You can pick up a commercial vinyl cutter for just a couple hundred dollars and use it to create things like advertisements, signs, decorations, and t-shirts. However, if you’re a professional rather than a hobbyist, you need to make sure you choose the right commercial vinyl cutter that will meet your business needs.
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Best Budget Vinyl Cutter
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Best Overall Commercial Vinyl Cutter
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CNCSourced Rating: |
CNCSourced Rating: |
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4.5
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3.7
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$424.99
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$639.00
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If you’re looking for a commercial or industrial vinyl cutter, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll first take a look at what separates a professional vinyl cutter from regular hobbyist cutters. After that, we’ll review the best commercial vinyl cutter machines for both small and large businesses.
For hobbyist (not professional) vinyl cutters: our desktop vinyl cutter buyer’s guide
The Best Commercial Vinyl Cutters
1. Silhouette Cameo 4 – Most Affordable For Home Businesses
- Price: Check price on Amazon here
- Max Cutting Area: 12 in. x 24 in.
- Weight: 13 lbs
- Material Compatibility: Vinyl, Heat transfer material, Cardstock, Photo paper,
Corrugated paper, Chipboard, Fabric, and more
Pros
High-quality and budget-friendly.
Great for starting out a small business.
Comes with great features.
Cons
Not an industrial machine.
The Silhouette Cameo 4 isn’t an industrial machine, but if you’re looking for a home vinyl cutter that can handle the demands of a small business, this is a high quality, budget-friendly choice.
This vinyl cutter can fit nicely on your desktop in your home or workshop and is a great option if you’re just starting out with a small business.
It has an intelligent tool sensor technology system that automatically detects what tool you’re using and then adjusts settings through the Silhouette Studio software, so it’s a really intuitive and user-friendly machine.
There’s also a compact pull-out drawer with a built-in roller feeder that allows you to quickly cut vinyl and heat transfer material directly from the roll. On the back of the machine is a cross cutter for achieving a clean edge cut to your vinyl roll. Another nice feature is the dual motor system for cutting in two distinct ways.
This commercial vinyl cutting machine comes in a bundle with everything you need to get started right away, including an extra autoblade, a tool kit, cutting mat, and PixScan technology.
Finally, this is one of the highest-rated vinyl cutters among users, with 4.5 stars on Amazon from over 300 reviews.
This is a high-end, cost-effective option if you're searching for a home vinyl cutter that can manage the needs of a small business.
2. Vevor Vinyl Cutter – Best Professional Vinyl Cutter for Small Businesses
- Price: Check price at Amazon here
- Weight: 34.17 lbs
- Accuracy: 0.0004″
- Cutting Speed: 10-800 mm/s
- Material Compatibility: Heat transfer vinyl, paper, craft paper, card stock, and paint masks
Pros
One of the most efficient machines in its price range.
Great precision.
Very intuitive and easy to operate.
Cons
Instructions are hard to understand for a beginner.
Vevor is one of the leading producers of mid range vinyl cutters, laser cutters, CNC routers and more, so you can be sure you’re getting good quality when you purchase one of its machines.
That’s certainly the case with the Vevor vinyl cutter, which is one of the most efficient machines within this price range. It’s also extremely precise, with a cutting precision of +/-0.01mm and a paper feed precision of 3m.
With a maximum paper feed of 34.3” and a maximum cutting width of 30.7”, this commercial vinyl cutting machine allows you to produce commercial size cuts. So whether you’re using it to create advertisements, signs, decorations or more, it’s a great tool.
It’s also a very intuitive machine that’s easy to operate. It has a digital control panel that allows you to adjust the cutting pressure between 20g and 500g, and you can adjust the cutting speed from 20mm/s to 800mm/s. The control panel also has a backlight LCD screen for displaying the working process.
Another benefit of this professional vinyl cutter is the anti-deviation design, with three adjustable double spring pinch rollers, an aluminum knurling stick, and high precision pressing wheels that keep the machine extremely stable during cutting.
Plus, the machine comes with a very sturdy floor stand made from heavy-duty sheet metal and a basket to prevent material from falling to the ground. Not only is the stand very durable, but it also has caster wheels so you can conveniently move it around your workplace.
The Vevor vinyl cutter comes included with a subscription to the SIGNMASTER design software. This is a popular and intuitive program that allows you to create professional, custom designs, import artwork, draw your own shapes and fonts and then send them to the machine for cutting.
You can be sure you're receiving high quality when you buy one of Vevor's equipment as it is one of the top manufacturers of mid range vinyl cutters, laser cutters, CNC routers, and more.
3. Brother ScanNCut Electronic DIY Cutting Machine – Best Commercial Vinyl Cutter with Built-in Scanner
- Price: Check price on Amazon here
- Weight: 16.7lbs
- Material Compatibility: Vinyl, including paper, fabric, balsa wood, chipboard, foam and felt
Pros
Has a built-in scanner.
Can be used with a variety of materials.
Comes with a 5″ touchscreen LCD display.
This kit comes with everything you will need.
Cons
The power supply is relatively short.
The Brother ScanNCut machine is one of the more unique vinyl cutting machines on the market, as unlike traditional machines, it has a built-in scanner.
With this machine, you can scan your drawings, photos and designs and then convert them into cut files which can then be directly printed and cut. You can scan materials up to 3mm thick. It can cut up to 0.1” of thickness and can be used with a variety of other materials in addition to vinyl, including paper, fabric, balsa wood, chipboard, foam, and felt.
This vinyl cutter has no less than 682 built-in designs for you to use as well as 100 quilting patterns and 9 fonts, so the possibilities are endless. You can also easily add custom designs and additional patterns via the USB port and wireless compatibility. This industrial vinyl cutter has a really intuitive 5” touchscreen LCD display, which makes it a pleasure to use.
The cutter is also a very intelligent machine that doesn’t even require you to manually select material. This is because it has an automatic material sensor technology that detects the thickness of materials so you don’t need to make any blade adjustments. So whether you’re an experienced professional cutter or are just getting started with your own business, this machine is great for different experience levels.
This is a full vinyl cutting kit that comes with everything you need, including a stylus, autoblade and holder, spatula, and some 12” x 12” card stock. You can also purchase extra accessories, like a thin fabric autoblade and a mattless cutting roll feeder attachment if you wish.
One of the more distinctive vinyl cutting devices on the market, the Brother ScanNCut includes a built-in scanner instead of the usual printer and cutter.
4. LYXC Vinyl Cutter – 53” Cutting Capacity
- Price: Check price at Amazon here
- Weight: 55lbs
- Accuracy: 0.0004″
- Cutting Speed: 20-800mm per second
Pros
Good choice for professional vinyl cutting.
Comes with three different cutting capabilities.
Durable and stable.
Cons
Can be very loud.
This is a good choice if you’re looking for a professional vinyl cutting machine that’s capable of cutting larger amounts of material at a time.
The LYXC vinyl cutter actually comes in three forms with three different cutting capacities – 28”, 34”, and 53”. The price goes up depending on the size you go – the price we’ve given is for the 53” version.
This machine also has a large max cutting width of 49.6”, which combined with the seriously impressive cutting speed that ranges from 20-800mm per second, means it’s more than capable of handling commercial production requirements.
You can adjust the cutting force from 20g to 500g depending on your project, and thanks to the very high cutting accuracy, all your products will be extremely precise.
This professional vinyl cutter comes with a really sturdy aluminum stand, D type main board and an aluminum feeding roller, so durability and stability are no issue.
It has an LCD display panel and supports digital control, and the LYXC vinyl cutter also comes with a subscription to the popular SignMaster software. This is a really intuitive, professional grade software that provides great creative freedom for designing signs, advertisements, t-shirts and more.
If you're searching for a professional vinyl cutting machine that can cut bigger pieces of material at once, this is a fantastic option.
5. Gunner GR8000-180 – Best Industrial Vinyl Cutter
- Price: Available on Amazon here
- Weight: 60lbs
- Accuracy: 0.0005″
Pros
Precise cutting accuracy and fast speeds.
Great price for great performance.
Remains steady during cutting.
Cons
Expensive.
Terms like commercial, professional and industrial are often used interchangeably, and there is indeed some overlap, but there are also differences.
The vinyl cutters we’ve reviewed so far certainly fit into the professional and commercial categories in that they’re great tools for professionals working in small businesses.
However, they don’t quite fit into the industrial category, as “industrial” refers to very large scale, rapid production. If you are looking for an industrial vinyl cutter, then the Gunner GR8000-180 is a great example.
The main highlight of this machine – and the feature that separates it from the others on this list – is the size of the products you can make with it. Whereas smaller machines like the Vevor have maximum cutting feeds of under a meter, the Gunner GR8000-180 can process up to seven metres of material at a time! As it can do this with precise cutting accuracy and at fast speeds, this is one of the most efficient industrial vinyl cutters out there.
That’s not the only great thing about this machine, though. It’s extremely well made, so it remains very steady during cutting, can handle continuous, demanding projects, and has a very long working life. It’s specifically designed to be free from static electricity interference, so you can use it in factory settings near other machines with no problems.
Another notable aspect is that Gunner supplies a software development kit with its machines, so your company can create applications that perfectly suit your production requirements.
The Gunner GR8000-180 is a fantastic model if you're looking for an industrial vinyl cutter.
Industrial Vinyl Cutters Explained
As is the case with many machines and tools, different vinyl cutters are aimed at different users. Some are aimed at beginners, some are aimed at serious hobbyists, and others are aimed at business owners. So when you’re looking to buy a vinyl cutter, it’s important you carefully select one that suits your budget and needs.
So, what’s the difference between these types of vinyl cutters? Well, commercial and industrial vinyl cutters are generally bigger and better in every way. This includes better production quality, production rate, software, and so on.
We also have an article on the best vinyl cutter software
The main thing that separates a commercial vinyl machine from a hobbyist one is the size and amount of vinyl you can cut, and how long it takes you to cut it. Businesses selling products will need to process vinyl quicker and produce different-sized products, so having a versatile vinyl cutter is vital.
The amount of material you can process varies greatly – there are small business cutters that have cutting feeds of around a meter, while there are industrial ones that can cut seven meters of vinyl at once, or even more. These machines are much larger than hobbyist ones, so you need a lot of space to house them.
Another hugely important factor is precision. Of course, accuracy is key if you’re selling commercial products, so you need a professional machine with high cutting and paper feed precision.
Other ways in which a commercial vinyl cutter can differ from a hobbyist one are durability, sturdiness, usability, and the quality of the operating software.
Of course, a commercial vinyl cutter is going to cost a fair bit more than a regular one, but there’s still quite a lot of variation in terms of price. At the end of the day, it all depends on the individual needs of your business.
If you’re running a relatively small business, there are high-quality professional vinyl cutters for small businesses available for around $300-$400 dollars that can handle minor commercial-grade production. On the other hand, if you’re part of a large business and are looking for an industrial vinyl cutter, then you’ll need to spend several thousand on a machine that can meet industrial production requirements.
Other articles you may be interested in:
- The best vinyl cutters – reviewed
- Best vinyl cutter software
- Best laser cutters for small businesses
- Best CNC routers for small businesses
- What are the best Cricut alternatives?
- CNC vs laser cutters
- Best printer for Cricut
- The best laptops for Cricut vinyl projects
