Make more with a vinyl cutter - cheap DIY stickers - Complete guide

As a maker I’m always looking to expand my manufacturing capabilities. A vinyl cutter flyer came across my desk so I investigated a budget eBay option and took the plunge, purchasing a Refine MH721 (a UScutter clone).
This video is a complete guide on what to expect when buying a vinyl cutter. It covers what to look for in shopping, a tour of the machine, how to use the software to make a variety of stickers (including layered multi-colour), as well as weeding and the use of transfer sheet to make the stickers easy to apply.
Learn from my experiences and then stay tuned for part 2 where I will make some custom clothing with heat transfer vinyl.
This video is a tad long but I wanted to make the type of guide I would have likd to have found when starting out. Therefore it is comprehensive.
Refine MH721 (featured in this video): www.ebay.com.a...
Vinyl seller in Australia: www.ebay.com.a...
Easy Cut Studio software: www.easycutstud...
Roland GS24: www.rolanddg.c...
US Cutter link for those in the states: www.uscutter.c...
Buy quality and affordable filament from X3D. Buy 3, get 1 free and a free sample pack with every order: www.x3d.com.au
Gearbest affiliate link (help support the channel): www.gearbest.c...
Take a look around and if you like what you see, please subscribe.
Support me on Patreon: / teachingtech

[@janwiersma1449]

how coincidental, i have this kind of cutter for years and years before i run into 3d printing. i use the signblazer program most of the time because its very easy. they made that freeware since they did not support this program any more. so the trail version is actually a full free version. WARNING!!!! very inportant!!!! make sure you earth the roller bearings with a wire by laying a stripped wire underneath the naked bearings of the two rods where the vinyl-rolls lay on, and connect it to the steel body-parts of the machine and thus to the earth of of the machine and your home power system. or you will fry the circuit board for sure, due static build up in you vinyl-rolls.really dont forget. i found out my self unfortunately. do it right away!!!!! and dont use a non earthed wall plug and wall mount.

[@emmettturner9452]

Jan Wiersma Thanks! I hope the software supports my SummaCut as well. :) ...and thanks for the tip about static from vinyl! Not sure if it’s as big an issue for my machine as this but I rent and I suspect that the outlets are not properly grounded in my current place.

[@TeachingTech]

Thanks for the earthing tip. The wire is in the bag, I will get to it.

[@janwiersma1449]

perfect. thanks mate, make it the first thing you do, before you do some cutting again. its not just a gimmick it's very inportant. i got my cutter secondhand nearby, and did not get the wire so i did not knew about it, until the moment that the cutter gone completely berserk in let us call it the y-axis with the knive down. so i needed a new motherboard i thought, and after driving from the Netherlands to Germany to a very helpfull guy called Kuhlmann (schneideplotter) he found out the replacement of the motherboard was a bit more difficult because of the usb rs232 differences with the potential but newer replacement board he had in stock, then he started switching out chips from the new board over to my motherboard until he found the faulty chip. luckily the most inportant chips are placed in feet on the pcb in this cutter. btw. i subbed.

[@TeachingTech]

I'm planning to cover the wiiring fix in part 2, and I will credit you. Thanks for watching and for your sub.

[@TeachingTech]

Part 2 tomorrow :)

[@design8studio]

The difference between "indoor" versus "outdoor" (consumable) sign vinyl has to do both the color fastness (UV can really ruin reds etc) and the durability of both the vinyl itself (deterioration) and the adhesive (sunlight heat can soften "indoor" adhesive making it easily delaminate away from whatever it's supposed to stick to). When buying for outdoor use, especially "continuous" outdoor signage and items subjected to sun and weather, it's worth it to buy "outdoor" vinyl - Source: my many decades of experience making cut-vinyl signs for outdoor use.

[@mrfoameruk]

I believe signblazer is now free as the developer died and it was allowed to be used by anyone who wanted to use it although it can be tricky to install. Sign cutting got me into all things making. cutting Tee shirt vinyl is where I made my money making personalised tees for hen parties, charity runs etc. It was quick and foolproof, unlike 3d printing and cnc which can have problems. You would need a heat press (but one job I did paid for that anyway) but you could use a regular iron if needed. Keep up the great videos. Like you say easy cut seems nice and affordable. Most other sellers wanted an arm and a leg for their software when I did it about 5 years ago.

[@horikatanifuji5038]

10 years ago now...

[@PiefacePete46]

I must have missed this when you posted it Michael. Lately I have been messing around with a vinyl cutter for my Ender 3, and good old Google figured out that I NEEDED to see this... it was right, of course. Excellent, as always, thanks. I had to chuckle when I found that both of us arrived at our 'Nerd Perks' card as a suitable smoothing tool. 😃 😜

[@pintokitkat]

Weeding is the best part!

[@rustyact01]

Hi Michael, Great video and very instructive... A tip from a signwriter that I used on our shop windows... Spray the adhesive side of the second layer of the sticker with window cleaner. This will allow you to slide that layer into position with no tack. As soon as you wipe the second layer with a credit card it will squeeze out the window cleaner solution and the adhesive will bind to the bottom layer. You can also use this for placement on glass or vehicle paint to assist with alignment...

[@SupaMario01]

Every video you do is excellent! have learnt so much from you from 3D printing to now this.. THANK YOU!

[@TeachingTech]

Thanks for watching.

[@dragonlord0666]

realise this is now 4 years old but - the software looks like to Scal or Sure Cuts a Lot. weeding, if you put alight source or light panel under the sticker it makes weeding easier as the light shows up all the cut lines you can buy printable vinyl which you can use in your home printer, of course, you are then limited to the size you can print but does mean you can make multi coloured stickers as all you need to do is cut the outline and use the print & cut feature on most, but not all, vinyl cutters

[@DEADB33F]

You can often pick these vinyl printers up pretty cheap second hand. I needed to do some sign writing and it worked out cheaper to buy a used printer for £80 and do them myself than have a company make the signs up for me. I learned a new skill, and ended up with a 'free' printer that I otherwise wouldn't have. --- ...I've since adapted mine to feed an A1 cutting mat onto an in & outfeed table so I can tape down foamboard, plywood, etc. and use the machine to score, cut, draw, etc. on solid flat objects. ...I've also printed a magnetic mount for a cheap diode laser, which uses the stylus carriage to hit a microswitch and turn the laser on/off.

[@MichaelR1975]

Just watched a video were a guy bought the blades for 5 bucks then attach them to his 3d printer right about were a bl touch would go. made a few gcode changes in cura and used his 3d printer as both a printer and Vinyl cutter. I might try it on one of my old Ender pros.

[@ishmailhuawei7972]

thank you so much ; this is the first time i see your videos : you are awesome ; the way you explain is very helpful which means everything in hand and you really know what you are doing

[@kevinsmith6344]

Loved this video. I've had a vinyl cutter sitting in my screen printing shop collecting dust because I don't have time to learn the process. This really helped me visualize the steps with real world examples without "the rest of the f'n owl" cuts to a finished product before I could see how we got there. I'm inspired to get that thing going sooner than later once I whip up some nice vector designs for my vehicle. Gotta get the shop name out there. Thanks for your video! Subscribed.

[@bcburnettcom]

I have the USCutter version and now have it doing contour cutting of printed stickers

[@soothingtherapymusic9426]

What application do you use?

[@SM-cw9jk]

I think im the only person that loves to weed. Thanks for the video. Very helpful

[@Ross-re2up]

So a quick question if I can on the tension on the pinch rollers. Mine is leaving the tracks of the pinch rollers when I use it exactly like this, but which way do I turn the 'golden' tension nut to loosen. I've tried a few things now without any success :( appreciate any help at this stage please!!! Thanks in advance from your Aussie counterpart!!! :)

[@emmettturner9452]

I recently got a steal on a large SummaCut floor-standing cutter for $100 (yard/moving sale). I haven’t yet tried to figure out what it can do since I need to get it in the same room as an old PC with a serial port, but I think it supports optical registration marks. What that means is you can use printable vinyl for “print then cut” stickers and such without having to layer. You can even get photo-quality! There are much cheaper consumer-level devices that also support PTC, like the Silhouette Cameo, Cricut Maker, etc. Unfortunately, they are sometimes locked down. I have a Cricut Explore Air 2 and a Cricut Expression. They recently stopped supporting the Expression and disabled its ability to cut your own designs from the computer using their software but, luckily, it is old enough to be hacked and remains useful with 3rd party software. Silhouette never imposed such a restriction in the first place, IIRC.

[@janwiersma1449]

mine is the exactly the same cutter as tt has got, but they start making these already before the introduction of USB so my exact same cutter does have RS232 instead of the USB port. and i bought the USB to RS232 cable of sweex and this works for me perfectly. only added another rs232 cable to make it longer and to gender change it.

[@TeachingTech]

This one both ports but I've only used the USB.

[@thehobbyist146]

Can u do a tutorial on octoprint running on a vinyl cutter? I doubt the communication issues would severe.

[@avejst]

Wow, a good idea and project Thanks for sharing 😀👍

[@MJ-oj2qv]

Hey. Great video so far. Where did you get the 600 x 1800 cutting mat / carrier sheet? I have been looking and found no luck so far in Australia. Thanks :)

[@animatepentrutoti4133]

The paper under the vinil will not be cut?

[@Heixydan]

THANK YOU this was very helpful 😊

[@jordinfarraj2359]

What brand is the clear sheet? And where can I get it?

[@dajaymcgill8512]

What kind of vinyl is that black that you can just peel it off and put on anything ?

[@johnbontoft8548]

vinyl cutter is no longer thear but issen some around 345 are they all the same thanks

[@3DHP]

Excellent Video,I thinking about buying one.

[@jacobsimpson347]

New gcode tool extension for Inkscape. Specifically for plotter.

[@Nothinglefttosay]

Hey mate..! Got the same one..! Cheaper to replace the entire cutter these days..! Hey where are you based..? I’m in Brisbane..

[@DCT_Aaron_Engineering]

Hi Michael, thank you for sharing your thoughts on the vinyl cutter. However, do you mind me asking if you purchased this machine for home or school mate? If for school (my opinion) I stay away from eBay purchases as they offer none to little after sales and service and eventually end up in landfill. Personally, I would've spent the budget money on the Roland GX24. Not having a crack at you, just voicing my opinion. As a technology teacher and HOD I witness many schools and departments over the years waste money in other areas and we technology teachers are left with the scraps. Good to see you not doing dust pans and widgets with your students. Keep up the good work mate. Cheers, Aaron.

[@TeachingTech]

Hi Aaron, This one was for home. I totally understand what you are saying. I purchased this knowing I'd be on my own and was comfortable with that.

[@DCT_Aaron_Engineering]

Hey Michael. Ok cool, I think it will be an awesome addition to your home workshop. Good to see you working hard on your KZbin brand. Your channel is growing fast and it's all credit to your hard work. I've been at it for years, but it's hard to post weekly. I just seem to run out of ideas lol. Hope your drift trike project is going well? Cheers buddy, Aaron.

[@janwiersma1449]

DTCTeacher1 look at this cutter as it was the AnetA8, very cheap but around for over 10 years. and still new available. this is now so widely spread on the market, parts cant be any issue, and it really makes perfect cuts. the more expensive Rolands you can see as a prusa Mk3 . and therefore not in everybody's budget. btw i got a AnetA6. but i hope to get an ender3 if it stays available. i am not even thinking about buying higher priced stuff. of the price one of those expensive printers you could start a peasant-printer-farm with enders. for example.

[@TeachingTech]

Hi Aaron, I just checked out your channel, lots of good stuff, especially the CNC content. I've setup two Chinese routers and fortunately had no issues with wiring. My channel is growing nicely, at the expense of my sleep!

[@DCT_Aaron_Engineering]

Thanks for the feedback Michael. I do lots of CNC these days. I predominately only teach VET Engineering these days (senior only). Sort of miss teaching juniors electronics and robotics etc... If you're ever in Melbourne feel free to look me up and or come out to Harvester for visit. Cheers, Aaron.

[@TacBlades]

Very interesting. Some stepper dampers might be a great idea for machine. Overall its quite a time consuming process. For professional services how do they do it ? If you order 1000 stickers how do they weed them is there a machine ??

[@TeachingTech]

Search for Galileo weeding machine. It's very satisfying to watch.

[@CrispyDC]

Mate, where dyu get that clock made? Looks awesome!

[@hotshot31ecl]

Software where can I get it for the cutter

[@RichardRecupero]

Thought it was cool you thought me 3d printing and now I'm watching you here. Lol.

[@TipsySniperYT]

nice my vinyl cutter when doing sticker vinyl keeps stuffing it up and lifting or going too deep... but for clothing vinyl it works fine... anyone know?>

[@IronCross82]

Just a quick question are you able to hook a Raspberry Pi to this vinyl cutter for wireless printing?

[@AERuffy]

Inkcut is a plugin system for Inkscape. It supports the raspberry pi, so theoretically yes you could

[@bentebrunsvelt319]

Nice video

[@teamgrimaracing3607]

Hey I am competing in the F1 in schools for next year because was a little late to enter for this year. But anyway what class are you in and also your team. Also if you have any tips would love hear them. Oh I am from Sydney Australia.

[@TeachingTech]

Hi Team Grima, F1 in Schools is great, you will love it. I have a detailed 8 part series on designing the car in Onshape. We will be entering four development and one cadet team this year.

[@teamgrimaracing3607]

Teaching Tech Nice and good luck

[@dhinmohammed3411]

Nice cutting vinyls deign...🇧🇩

[@jamesrakestraw7125]

Nice and good job...

[@jamesrakestraw7125]

Want is the name of print?

[@TeachingTech]

Refine MH721

[@Martinspire]

500 bucks for a dodgy quality printer doesn't really look like a "cheap stickers" solution to me. Still, nice review

[@TeachingTech]

For occasional use it is competant. Apart from the peeling sticker it have performed perfectly so far. Parts 2 coming soon showing it making custom clothing.

[@dingdong8682]

Thank you from Srilanka

[@tanvirmahmud1048]

Why cannot U convert a plotter into a vinyl cutter

[@awakened-planet]

OMG you said "Button" instead of "buddin" THANK YOU! I wish that didn't bother me so bad because I love your videos but I'm a weirdo and hearing buddin all the time literally makes me skip the video sometimes ... I need therepy....

[@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart]

I wonder if anyone already "improved" that sticker with a permanent marker, from "Cocksure" to "Cock? Sure!". Lol

[@TheRealKingDong]

I think we have a different version of "cheap" lololol

[@TeachingTech]

Maybe not cheap in absolute terms but cheapest available for this gear.

[@dermax_hd]

Cheap option? It's 500 mate Great video but I really don't justify making some stickers here and there to spend half a grand man

[@Nerdite]

I'm a trained sign-writer this wasn't easy for me to watch.

[@martinwilson2513]

Same! Especially that vinyl ‘will last years outdoor’ 🙈🙈

[@Nerdite]

@@martinwilson2513 YEP!

[@trentmcphee4124]

Any constructive criticism?

[@IronMan-yg4qw]

you said cheap... $550 is not cheap

[@lerikalexandrov8649]

вот это суслик

[@me12youable]

Will this machine do kiss cut stickers? Will the cutter cut through the backing as well?