO have a MAC version already and have indicated that they very much want to create a plug-in for the Zing. Owners of the KNK Maxx and Groove-E models can already use SCAL with their KNK's without having Windows installed.



miktoxic said:


> anyone that ignores the mac market at this point is totally underselling themselves and tells me they don't have the resources to pay programmers to write code for another platform..


Make The Cut has been around for less than two years and is owned by a married couple in Wisconsin. The wife is a scrapbooker who bought a Cricut and her husband, a programmer, decided to develop an application so that she could do more with her Cricut than just cut basic images from expensive cartridges. Flash forward 21 months and MTC is a program that's been sold to tens of thousands of paper crafters and offers so much designing functionality that my post will be deleted as advertising if I provide details. So, I'll go a different direction in answering this. 

If it's ALL about MAC, then why doesn't CADLink and SignMax have Mac versions of their software? They've been in the business for many years longer than MTC. In fact, CADLink has been providing software for over 18 years! Again... where is THEIR Mac version of Sign Lab if it's just a matter of paying some programmers to write the code? 

Please note that I am NOT anti-Mac at all! Quite the opposite! I would LOVE to have both MTC AND CADLink produce Mac versions. But I also know that no one has been able to persuade CADLink to do it for, at the very least, the past 5 years that I've been involved with their software! 



miktoxic said:


> standard usage by that market, not pro-end market. what you are talking about is contour cutting. this 'zing' does not print and then cut. it takes material that was already printed and will cut it. hence it contours cuts.


I have already addressed this issue in an earlier post. The application known as "print and cut" in the paper crafting world means that the software sends the image to the user's own printer (any printer) and that printout is then placed into the cutter for cutting. With either an optic eye or a laser alignment light, you can expect precise cutting based on the communication back to the software of the locations of these 3 printed registration marks and triangulation of those marks.

The only cutter in the paper crafting market that has ever had the ability to both print and cut was the Cricut Imagine... an apparent failure based on the users realizing the expense of the ink relative to the value of the output and the restriction on customizing what could be produced (being a cartridge based cutter).


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## miktoxic (Feb 21, 2008)

SandyMcC said:


> I have already addressed this issue in an earlier post. The application known as "print and cut" in the paper crafting world means that the software sends the image to the user's own printer (any printer) and that printout is then placed into the cutter for cutting. With either an optic eye or a laser alignment light, you can expect precise cutting based on the communication back to the software of the locations of these 3 printed registration marks and triangulation of those marks.


understand your points.

but also realize in the other world of wide format printing and plotting print and cut means an all-in-one solution. i was just wondering how a whole industry of another level of cutters could use that terminology and make it their own. no beef with it just wondering is all as it might confuse people that know the term as i have mentioned it, then they see the 'zing' as a 'print and cut' when what it's really doing is contour cutting. i mean even roland distinguishes between the two. i have a cutter that's capable of contour cutting, not print and cut which costs tens of thousands of dollars more. just saying the scrapbookers should watch how they throw that term around.

and as for the mac solution....it's all fine and good that the producers of the software you mention don't make a mac version. i'm saying they are underselling themselves by disregarding those who might purchase some hardware or software dependent on that very criteria. i know such co.s have lost close to a 100k in biz just with this one mac user over the years.

oh well, i guess we'll continue to gravitate to the businesses that continue to support macs and their elegance and ease of use.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

I agree completely about the loss of revenue when companies fail to produce Mac versions. We have urged the owner of MTC to provide one and I know it's on his list of possible future enhancements.


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