Best Vinyl Cutting Machines For Beginners
Vinyl cutters will help you make your own stickers, T-shirts, decals, labels, magnets, signs, stencils, and more!
But with so many vinyl cutters on the market, it’s not easy to find the right one as a beginner.
So let’s go over the 10 best cutting machines for vinyl.
1. Cricut Explore Air 2
The Cricut Explore Air 2 is a user-friendly machine popular among novices. It also has two-speed options, so if you’re in a rush, you can use the fast setting, and if you’re working on a complex design, you can use the slower setting. For an entry-level cutting machine, 400g of cutting downforce is enough to help you get the job done quickly.
The Cricut Explore Air 2 can cut various materials, including vellum, card stock, leather, cloth, balsa wood, and more, giving you unlimited creative options. It has a German carbide premium blade (included), a black pen (included), and even a stylus for scoring and embossing that you can buy separately.
Additionally, the Cricut Explore Air 2 has a cutting mat and materials for a practice project,so you can practice using the pen with the blade. It has two accessory compartments, a magnetic strip for grabbing extra blades, and a place for storing pens or tools. It also includes Bluetooth for wireless connectivity to PCs, phones, and tablets.
Nonetheless, this model cuts intricate designs with accuracy and surgical precision. It can work with 100 different materials and has a cutting width of 11.8 inches.
2. Gemini
Gemini offers a variety of craft machines and accessories for tasks ranging from card making to scrapbooking and beginning to advanced crafters.
The Gemini is a sleek, low-profile die-cutting machine that dies cuts, and embosses in record time. Die-cutting on heavyweight cardboard, vinyl, foil, and even many layers of fabric is a breeze with this tool. It also works with the majority of popular metal dies and embossing folders.
The Gemini provides precision cutting of complicated designs with edge-to-edge cutting of up to A4 and US letter size materials, using higher even pressure than many other die-cut machines.
It comes with a die-cutting and embossing set, so you can get started making it right away. It also has options for pausing and reversing the cut for a more precise result. The cutting width on the Gemini is 11.8 inches.
3. Cricut Joy
The Cricut Joy machine is ideal for anyone on the move. In one device, it combines the portability of desktop vinyl cutters with the versatility of industrial-grade machines. It’s pretty comfortable to use, adjusts to different widths, and works with various operating systems other than Mac.
Using Cricut intelligent materials, Cricut Joy can create continuous cuts up to 4 feet and repeated cuts up to 20 feet. (Vinyl, HTV Iron On, and Label Vinyl are all available.)
The Cricut Joy comes with a premium fine point blade and housing, fine point pen, 4.5 x 6.5-inch standard grip mat, welcome card, power adapter, and a free trial membership to Cricut access.
4. Silhouette Portrait
The Silhouette Portrait is a compact, enjoyable machine for anyone trying to cut vinyl. It’s slim, light, and easy to move around. It takes up very little space and is easy to transport for on-the-go crafting.
This machine is fantastic for manufacturing decals and stickers, although it can only cut sheets up to 8 inches wide. The Silhouette Portrait is a long-lasting and cost-effective machine.
It has an 8-inch cutting mat and an AutoBlade, which cuts smoothly and is excellent for small, detailed drawings. You can cut through materials up to 2 millimeters thick with the Silhouette Deep Cut Blade (sold separately).
The cutter includes Silhouette Studio software, 50 exclusive designs, and a one-month subscription to the Silhouette Design Store, in addition to a Bluetooth adapter.
The Silhouette Portrait’s Print and Cut feature lets you make a design in the Silhouette Studio program and then print it out. You can also use PixScan technology to scan and cut your photos.
5. Roland GS-24
The GS-24 is the ultimate desktop cutter Roland has ever made. It is exceptionally accurate and efficient. The GS-24’s entirely redesigned cutting carriage and blade holder provide outstanding stability, up to 10x overlap cutting, and up to 350 grams of downforce, allowing you to cut like never before – even on thick, dense materials.
Precision and efficiency are combined in the GS-24 desktop cutter. Cut through various media with widths ranging from 2 to 27.5 inches.
Vinyl, paint mask, heat transfer material, sandblast material, twill, and other materials are among the media it can cut. The Roland DG CAMM-1 GS-24 comes with a stand that keeps the roll media in place and allows for easy setup.
6. Silhouette Cameo 4
The Silhouette Cameo 4 is the next step forward in desktop cutting technology. The Silhouette Cameo 4 is three times faster than its predecessor (the Cameo 3) and can cut through materials at a rate of 11.8 inches per second.
While the Cameo 3 only had 210g of cutting force, the Cameo 4 has a cutting force of 5000g and can cut a lot more different materials. The Cameo 4 can handle materials up to 10 feet long thanks to its built-in roller feeder.
The new built-in roll feeder is neatly incorporated in the machine’s small pull-out drawer, and can cut vinyl and heat transfer material straight from a roll. The Cameo 4 has a built-in cross cutter on the back that cuts a crisp, straight edge on your vinyl roll for your next project.
The innovative dual-motor technology on the Silhouette Cameo 4 sets it apart from prior versions, allowing you to cut in two different ways. Carriage one gives the Cameo 4 unrivaled speed, and it is powered by a solenoid motor that produces smooth and delicate cuts. Sketching is up to three times faster than prior models.
The Silhouette Cameo 4 includes an ultra-smart system that detects what tool you’re using. The tool sensor technology automatically adjusts cut settings in the Silhouette Studio software.
7. Cricut Maker 3
The Cricut Maker 3 allows you to accomplish a wide range of tasks that typically require many machines, such as generating craft stencils, vinyl decals, invitations, greeting cards, and even T-shirts. One of the most underestimated benefits of cutting machines is using them safely. Cricut Maker allows youngsters to produce projects without supervision.
Cricut Maker can cut through over 300 different materials with remarkable precision. Vinyl, paper, leather, fabric, and even mat board are materials you can use on the Cricut Maker.
Cricut Maker has a cutting downforce of 4000g and a clearance of 0.09 inches, allowing you to use it not only for paper, cardstock, and vinyl but also for thicker, more durable materials such as balsa wood and thick leather without missing a beat.
Cricut Design Space has an easy-to-use, streamlined interface that allows even unskilled users to interact with it without any prior knowledge or even decent PC operating skills.
8. USCutter Vinyl Cutter MH
With its large capacity for project size and volume, the USCutter Vinyl Cutter MH is helpful for both amateurs, small-business owners, and commercial use. The huge USCutter Vinyl Cutter MH, which sits on a floor stand, can handle large jobs like signs, banners, and car and window decals.
The USCutter has a 34.2-inch maximum feed width, a 30.63-inch cutting width, and a 96-inch cutting length (8 feet). It can cut at a rate of up to 48 inches per second, making it perfect for high-volume operations. However, cutting accuracy is not surrendered in the name of speed. The USCutter Vinyl Cutter MH makes some noise when used, but it cuts nicely.
The USCutter includes three blades (one for use and two spares), as well as a backlit LCD for entering commands, regulating speed and pressure, and making adjustments. It also has a pen holder for changing the cutter into a plotter by replacing the knife with a pen. Many users have praised the vectorization and tracing abilities of this model.
The USCutter Vinyl Cutter MH uses the VinylMaster Cut program. Still, it can also run other popular design tools such as Sure Cuts A Lot, Flexi, SignBlazer, and SignCut Productivity Pro.
If you follow the directions and watch the manufacturer videos, setting up the software should run smoothly. While some reviews consider this model an “entry-level” commercial product, others believe it is better suited to sophisticated users.
9. Brother Scanncut SDX125E
The only cutting machine series having a built-in scanner is the Brother ScanNCut SDX125E. Scan your drawing to create a cut file, cut printed stickers immediately, and arrange designs precisely without counting blocks.
Paper, vinyl, fabric, balsa wood, chipboard, foam, and felt can be easily cut with the Brother Home Electronic Cutting Machine. You have an LCD touchscreen display of 5 inches.
With the BrotherScanncut, you get a 12 x 12-inch standard tack mat, black pen, pen holder, touch pen. You also get a spatula, accessory pouch, pattern collection with 76 more designs, auto blade, auto blade holder, a Getting Started handbook, and 1piece sample cardstock. You can create whatever you want with 682 built-in designs, including 100 quilting patterns and nine fonts.
With the USB connector and wifi connectivity, you may add custom designs and new patterns to customize and combine with existing projects.
10. Silhouette Cameo 3
The Silhouette Cameo 3 is a versatile cutter with practically infinite project options and support for various materials. It can even cut through materials up to 2 millimeters thick with the Silhouette Deep Cut Blade (sold separately).
This model incorporates a dual-carriage system that holds two tools at once (e.g., two blades or one blade and one pen) for efficient multi-functionality.
For example, you may use the blade to cut card stock and then adorn it with the pen in one pass, eliminating the need to switch tools manually. Specify the tool the machine should use.
The Print and Cut quality on the Silhouette Cameo 3 allows you to design using the integrated Silhouette Studio software and then print it. The printed design is then sent into the cutter for scanning, and the blade carves out your design.
The Silhouette Cameo 3 can run without being connected to the internet. It provides a lot of flexibility during operation as a stand-alone machine with Bluetooth.
Unfortunately, Silhouette doesn’t sell the Cameo 3 anymore since the release of the Cameo 4. But if you can find a secondhand model, it’s worth buying if it’s still in a good condition.
Summary
I hope this article helped you find a few vinyl cutters that you are interested in.
Of course, it’s difficult to decide on which one to buy. The cutting machines can vary a lot in terms of size, functionality, price, etc.
If you are looking for a cutting machine that’s not only great for vinyl, but can also be used for lots of other crafting projects, you would recommend you to read the following articles:
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