# USCutter MH-871 refine. very happy



## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

so, we have been wanting to get our feet wet in vinyl.

we are a manual screen printing shop. but we also have a heat press for inkjet and plastisol transfers.

there have been a few times that i had to go to a friendly competitor and pay them to cut some names for me for shirts. so we figured it was time to get a plotter.

however as we just bought a new press, and just built a conveyor oven, a high dollar cutter was not in our budget.

a fellow member pointed us towards the uscutter refine series.


up front, i knew for 300 bucks this was not going to be or perform like a Roland. but, at the same time, for 300, if it at least WORKS, i can get my feet wet, and hopefully use it to generate some income to replace itself with something better.

i love that uscutter does not try to present these cutters as top of the line. they tell you upfront its a budget low line cutter. they tell you its loud. they show you videos. they tell you its not meant for a sign shop cutting 100 signs a day. they present it as a beginner cutter or a backup cutter.

so we decided to try it out. 

i did my homework, and saw countless horror stories about bad customer service, DOA machines, bad motherboards, the loud motor, etc... but i also saw enough positive feedback that i decided to do it.

they are currently (or perhaps always) offering their 28" cutter for 219 plus 70 for shipping.

but then they have their 34" for 299 with free shipping.

no brainer for me, why not get the extra 6" for 20 bucks.

but then just before ordering i came across the same 34" but with a starter pack included.

2 2x4 banners
2 12x24 magnetic signs
1 squeegee
1 exacto
1 roll of clear transfer tape
1 roll of white transfer tape
signcut pro software
5 rolls of vinyl 24" x 5'
a stand and a cover.

for only 30 bucks more.

i figure the vinyl is probably not great, but again, it's for me to get started.


so we orders for 329, with free shipping. the cutter shipped the next day, and i had it two days later. if you are someone like me that doesn't like to wait for things to ship from the other side of the country, you are in luck... i was concerned because these guys are located in Washington state. i figured it would be a week to get to me.. but the cutter shipped from Tennessee. they must have multiple warehouses, or at the very least, two.


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

cutter arrived yesterday. it took me all of about 15 minutes to assemble the stand and inventory everything in the box. i had read lots of negative comments about missing items. i guess i was lucky, everything was there.

it took me about 20 minutes to get the usb driver installed, and the software.

i watched their very informative video on setting up the cutter and the software. so for a beginner like me, it was very helpful. i had the blade set ALMOST perfectly the first time around.

i familiarized myself with the control panel, cut the self test (it cuts a little star) and then went to the software.

sent a test file from corel draw (signcut has export plug in for corel) opened it in signcut. familiarized myself with the software. and cut the the image. almost perfect... cut a little into the backing paper.

adjusted the blade. cut again. perfect. 

cut two more different designs, 1 with finer detail. and... perfect. 

yay, its not a fluke. its actually working!


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## hubindustries (May 21, 2012)

Nice. You and I are on about the same path with our business's it would appear. I'm looking at a vinyl cutter myself and was looking at this same package. There is also a guy near here with a Laserpoint he is selling. He has a 24" and wants a bigger one. Good to hear you like the MH.


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

so then i decided to try something a little more detailed, and larger.

opened my file in corel, and exported. 

went to sing cut and opened the file.

then hit cut....

nothing..

10 minutes later. still nothing..

tried again. nothing.
tried again. nothing.

turned the cutter off and back on. nothing.

installed another program, signblazer elements. old and clunky. tried their test cut. nothing.

great, so my new cutter worked for 5 minutes and now appears to be dead.

so i go to uscutters website. they have a link for live support. i click it. and within 1 minute I'm chatting with someone.

i tell him my problem, and he tells me to go to their website and follow the setup guide and videos. i explain that i have already done that. now i need help. he tells me that if i am not able to get it working following their guide, that i can call support between 9am and 3:30pm Monday through Friday.

well... its 4pm Friday. so now i flip out. whats the point of live support if you aren't actually supporting me. so now it's Friday afternoon and i have to stare at a dead cutter until Monday at 9am. i am not happy, and i'm letting him know it too.

he politely explains that somethings can not be handled via chat, that they need to be handled over the phone or with their control software (they log into your system and see whats up) 

so again i blow up, because its Friday afternoon and no one is going to help me until Monday. to which he says, no sir, that's not what i'm telling you. we are here for you if you need us. to which again, i complain because its already a half hour AFTER support hours.

that's when he sees HIS error and apologizes.. he forgot to add PACIFIC time when he told me those hours. he tells me support is there, and waiting for my call. yeah, that's a key piece of information there. 

so i call in.


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

so michael at support listens to what my problem is. 

directs me to a link to download their dashboard software. and give him permission to connect.

he starts going through settings and what not. veryifying i have done everything correctly.

i have.

so he tries to do a test cut of a simple square.

nothing.

he opens one of the files i had susccessully cut earlier. 

nothing.

he asks me which file was the one that i wasnt able to print.

he opens it.

then says... whoa!!! hold on a second...

he pops over to the printer control panel and checks the job spool.

yep, 20 jobs waiting to be cut.. (all the times i kept trying)

so he clears them all out.

and goes back to sign cut. and poof, prints a test cut with no problems. 

opens one of the smaller things i had done earlier. poof. no problems.

everything is good in the world.

so, he goes back to my file i was not able to cut, and tells it to cut.. nothing...

ahhhh, just what he was hoping for..

this particular file... that for some reason i did not even notice, because, as a screen printer it doesn't matter....

i have a distressed overlay, over the top of some college type lettering.

the overlay has 3000 curves and god knows how many nodes.

this file was just too large and complicated and was too big for the cutters memory. so it was crashing it. and then everything else was just backed up in line waiting for it.


10 minutes and we were done, and i was back on track.


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

so, im going to give two thumbs up to the cutter. and two thumbs up to their support department.

here are a few test things i did last night.. everything i own will probably be covered in stickers by the end of the weekend. lol.


i cut a small test sticker to duplicate a customers t shirt design.. maybe i can get the other campers to want to buy stickers too  at least it'll give me something to do with this standard vinyl.


and then i cut a little logo for my daughter for the back of her helmet. you can sort of see on the side, the white lettering, that was her first attempt at using it last night as well.

she designed in corel draw. exported. imported. cut. weeded. and applied. on her own. she's loving it too!


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## calhtech (Feb 4, 2012)

Naptime said:


> so, im going to give two thumbs up to the cutter. and two thumbs up to their support department.
> 
> here are a few test things i did last night.. everything i own will probably be covered in stickers by the end of the weekend. lol.


Great info. I was looking at one of these as well. Thanks for sharing your experience with their SUPPORT. Without support, it's just a $300 pile of Chinese waste.


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

i was very pleased with support and with the cutter.


so, let's do some math....

i paid 329.99 for the cutter, and the starter vinyl kit.

yesterday i set it up, and printed a customer's logo and put it on my back window.

they are a regular customer of mine, for t shirts and hoodies.

i drove out today, and showed it to them and handed them one for themselves.

they flipped. absolutely loved it.

next weekend, is their busiest weekend.

they asked how much. i said 5 bucks each.

they ordered and paid for 75 today.

so i came home with 375 bucks... hmmm by my math... not only did i just pay for the cutter, but made a small profit too.

and, they ordered a mix of red, white, and black.... if you've been paying attention, i received all of those with the kit.

so i've now paid for the entire package, and turned a small profit, without even buying any more materials..

the day after buying it


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## jfisk3475 (Jan 28, 2011)

I have the 721 for two years and still cutting. Love this machine too. Us cutter rocks. I do heat transfers too. Best thing i have bought in my business. I have big contracts with CAT and local Army base. Good luck with yours. Go to cadworx. Eveeything free. 

Sent from my SGH-T679 using T-Shirt Forums


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## calhtech (Feb 4, 2012)

What do you do for cutting around your transfers?


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## jfisk3475 (Jan 28, 2011)

They offer a laser guided cutter for $500. Then you can contour

Sent from my SGH-T679 using T-Shirt Forums


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## calhtech (Feb 4, 2012)

jfisk3475 said:


> They offer a laser guided cutter for $500. Then you can contour
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T679 using T-Shirt Forums


I was referring to what YOU are using? You said you did transfers. Are you just doing STOCK, and not printing your own?


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## SquareBiz (Aug 27, 2011)

Whats the link you ordered from?


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=300718890366&index=0&nav=SEARCH&nid=07997943998


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

I dont know if they are always that price or if it really is a sale.

But the verbiage claims limited time sale. With 4 days left.


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## jfisk3475 (Jan 28, 2011)

I use easy weed and thremaflex. You can order from uscutter.com. 

Sent from my SGH-T679 using T-Shirt Forums


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## calhtech (Feb 4, 2012)

jfisk3475 said:


> I use easy weed and thremaflex. You can order from uscutter.com.
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T679 using T-Shirt Forums


So you don't CUT transfers, you just use stock transfers and vinyl?


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## jfisk3475 (Jan 28, 2011)

Yes. And buy local if needed for quick job.

Sent from my MID using T-Shirt Forums


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