When Elite Signs based in Lincolnshire looked into buying a cutting machine they considered a number of factors. These included floor space, speed and efficiency, as well as that most critical of all aspects: price.

The firm’s owner Nick Tinker says that when researching the market, he found most machines were more than his budget of around £5,000. Even second hand cutters were out of his range. It was at this point that he came across the Koolkut range from British panel saw specialist Sagetech priced at £4,995.

"I was impressed," he says. "The Koolkuts were priced about the same, new, as many second hand machines, and it was immediately apparent that they're robust, solidly built saws. For the money, it was (and is) amazing."

Added to that the cutter was vertical being wall-mounted which cut down on the space it took up. And there was another factor: handling large sheets of materials onto a flatbed cutter was heavy work. A moving-column vertical panel eliminated the need for horizontal handling—problematic with heavy sheets and vulnerable, flexible sheets such as acrylics.

There was also another benefit of buying a cutter rather than as previously ordering sheets ready cut to size. Off cuts could be used for smaller jobs meaning a saving.

Are you buying a new cutting machine? Which one will you go for? Let us know at online_ed@signlink.co.uk