With more and more people now working from home we have seen a huge shift in people wanting to start making their own tshirts and labels for their pantries/laundries etc.

Chances are you are in a facebook group and see these talked about or people asking for recommendations on which ones to purchase.

Over the years we have used many different machines as well as having a lot of customers come in that are using many of the different ones available now.

Once upon a time these were an expensive purchase and now these are stocked at a wide range of places making them more accessible to the everyday person and not someone in the trade.

What are vinyl cutters and are they easy to use?

Vinyl cutters are electronic cutting machines. Think of a printer but with a blade. Most of these require the use of a computer and set cutting programs. The program is where you will create your design and then within the program you will tell the machine what colour/shape/words etc to cut.
This will then give you your end transfer to create your personalisd garment, bottle, signage etc,

With so many different machines out there there are also so many different programs as well.
Most vinyl cutters are now able to be used for both PC and Macs and each cutter will usually have their own programs.
Some vinyl cutters like the Silhouette Cameo have their own program which you can download for free from their website

These machines are usually a desktop cutter and take up very little area on your workspace.
They can range in price from less than $300 dollars to over $5000+ dollars with so many different brands, machines etc on the market its best to do a bit of research.

From HTV vinyls to adhesive vinyls theres so much these machines can do.

Which is the Right Machine for You?

Choosing the right vinyl cutter can be both an easy and a hard decision. There are machines that are marketed for the beginner as well as ones the professional. Some have easy software and some have software that needs to be used with a few different programs before you can even do a simple cut

First, you should consider the purpose of your vinyl cutter machine. Will you be cutting HTV vinyls? Adeshive vinyls? Both? The size of your designs (most vinyl cutters have a 12″ width but there are some that are small (4″ wide) and then some that are as wide as a house!), if you will be doing small runs, large runs, printed transfers etc.

Next, have an idea of what kind of material you would like to cut. Many vinyl cutting machines cut more than just vinyl. Some cut fabric, leather, paper, and more. If you decide you need a vinyl cutting machine that cuts vinyl and other materials your list of prospective machines will be impacted. 

Then, decide what your budget will be. Doing so will likely narrow down your options to a manageable level. From here you can decide which specs are the most important to you. Most people want a vinyl cutting machine that will create the most return on their purchase. 

We have listed below the main machines that we both stock and sell as well as the most popular ones we have seen on the market at the moment.