Is SCAL right for my job? Illustrator, scalloping

[OnTaMove]

I've been asked to develop a prototype of something that will eventually be made from cardstock using industrial die cutting equipment. The client wants to see a mock-up first, in lightweight paper if necessary.

This is a new area for me. I'm wondering if SCAL and a cutting machine would allow me to make a good mock-up of the final product.

We do not currently own either SCAL or a machine, so don't be afraid to make comments/recommendations that are machine specific.

Here are my questions:
1) Would it be possible to do a kiss cut if the stock is laminated to a backing sheet, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive?
2) Is it possible to make partial cuts, so that the shape is 99.9% cut but yet still held in place at two or three points with a tiny notch of material, as opposed to falling completely out of the sheet as it would if you were using a paper punch (there must be a term for that, sorry, I don't know it)
3) Is there a machine that cuts and prints?
4) If the answer to (3) is "no", is there a way to cut with accuracy over a sheet that has been printed in an inkjet printer?
5) We draw/design in Adobe Ilustrator and IndDesign (CS4) on a Mac (OS 10.6.8). Will we be able to get our designs into SCAL?

I thank you in advance for your help. And again - if you think this is all doable, please don't be shy about telling me which machine to buy!

BTW, the paper I intend to use for making the protoype is cotton rag, . It is watercolor paper (so we can custom color it), 250GSM (that's 117lb, or if measured with a caliper, .010" thick). Its closest equivalent would be a 70#C uncoated sheet.

[BobSa]

Why not "enlist" someone to do the prototype cutting and skip the learning curve of SCAL and avoid buying a cutter for one job? Use google Hangouts to visual communicate and UPS to transfer the prototype to you. Just thinking out loud ...
.
Good luck!

[dragonlord666]

1) "kiss cut" can mean one of two things, it's either a dashed line or the media is cut half way through like a score line. either way, yes you can do this on most machines with scal. it would come down to pressure and/or blade depth

2) yes, you can make partial cuts, this you would do in the design stage and basically remove a small section of the outline. forming a "brigde" or gap that would not be cut, giving you the tab to hold the shape in the "waste" media

3) yes and no - yes there is the cricut imagine machine, this prints & cut but it ONLY works with cartridges and not with scal

4) there are few machines that print & cut, you print on your printer including registration marks added by the software, then you put this into your machine to cut, the machine reads the marks (or you line up with a laser) and the software works out where it needs to cut. - it would depend on which machine you had.

5) if the software can save or export as svg, then scal can import the file to cut (I know illustrator can do this, there is even an export plug-in that allows you to export direct to scal from illustrator)

one thing you don't say is how big you'd need to cut, this would influence the machine
example, a cameo can cut upto 12 inches wide and does print & cut (#4) using an optical eye to "read" the reg marks, but a phoenix silver bullet has sizes 13", 15", 18" and 24" wide and uses a laser to align for Print & cut

Gaz

[OnTaMove]

one thing you don't say is how big you'd need to cut, this would influence the machine

Thank you for pointing this out! We could work letter size or smaller if he had to to make the prototype work; at the same time we might be inclined to buy the biggest machine that can do the job so that we have more capability for future projects.

[dragonlord666]

one thing you don't say is how big you'd need to cut, this would influence the machine

Thank you for pointing this out! We could work letter size or smaller if he had to to make the prototype work; at the same time we might be inclined to buy the biggest machine that can do the job so that we have more capability for future projects.

Then I would look into 18" or 24" machines (Or larger) but then you are looking at around the £800-£1000+ price range

Gaz

[OnTaMove]

but then you are looking at around the £800-£1000+ price range

Ouch! Is there anything more in the hobby/crafter price range we could consider?

[dragonlord666]

there is the cameo which cuts 12 inch wide for about £300 - sometime less, depends on if any deals are going on.

personally I don't know of any "big" cutters that are cheap as mostly these are considered "professional" machine but used in the home/craft/business sense.

A 24 inch silver bullet is about £904.00 but it does cut 24 inches wide and is a professional machine
if you were to contact thymegraphics.co.uk and ask them they could give you a total figure including postage etc (if you are in the states or Oz then contact your local dealer)

I'm sure others will jump in with other machines they know about. hopefully giving websites and/or machine specs so you can figure out what is best for you.

Gaz

[mitsim]

As suggested before, you can get a machine and cut with SCAL. However, it sounds like you have design experience, so, if this is the case and you have Illustrator, you can do your designing in that program, and then save your project as as svg file, then open it in SCAL in order to cut.