<p> 720mm - VS - 1350mm Vinyl Cutting Machines</p><p>© 2006 Katana Trading – for personal information only, not for reproduction elsewhere</p><p>OK – what is the difference between these two vinyl cutter machine sizes?</p><p>(1) The very first thing to do is ring your local vinyl supply shop – the one that that you will buy most of your consumables from when you have bought your new cutter (Yellow Pages should reveal several near you).</p><p>Ask them for a price on one meter of gloss black vinyl in both 610mm and 1200mm wide (these are the most common “off the shelf” sizes of vinyl).</p><p>You should find the 610mm will cost you between $4 and $7 depending on the brand and quality. You might be horrified to find the 1200mm will price at around $16~$19 a meter! Then ask your supplier what range of colours do they have in stock 1200mm wide? Don’t be surprised if the answer is “None!” or maybe a few common colours only.</p><p>(2) Next consider what you will use for application tape to actually prepare your work for application to the finished job. It normally comes in handy sizes around 300~600 wide. Yes, it is available 1200mm wide but almost all sign shops have these large rolls cut down to “manageable” sizes. Ask yourself why professional sign shops do this?</p><p>So you will find yourself patching application tape all over your nice 1200mm wide sign.</p><p>(3) Picture yourself (even with an off-sider) hanging on to a cut sign over one meter wide and perhaps two meters or more long, trying to apply it to the finished surface? Now multiply this difficulty by a factor of ten if you are attempting to apply this sign outside!</p><p>It is far easier to build up a larger sign with several smaller pieces – this is what every sign shop does! It is also safer because if you stuff up one section you only need to re-cut that one smaller piece – not the whole thing (again using expensive material).</p><p>--oOo— Page two</p><p>Simply put these larger machines are made for professional sign guys with many years experience. Even then the majority of them use a 720mm machine to do 95% of their work. They take up more floor space and do not perform the cutting job any better than a 720mm machine.</p><p>I won’t talk much about the few “in-between” sized machines as they can be classed as 1350mm for the purpose of this information sheet – actually they are nearly useless as the two standard vinyl material sizes are 610mm and 1200mm so you can still only use 610mm material in them anyway. I am at a loss to explain why the manufacturers even make them!</p><p>My advice if you are new to the field or only intend to make stickers or signs in your spare time is to stick with a 720mm machine, certainly until you have a few years experience. By then you will understand that you probably don’t need a 1350mm at all.</p><p>Yes, Katana Trading stocks 1350mm wide cutters. This information is provided to help you make an educated decision about which cutter to buy. If you can find a 1350mm at the same price as a 720mm and you have the floor space for it then go ahead and buy it!</p><p>Chances are you will never put a wide piece of vinyl through the machine! However it may have some use as a plotter for drawing in this width – again, paper size and availability should be investigated first.</p><p>For more valuable information see www.katanatrading.com</p>