Sign Warehouse Vinyl Express® Cutter 31" w/ VE LXi Apprentice Software for Sign Making Hobby Craft

by Sign Warehouse

• NEW 31" Sign Warehouse Vinyl Express® R31 Vinyl Cutter
• Stand for 31" Vinyl Express® R31 Vinyl Cutter
• Vinyl Express® LXi Apprentice Software
• Exclusive Sign Warehouse Vinyl Application Educational DVD
• 1 Year Equipment Warranty

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 39 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B003TPJGWQ
• Item model number: AMZ-R31-APP
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,693 in Arts, Crafts & Sewing (See Top 100 in Arts, Crafts & Sewing)
  • #80 in Arts, Crafts & Sewing > Scrapbooking > Die-Cuts & Die-Cut Machines > Die-Cut Machines

Product Description

The 31" Vinyl Express® R-Series vinyl cutter is a versatile cutter for hobby projects, yet powerful enough to be an entry-level machine for a home based business! Vinyl Express® cutter features up to 500 grams downforce, 24 inches-per-second cutting speed, 3 tension-adjustable pinch rollers, smooth-feeding media supply system. Stepper motor. Max Cutting Width: 27.55" (700mm); Max Feed Width: 31.49" (800mm); LCD Display: English; Interface: Serial, USB (USB connection is accomplished through serial conversion.); Operating Systems: Windows XP, Vista',Windows 7, 32 & 64 bit systems. Cutter includes Power and Serial Cables, Blade Holder, 3 Blades, Pen Holder and Pen, Complete Drivers and Documentation CD, Spare Fuse and a Cutter Dust Cover! VE LXi Apprentice is a complete text and layout program that utilizes both Windows TrueType and Adobe Type 1 fonts. (Graphic design capabilities available in Expert and Master VE LXi versions.) VE LXi Apprentice allows simultaneous cutting and designing of signs. Flexi-SIGN Compatible. Mirror Imaging / Basic Borders 51+ Import/Export filters (EPS, DXF, etc.). Library of 200 High-Quality Fonts. Exclusive Sign Warehouse Vinyl Application Training DVD for tips on producing professional-looking signs. Computer required for operation (not included). *VE LXi Software System Requirements: Processor: PC with 2.0 GHz Processor or better Video RAM: 128 mb Video Card or better System RAM: 2GB Hard Disc Space: 4GB or Higher Ports: USB 2.0 Ports (2 or more) and Serial COM Ports Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP Pro 32 bit, Vista 32 bit, Windows 7 32 bit/64 bit (XP Media Center is not R Series supported)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Reliable Cutting, Great Tech Support, Sub-par software January 17, 2011

By Ranger C-NM

I have had experience with a Roland Versacut Vinyl Cutter with Roland Cut-Studio software when I had to suddenly get a replacement. Unfortunately, I did not have the cash to put down on the Roland machine (or I would have) so I bought a Vinyl Express R-31 for 1/4 of the cost. We are a small screen printing store that runs about 10-20 yards of vinyl through the machine each week and the Vinyl Express has kept up quite well. I recently called tech support about a button not responding when pushed and they told me to take cover off and make sure connections were securely in place. It took a couple of days to do this but the Tech Support ACTUALLY CALLED ME to see if that fixed the problem. It did not so they sent a new key pad. I am still blown away.In short, the cutter itself is great and I would purchase again without hesitation.
The software leaves a lot to be desired. Since I was used to the Roland Cut Studio, this software is miserable. It has taken me three months to figure out the different setting and I have burned through several yards of material in mistakes due to the software alone. In fact, I often times have to import something into the CutStudio software and then copy paste into the Vinyl Express software because the entire image wont read in the cutting portion of the Vinyl Express software. There are settings in the Vinyl Express software that I've only recently discovered that minimizes the inconvenience but it still is not nearly as user friendly as the Roland Software (but it costs only a fraction of the Roland so maybe that is to be expected). It was rather difficult getting the cutter and software to communicate but once I found the correct usb port settings, it has worked flawlessly since.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for the money September 25, 2010

By Margaret L Cochran

Amazon Verified Purchase

The cutter itself does a good job. The software however is counterintuitive and difficult to use. Not the best starter cutter to purchase but if you are up to the challange of learning the software you can produce professional quality products.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for entry level March 28, 2011

By BCCustoms

Amazon Verified Purchase

Good for entry level work. The cutter itself is great and I have not had any problem with the cutting. The USB needs a little work and I have to unplug/plug it in before every job. AND the software is not all that great. Has to have very specific files and the design features are not that great either. You can upgrade it but the next one up is several hundred dollars. For a small timer it work just fine, but if you need more advanced feature look for a better cutter.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Let down and ripped off October 1, 2012

By Very frustrated

I'm a professional sign maker. I've been in this business for over 12 years now. I own a sign shop, this is my second shop. I purchased my original equipment from Signwarehouse and was happy with my purchase. I recently purchased this plotter & software because of the price. I've been a graphic designer for a long time and am very proficient with this software. It IS professional sign software without most of the necessary plug-ins that make it good. It's a stripped down version. This is a bait package, anything that looks too good to be true usually is and this is NO EXCEPTION. This package is designed to hook the buyer into one of two scenarios. A - Buy this package, realize that sign making is much too difficult and never use it - winding up stuck for hundreds of dollars. B - Buy this package & realize that in order to make anything of value or quality you'll need to spend some serious money in upgrades, then if you do that you'll need to buy that somewhere too - that's what they sell.
I opted for the full version of the software, buying the most expensive package to upgrade the software plug-ins, only when I got it there were STILL several options missing. When I voiced my dissatisfaction I was told I would be contacted several times and never contacted. Then once I did finally get a hold of someone I was told that it was too late and past 30 days.(Original complaint was immediately through email) I was told that there were Two different sides to this company's customer service and I have been kicked around non-stop. I just got off of the phone AGAIN and have gotten NO WHERE. All I wanted to do from the beginning was return this hunk of junk and get the correct software version.

ALSO, very important to mention - the plotter I purchased DID NOT CUT CORRECTLY!... When I expressed this to customer service i was told that this particular machine was not the "work horse" I was used to and shouldn't be expected to be perfect. I already own a Mimaki and thought this could be a good back-up or overflow cutter(If I design something the machine needs to be able to cut it - period. That's it's job.) I've owned several different plotters/cutters from different distributors and SignWarhouse has completely lost ALL credibility with me and I will NEVER do business with them again.

As far as the piece of junk in this listing - you get what you pay for. Good luck if you decide to toss the dice. If you're a pro - Don't do it. If you're a hobbyist - buy a cricket or go to your local sign shop and give them your files to cut. They usually only charge $2 a sq.ft. Aviary has a free vector software package that you can use to design signs. If you need a plotter to run very simple block letters for boat licenses or very basic text applications then this is a great investment. Anything else - I would look elsewhere. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Annoyed May 24, 2012

By Blake

Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchase this cutter and was sent a defective machine. I called got them to send me another one out, it was also defective so then they sent me out parts and finally 3 weeks later my cutter was in operable condition. I will say that sign warehouse has really good tech support. The plotter is really a good plotter for the money. I think I just had a run if bad luck.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased April 29, 2012

By Kelvin Holdaway

Amazon Verified Purchase

I am very pleased with the quality of this machine and of how easy it is to operate. I needed two signs and by purchasing this cutter I was able to make the signs for about the same as the sign shop wanted to charge, only now I can make as many signs as I want

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Cutter works, but has issues October 11, 2011

By MatrixRage

Amazon Verified Purchase

As many reviewers have said, the software leaves a lot to be desired, but in my opinion that might not be the biggest shortcoming of this machine. If you use the software for just sending files to the cutter, it's ok. If you're going to try to create the graphics with the software....not so ok. I personally recommend using Adobe Illustrator or Corell Draw for creating the graphics as they are really good at that type of thing, then opening the files in the included LXI software as its only decent at sending the files to the cutter.
The bigger issue I have is with the communication. I'm using a windows XP machine and constantly get write port errors. I've followed their instructions to change the com port, but this didn't solve the issue, I have to shut down the production manager, and restart it to regain communication to the cutter. But here is the kicker...you only get live tech support for 30 days when you buy the equipment, otherwise its by email only. I tried emailing them, and have yet to receive a response (this was early yesterday, we're at 4pm now) so speed isn't a big strong suit.
The other issue I have is that it will randomly cut lines or randomly stop cutting and move to another section, making the whole piece useless. Attempting to cut serial numbers to stick on a trailer today, cut 6 of them.....every one had a defect in it. This could be a communication issue with the cutter (as I mentioned above) but whatever it is, its making me have quite a bit of buyers regret. I didnt expect a Roland machine for the money, but I did expect a functional machine.