PASTBLASTER
Grand Master
Are Silhouette machines that bad?What machine did you get?
I bought a Silhouette Cameo 3 and the thing is a piece of junk but it is nice being able to cut stickers when I need to.
I could probably write a short novel on my issues with this thing and I don't want to derail the thread but lets just say that the hardware is far less precise and had a much lower build quality than I was hoping and the software is buggy, missing a lot of what I would consider important features and ultimately not designed well at all.Are Silhouette machines that bad?
Thanks for the feedback... I was thinkning on getting one to print decals. I`ll look for other options then.I could probably write a short novel on my issues with this thing and I don't want to derail the thread but lets just say that the hardware is far less precise and had a much lower build quality than I was hoping and the software is buggy, missing a lot of what I would consider important features and ultimately not designed well at all.Are Silhouette machines that bad?
it "works" but it delivers what I would have expected from a $100 machine, not a $300 machine.
If you're importing AI or DXF you're already bypassing 80% of the terrible software design by not even using their design software.I've used these for printing sticker vinyl and also heat press vinyl... some of the designs have been intricate but came out fine.
I have had a couple of problems but this is more down to user than the machines:
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Converting the AI files to DXF had a few boxes which needed to be ticked when saved.
Yeah tbh I've really only used it for sticker vinyl for single colours and logos. The heat vinyl I have layered but the sizes seemed to keep true.If you're importing AI or DXF you're already bypassing 80% of the terrible software design by not even using their design software.I've used these for printing sticker vinyl and also heat press vinyl... some of the designs have been intricate but came out fine.
I have had a couple of problems but this is more down to user than the machines:
...
Converting the AI files to DXF had a few boxes which needed to be ticked when saved.
Have you ever tried to use the wirless/bluetooth functionality? anytime I print anything it takes me a good half hour of futzing with the thing to get it to connect.
Also have you ever tried to cut printed stickers? (as in printing a full color design and then cutting that)? that's where my biggest disappointment was it doesn't support any bleed out so you can end up with white edges instead of color all the way to the cut. Also the camera isn't super accurate so while the the cuts near the top are "ok" they get worse the further down the page you go and are completely misaligned by the bottom making those stickers unusable.
This effects vinyl to if dimensions need to be accurate. If you're just printing a sticker that is going on a piece of glass or other large flat surface that's fine. But I was trying to print black out for a recess around a speaker in a cab, so the cut vinyl dimension needed to be accurate for it to fit in the recess and and it was just not scaled well at all. I don't expect it to be perfect but I also don't expect it to be off by 4% either.
Interesting. I bought a few of the official longer cutting mats and they're just bad, they have a hole in the top center for hanging them on a hook but the cutter alignment is way off when using these mats and it almost always tries to cut through this hole and damages the blade. the adhesive on these mats is terrible and even if I put a huge manual offset on them to deal with the mis-alignment the paper ends up dislodging from the cutting mat and ruins the material in the process.I use the cutting matts that have been provided, though for longer cuts I have stuck two matts together using masking tape and has worked without issue. This could be why the start point isnt always where it displays on the screen (normally 1 square lower than screen template).