Sign Warehouse Vinyl Express Q Series Plotter Cutter Review

The Vinyl Express Q Series vinyl cutter / plotters are one of the greatest values for the money.  This brand is carried exclusively by Sign Warehouse (machines are built for them) and are available as a package or machine only.  Our sister company uses the 24″ model and is happy with its performance.  It is my understanding that the Vinyl Express Cutters are manufactured by Graphtec.  The quality of the Vinyl Express Q series is not quite the quality of a Graphtec but it is good.  The Vinyl Express models are as follows –  Q24, Q30, Q42, Q54, and  Q64.  Sign Warehouse offers packages starting at around $2,000 for the Q24.  This includes the machine, software and supply package.

Vinyl Express by Sign Warehouse Specifications:

Cutting Method: Friction-fed media handling, high-speed drag blade with Soft Blade Landing .  Also features Tangential blade control mode which is helpful when cutting thick materials.  Machine picks up blade and realigns it for the next cut.  Helps create sharp edges on challenging materials.
Maximum Cutting Speed: 50 inches per second
Maximum Cutting Pressure: Up to 400 grams of pressure
Minimum Character Size: 0.125″ high, alpha-numeric characters, varies with type of film and font
Tools Accepted: Super steel and ceramic blades plotter blades, water-based fibertip pen for drawing plans, blueprints, etc.., rollerball and ceramic-tip pens for drawing, and a pouncing tool which is used to make perforated paper patterns. (you lay the pattern down, sprinkle some marking powder which goes through the pounced holes, and then paint the design based on the outline.)
Buffer: 2 MB
Media Supply: Integrated Accuload media supply system.  Also features optional media racks for tandem holding vinyl rolls. (up to 4 rolls)
Support Package: 90 days Premium Support Package (PSP)
Warranty: 2 years, parts and labor
Maximum Cutting Width
Vinyl Express Q24: 24 inch maximum cutting area
Vinyl Express Q30: 30 inch maximum cutting area
Vinyl Express Q42: 42 inch maximum cutting area
Vinyl Express Q54: 54 inch maximum cutting area
Vinyl Express Q64: 64 inch maximum cutting area

Maximum Media Width
Vinyl Express Q24: 30.3 inch maximum media width
Vinyl Express Q30: 36.2 inch maximum media width
Vinyl Express Q42: 48.2 inch maximum media width
Vinyl Express Q54: 60.2 inch maximum media width
Vinyl Express Q64: 72.5 inch maximum media width

Weight (for shipping)
Vinyl Express Q24: 103 pounds
Vinyl Express Q30: 113 pounds
Vinyl Express Q42: 132 pounds
Vinyl Express Q54: 149 pounds
Vinyl Express Q160: 164 pounds