Hi Dan,
Intrigued as to where the BN20 fits into your production plans.
I've run print and cut from my Canon 8400, when using self adhesive vinyl for a few jobs. Where files were from illustrator, I used the cutting master plugin to generate crop marks, then exported the files as jpegs and dropped them onto the efi rip. Printed, then laminated, then back to illustrator and cutting master to cut. For a job that involved printing and cutting a couple of hundred infinity cubes, I made a template in illustrator (from memory around 22x72") with the cut lines drawn in order for the cutting order. I saved this a print template in lightroom, then laid out the pages (this was mind numbing, but it was a one off project for an artist). Printed to jpeg, then over to rip, then laminate, then illustrator and cutting master again. These were kiss cut, rather than perf, but I think the same could be done with perf cut.
If you're planning on making set layouts for print and cut, you could create cutting templates in illustrator as I did, and hop around between different applications. Or get a rip (which is what IP is) that does print and cut, but I think most of the alternative rips cost as much if not much more per year than IP.
If you're planning on cutting wood or cotton based photo papers, I'd expect you to get through a fair number of blades, as these are rough fibrous materials.
For small prints, we got an Epson D800. Print and cut all day long. The Order Controller lite software cost half as much as the printer...
