# US Cutter Buyer Beware!!!



## TBGInc (Aug 2, 2014)

Just wanted to share my experience with US Cutter. I have one of their cutters which I called in to get tech support on. My issue was that the software was shutting down during cuts and it was not completing it properly. It would also shut down when I tried to save any work. Fortunately each time it reopened, it ask me to reopen the previous session so that my work was there. That is until US Cutter stepped in. Their agent remotely accessed my PC and proceeded to not return to the session which cost me several hours of work. I watched it all go down on my screen and I couldn't believe my eyes. I asked him why he did it and he said he didn't know. I then took a deep breath and asked the agent to transfer me to someone else. He then released the call. I called back in multiple times but my call would release when the music stopped and it reached an agent. I went through another department and they sent me to a tech support supervisor. He had already heard from the agent who had apparently gave him another story to cover his butt. The supervisor denied everything and said that they don't record calls, so we just had to move on. He also told me my cutter had a bad motherboard and that since it was five months old, it was out of warranty. (They apparently only offer 90 day warranties on their brand new equipment)
It's all good, I will buy another cutter and go with some different software but I did promise him that I would scream this from the mountaintops and I am going to, on every forum I can find where someone may patronize their business. 
I am new to vinyl cutting and I have learned a valuable lesson. This forum has been very helpful and I am glad it exists. Hope everyone here does not have to learn about US Cutter the way I did.
I also just noticed they have an "F" rating with the BBB.


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## ProArtShirts (May 3, 2010)

Thanks for the info. I'm in the market for a cutter and the warranty info was an eye opener. Just looked at Roland and their warranties start at 24 months and go up to 36 months. Stahl's sells the Roland line and I love the Stahl's heat press and their vinyl products.


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## BrianHahn (Dec 29, 2013)

Consider the Saga units. The stepper units start at 2 year warranty and the servo units start at 3 year warranty.


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## outbreak (Jan 9, 2010)

I got my cutter from US Cutter. When my main board went out and I inquired about a new one they told me it was under warranty and sent a new one. That was about 10 months after I purchased it. They've been very helpful to me!


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## embfoxvalley (Apr 29, 2008)

That is why I always went with Japanese brand, the Roland. I've had it since 2007 and it still runs like new. Every few months I just replace the cutting strip and blade that's it. I never knew that a mainboard can go on a cutter, maybe because I've never owned a cutter other than Roland. 
Roland cutters have the highest price tag, but you get what you pay for. They are worth every penny. And the software is very intuitive and easy to use. Plus it has a illustrator add on that can convert any vector into cutstudio file ready to be cut.


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## jarrotto (Nov 18, 2013)

You can't go wrong with a Graphtec, Roland or Summa.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

Unless US cutter has changed it was 90 days if bought off ebay and 1 yr if bought direct for the warranty. The boards aren't that much if I recall right. Between 25-50 is what pops to mind when I thought I needed to replace mine in the MH-751 tho the newer models may be more or different.
Sometimes going to the cutter forums you can get better support than calling in.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

GCC support has sucked especially since Ruth left. I have emails never replied to and support calls never returned. 
But you can go through these boards and find unhappy GX-24, Graphtec and Summa user's too.


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

Sound like you have the cheap MH series. and is running scalp.if your running scalp then your file is too big and that will make it shut down the software. the not finishing cut could be from a number of things but I doubt the motherboard is bad.could be hitting the reset button or tracking and memory to the usb. that machine is really low budget I mean the longest you can cut is 8ft 2.66yrds.

Pressure:350g
Speed:39 in/s
Cut Length:96 in
Contour:No
Warranty:90 Days
O/SC Only

Not compatible with the MAC OS. Optional 1 year warranty extension for $49.99


Try and save to get a better cutter.


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## ProArtShirts (May 3, 2010)

freebird1963 said:


> Unless US cutter has changed it was 90 days if bought off ebay and 1 yr if bought direct for the warranty. The boards aren't that much if I recall right. Between 25-50 is what pops to mind when I thought I needed to replace mine in the MH-751 tho the newer models may be more or different.
> Sometimes going to the cutter forums you can get better support than calling in.


The US Cutter website says 90 day warranty on some models and 1 year on others. US Cutter 1 Year Extended Warranty is $49.99


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## Mtnview (Nov 5, 2009)

freebird1963 said:


> GCC support has sucked especially since Ruth left.


Fortunately (knock on wood) we have not had to get support on our GCC after Ruth left. She was wonderful. I didn't know she had left until reading about it on the forum.


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## Sublime_Vizion (Jul 30, 2010)

I worked for a shop that had the mh series and when we first got it it had a bad mother board but one call and another one was on its way. I bought another mh for personal use at home and had problems with the cut going crazy on complicated designs. Thought it was either static or a memory issue. I grounded my machine and was about to buy the memory upgrade but with a little more research i found an updated version of sign blazer with a patch to add a bunch of other plotters in the setting (sorry dont have a link to the download off hand but a little googling and i'm sure u can find it) long story short, after installing the new version of the software everything now works flawlessly.


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## Ripcord (Sep 2, 2006)

I gotta say I had the opposite experience, although my problem was only that I couldn't figure out how to work the cutter. The tech guy stayed on the phone with me for as long as it took to get me familiar with the settings and the cutting procedure. He was patient and well informed.

I will say that I thought the instructions (both the manual and the online tutorials) seemed a little incomplete and to be missing a lot of important stuff, but after my phone call everything is working fine for me.


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## Vitaman (Aug 8, 2014)

If you are looking at the Titan cutters, have a look at the Saga units that Cutterpros.com sells. They are the same exact thing. I initially was going to get a Titan2 with servo motor, then looked around a little more and came across the ProCut models by Saga. USCutter has just introduced the Titan3, which has ARMS registration. I received my Saga about a month ago, which already had Servo and ARMS. Basically USCutter is just catching up to what Cutterpros has been selling for a while now. The price was well below what USCutter was charging for the exact same thing. The Saga is grey, while the Titans are Blue with a sticker on top. USCutter's "new" high tech RazorCut software is the same thing as Saga's DragonCut software. I have nothing against USCutter, and I'm sure that their Titan cutters are great, but I like saving money. BrianHahn is active on this forum, and has helped me infinitely getting up and running through emails and chat through the Cutterpros website. I believe that plan b, another forum member, sells the Saga units as well. Just be sure to shop around and compare different models. Very often, they are the exact same thing. Just my $.02


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

They may be the same cutter, but the "blue" wins by a country mile...


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## Vitaman (Aug 8, 2014)

It is a vinyl cutter, so you could make it any color you want I suppose. 

I just noticed that they updated the color scheme and a few other things. Check it out:

http://www.cutterpros.com/Saga-Serv...c-Registration-Mark-System-720-28-35-Inch.htm

BTW, I'm just giving my personal opinion. Not associated with any sellers.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Vitaman said:


> It is a vinyl cutter, so you could make it any color you want I suppose.
> 
> I just noticed that they updated the color scheme and a few other things. Check it out:
> 
> ...


Maybe.....But I bought my GCC Cutters because the Roland and Graphtec looked ugly.....

So do you think that is the same as the Titan 3?...


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## Vitaman (Aug 8, 2014)

Yes. Compare the specs, and look at the DragonCut/RazorCut software. Parts are interchangeable as well.


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## BrianHahn (Dec 29, 2013)

Yes, these are the exact same cutters and software.

The Precision units are the next generation with a stronger cross section for less deflection, a flip up top (top can now flip up because it isn't needed as a structural member of the cutter), lowered roller heights to tangentially touch the vinyl and vacuum pull down on the ARMS systems.


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## Jamey (Dec 22, 2008)

US Cutter has been good with me any by buddies.

You forgot Brian. With that blue comes a set of wheels and a catch basket too. We are still considering one of your 63" models. However...I don't know why they do a 53" that won't take an industry standard 54" roll. Waste of a machine if you ask me.

To the original poster....never mind the static....it's the baud rates.


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## BrianHahn (Dec 29, 2013)

We talked to Saga about wheels as a standard about 6 months ago. If the Titan's have them they don't show up in the pictures. We are still pressing them to get them added.

We recognize the cutters as 24", 48", 64" (hence the Servo 2400, 4800, 6400). The larger dimensions are from the insides of the end caps and hence the largest piece of material that can fit in the cutter. These larger dimensions are a little deceiving however in that although the vinyl will fit in the cutter, the carriage takes up a good deal of space. On the 24"/48"/64" cutters there really aren't any issues assuming you are using the respective widths however, on the mini 16" cutter, it will take a 15" wide piece of vinyl but it will only cut about 13" wide so it really is more of a 12" cutter.

We offer the units as a desktop, stand or stand and basket. Lots of customers would prefer to pay a little less and give up on the basket.

Static dissipation is a big issue in Saga cutters, Creation cutters, the MH series and many many other cutters. As we are in Phoenix we experience this first hand on a regular basis. The vinyl needs to be in direct contact with a conductive surface and that surface needs to be grounded. Most cutters are grounded but the problem is that all the cutters we have reviewed have painted plates or surfaces that the vinyl rides on. Even the Creation units that have aluminum surfaces have a clear coat on top of the aluminum. We have requested these plates to be unpainted but our suppliers insist that they won't look good. Alternatively, conductive paint would be a solution but it is more expensive. We have a few bare aluminum plates from Saga and they work well. The next best solution we have found is the conductive string which does an excellent job of dissipating the static before it grounds through the USB port. On Sunday I sent some string to someone with a GCC cutter and it did the trick. Static becomes a bigger problem when people run fireplaces or when the furnace kicks on in the fall without a humidifier running.


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## Vitaman (Aug 8, 2014)

I've got a 24"/28" Saga Servo with ARMS. I never even thought about needing casters with it. I just pick it up and move the thing when I need to sweep the floor or whatever. It is very light. If you wanted to move a longer one, it would be no problem with 2 people. I mean, I've probably only moved mine once in the past 3 months. I have casters on my heat press, but that thing is heavy, and is a bear to move by myself. I run 24" sign vinyl through it, and it has plenty of room on both sides to run a cutoff tool easily across the entire length. I bought the basket that goes with it, but never installed it. Haven't really needed it, and it makes it a little wider.

I love the DragonCut software. I'm a novice at all things vinyl cutting, and it was easy to get the basics down. It seems pretty like fairly powerful software, so I'm sure I have a lot to learn. Haven't tried the ARMS yet, so can't comment on that.

Brian is a great guy to deal with. He has promptly answered any questions I've had. The after-hours support is a lifesaver for a night-owl like myself.

I don't regret the Saga purchase one bit, and will buy the larger version when the time comes.


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## Jamey (Dec 22, 2008)

I did a motherboard to frame ground...notta.

I then came off my outlet screw with a wire with an alligator clip at the end and grounded that to the bottom plate of the unit....notta.

Retarded my baud rates some.....BINGO!


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## cutting edge (Dec 17, 2007)

You know at this time US Cutter has a large enough customer base to enable one to find persons either pleased or displeased with their product/service; for now it just depends on where you look.

I recently apparently disagreed with moderator "BannerJohn's" fragile ego on the US Cutter forum one to many times, as it resulted in banishment. Guess he showed me. Then again I've since moved on with purchases and have yet to not find any item US Cutter previously would have supplied available elsewhere at a competitive price.

My life is no less fullfilled without them a part of it.


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## merchtree (Nov 25, 2012)

I just bought their 300$ vinyl cutter, hopefully there is no issues


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## MySacNightLife (Jun 11, 2014)

Jamey said:


> I did a motherboard to frame ground...notta.
> 
> I then came off my outlet screw with a wire with an alligator clip at the end and grounded that to the bottom plate of the unit....notta.
> 
> Retarded my baud rates some.....BINGO!


I wish I had seen this post before. I had the same issue before where it actually gave me random cuts on my work. I called support and they adjusted my baud rate to the highest and works like a charm. I believe the baud rate is the speed of the communication between the software and the cutter. Great easy fix! I have the SC model and love it.


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## DecalAvenue (Sep 4, 2014)

So, if the baud rate is more high, is better?

i use 4800, the high can go 19200.


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