I have the opportunity to buy some digital printing equipment from my employer(city government). They shutdown their sign shop about 2 years ago (this been sitting since then) and have decided that they need the space now and are offering it to me since they know I have a sign shop and no one else would be interested. They told me to make them an offer. "We are just trying to get this crap out of here as soon as possible" is what the area supervisor told me yesterday.
This is what they have:
Gerber Edge Printer (age unknown but very good condition) Gerber GS-15 Plotter (same here) About 50 GCS Series Gerber Color Cartridges-All colors (15 are used - the rest new) About 25 ZeroNine cartridges- assorted colors used 32 rolls of 3M - Gerber 15" x 50yd. Assorted colors - New in box and @ 25 used rolls 2 extra heads Digital printing software - not sure what exactly
My concern is the shelf life of the vinyl and cartidges. Also would the head on the printer need replacing or other costly maintenance?
I had a digital printer in my budget for next year but thought if I could get all this for a very BIG bargain (few hundred bucks) would it be worth buying to get me through a couple of years.
I would appreciate any advice you can give me since I am unfamiliar with the older Gerber digital printers.
Thanks alot,
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
vinyl has always outlasted any shelf life predictions in my 15 years, and foils I would trust even more.
Print heads for the edge need replacing eventually, but if you can run 2 feet of material through it before you buy it... that would be good. (sitting idle won't hurt it like it would on an inkjet)
Even if the equipment wasn't in the deal, "hundreds" of dollars is a steal. all that material is over $10,000.00 worth, so even $2K to $3K would be a great deal. If the Edge can print a 50% halftone of cobalt blue & the coverage is very even across the width of the vinyl, that is a good indication of the head being in good condition. I assume it's not an Edge2 or you would have said so, but any working edge should be worth another few grand. If it's working, I have little doubt that package could easily bring $6K or more.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
I agree with Doug.
.
Posted by Russ McMullin (Member # 5617) on :
What Doug said.
Posted by Bob Rochon (Member # 30) on :
yes don't reply run to buy that pack...uh wait no don't buy it, it is a raw deal. As a matter of fact you should give me the number and contact so I can call him and stop him from selling this garbage
[ November 11, 2007, 01:12 AM: Message edited by: Bob Rochon ]
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
another Edge package deal, though not as bountiful, that just went back up for sale today for $6K:
Doug said it and I have a Summa dc3+ that is 10 years newer but the EDGE is still working along side. If its cheap enough and you will use the thing buy it. The software version is somewhat important but ( I just learned recently after 6 years of beating my lazy brains out) that a file save as Illustrator 3.0 works with most Gerber stuff. Don't buy it to sit on and gather dust at your home. Try to hook it up and print a 12" x 12" solid black. There may be some spots from dust but that should be ok with proper cleaning - see Gerber's website for how
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
I concur with Doug
Posted by Eddie Kitchens (Member # 1909) on :
I respect all you guys input very much. I will definitely use the machine. We have been subbing out all of our digital printing for a couple of years and now have enough work to justify buying one. It is almost one of those too good to be true deals, but I have checked out everything and it is an unbelieveable deal. I am going to meet with the supervisor tomorrow morning to finalize the deal and write the check. I'll keep you posted of the outcome. I appreciate all the replies.
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