Getting The Most from Your Older Equipment (1/2016)
So you have an older printer around. It has been a faithful companion and made you lots of money, but you see the newer, faster and "better" out there, you had a good year, and your CPA told you to buy some new equipment.
Straight and simple, you have 4 options:
- Keep it and run it into the ground.
- Sell it.
- Use it as a "parts machine" for the other one you have (if you in fact do).
- Wheel it off in the corner and unplug it.
Space does not permit a full description here of which option is best for you. Considerations may include:
- Current condition and if operable and productive.
- If not, what will it take to make the unit serviceable again?
- If you make that investment, do you have sufficient work for the machine?
- Do you have physical space for the unit?
- If considering a trade, does it have sufficient trade-in value?
- If you store the unit, can it be maintained in current condition in order to maintain its value?
Likely the answer will be a combination of all of the above. I will look to expound on these topics in future columns.
Do you have a question? Do you need a recommendation? Don't hesitate to call us! As always, let us know how we can be of assistance to you. We are here to help!
Print/Cut Issues - Can't Find Registration Marks? (2/2016)
We have gotten a number of calls lately from customers complaining that their plotters or print/cutters don't recognize registration marks when they try to print/cut. We generally start off our side of the call with a simple question - Is this a job where you have applied lamination or is it on a glossy material?" The answer is usually "Yes."
What happens is the reflectivity and glare from the laminate or shiny material confuses the laser and the plotter gets lost. Some programs allow you to set your own registration mark size and thickness, which helps, but there is more to this than meets the laser's eye, so to speak. Though we don't do production, we do have to test cutters and print/ cut machines before we sell them, plus we occasionally cut some stickers for ourselves. One day we had that problem too. The culprit?
The bright overhead lights in our workshop were bouncing off the material into the laser and the machine got lost and could not find the marks. When we shaded the machine with a piece of cardboard, it found the marks perfectly. You might try that trick or otherwise shadow your machine as well if that happens to you. Let us know how you make out.
Do you have a question? Do you need a recommendation? Don't hesitate to call us! As always, let us know how we can be of assistance to you. We are here to help!
Some Thoughts on Ink Issues (6/2016)
As a service company, we get frequent calls from customers with a variety of what may be ink-related issues. When contacting ink manufacturers to notify them, we are always asked for the ink lot code
numbers. I can't speak for all manufacturers, but one leading manufacturer that we know well actually keeps a sample of every ink batch through its expiration date. Impressive? Certainly, but necessary.
Should they get a call, they can verify if there is in fact a problem with that batch of ink. In fact, on one occasion they acknowledged an issue and took care of the customer. Now that's a good company!
What I am getting at, is you should make it a habit to save the last cartridge/bottle/pack that comes out of your printer. When the next set of ink goes in, you can throw away the one that is now "two back" and
have a record of what ink is actually running in your printer. To make it clear - you have one in the printer, and you are holding the last one that came out. When the next one goes in, hold the one that comes out, and then toss
the one that you have been holding. That way, if you have an issue, you have something to report to the ink company. Without it, all they can say is "see if it happens again and let us know."
Just a thought!
Do you have a question? Do you need a recommendation? Don't hesitate to call us! As always, let us know how we can be of assistance to you. We are here to help!
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