quote:

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2 out of the 5 Gerber people are talking about "upgrading" to the new Summa DC3, so it's got to be good.

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Doesnt sound like great odds to me. 40%? hmmm It makes me wonder why anyone would want to limit themselves to such a small material availability and foil selection.

Thats like driving a car with a fixed steering wheel and only drive for a gear. But hey its got a wide wheel base.


 

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Posted by Jim Doggett (Member # 1409) on :
 
Hi Bob:

quote:

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"hmmm It makes me wonder why anyone would want to limit themselves ..."

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• Automation
  Price
  Size
  Service

Best Regards,

Jim
 

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Posted by Bob Rochon (Member # 30) on :
 
Jim I agree there is a buyer for every machine, I know the DC3 wouldnt work for me and my needs as of yet. And looking at Janets needs I think her eyes might have been bigger than her stomach so to speak.

I do plenty of truck doors and never had the need for a single larger print, Most of the larger prints I do thermal technology would not be cost effective compared to Scoth print.

In this quickly changing and diverse market place I thrive on the ability to sell many many different products to my customers while utilizing one machine to do it. The vast selection of Foils like John mentioned is crutial to a detail oriented sign shop, not to mention the material selection.

I encourage the development of that end for Summa for with the Price and size, if they had the other then well how could one argue.

Automation is wonderful and the fact that the DC3 can hold more than one cartridge is fantastic. I still have a hard time with the machine doing one job or another at a time.

A printer and a cutter in one machine is like having 2 employees and only one desk for them to work at. Someone is going to be paid to stand around doing nothing while the other does his job.

And lastly to do large format prints on the edge requires a "seam" Oh my! is that a SEAM? haha just kidding I do laugh at the resistance to panel.
 

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Posted by Jon Aston (Member # 1725) on :
 
Jimmy D!

How very nice to see your smilin' face around town! seems like it's been a while. Drop me a line some time and let me know how life is treating you.
 

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Posted by Todd Gill (Member # 2569) on :
 
I'd be with Bob for now....simply compare AVAILABLE color foil cartridges between the Edge and the DC3....that alone would guide me to the Edge.

Now, if the DC3 had gobs of in-stock, ready-to-ship foils comparable to the Edge, then I would take a different viewpoint.

Also...how much do DC3 foils cost compared to Gerber Foils, Duracoat Foils, and 9 Foils?? What's the cost comparison per square foot?

Also worth checking out is stated print head lifespan, print head replacement cost, etc.
 

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Posted by JanetBakewell (Member # 725) on :
 
I spend a lot of money on decals that I have to job out because I don't have the machine for it. I only require a machine larger than a Gerber for about 8-10 jobs a year... which is probably close to 1/2 of my expenditure... they're big jobs - $2 - $3000.

Pretty much anything that I can do in my shop is cost-effective, and time-effective, considering the alternative is at least 3 hours away. Overnight by courier, if my supplier will print the job immediately on receiving the email.

Bob mentioned, "A printer and a cutter in one machine is like having 2 employees and only one desk for them to work at. Someone is going to be paid to stand around doing nothing while the other does his job." I sold one of my companies last year, got rid of ALL my employees, bought a huge house, and moved the remainder of my business into it. From what I understand, the Summa doesn't need any babysitting, so once I load it, and send it my artwork, my time's free to work on other projects or work with my old cutter. From my perspective, I'm gaining another employee that is reliable and doesn't talk back!!!
Yup, I wish the Summa had more spot colors, as I'm kind of a fan of them... although just about everyone I've talked to with a Summa uses, for the most part, only the CMYK colors. Thanks, Todd for your comments about the print heads - I've checked them out on other machines, but completely skipped that with the Summa.
Thanks again for everyone's comments, your feedback is appreciated.
Have a great Christmas!!!
 

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Posted by Source Signs (Member # 1164) on :
 
Gene, to answer your question...I use Corel Draw and SignLab software. DC3 comes with Color Control Rip Softwaare and opens all eps files.
The part I do not like is the 'Dongle' I like to move my systems around and hate crawling under my desk all the time to change this and that.
Also for us Canadians, the price of duty can be a killer as this machine originates from Belgium.
Just some things to consider......have a great day.
 

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Posted by Bob Rochon (Member # 30) on :
 
Janet,

Just one more thing to consider.

If it is mostly cmyk your looking to produce, then why think of thermal?

I hear through the grape vine the big "G" is bringing to market just after christmas a 6 color inkjet with 3 year outdoor durability unlaminated running about .35 cents a square foot cost to run. Not to mention Greater DPI, and ... ( dont quote me on this ) I beleive it is wider than the DC3, also comes in 2 sizes.


Let me explain a bit further the 2 employee one standing around analogy, If your printer is cutting then it isnt printing, I can be cutting a job and printing another at the same time, Mostly unattended, the only time you have to touch the machine is to change catridges, and at the gerbers speed that aint squat.

Whatever you decide, I wish you great luck and profitability in your new venture.

[ December 19, 2003, 07:45 AM: Message edited by: Bob Rochon ]
 

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Posted by Todd Gill (Member # 2569) on :
 
Susan,

I hear you on the dongle thing. You can get a software workaround for the dongle for about $350 US. The guy is a Canadian, and guarantee's his software will work...and it does. You can store your dongle in a safe for safe-keeping and eliminate the hassle of crawling around under your desk to move the dongle from one machine to the next.

I can get you his name if you'd like. Although some find this controversial, I read enough to believe it's perfectly legal and legitimate. It will free up a USB port, and keep you from scraping your knees and banging your head under the desk.
 

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Posted by JanetBakewell (Member # 725) on :
 
Just a quick note, Susan... Corbin's Graphic Supplies in Edmonton, AB is selling the DC3 Plus for $24,997 CDN until the end of the month. If you want their number, let me know.

Bob... I love spot colors, so I'll use a combination of CMYK and spot when Summa can't provide the spot colors. Also, there's a five year outdoor life guarantee if you use their products.

I can see where this board could become very addictive... I haven't started work before 10 am for the last week. Bad, bad Janet.
 

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Posted by Jon Aston (Member # 1725) on :
 
Janet:

Like Bob (and I'm sure the others) I wish you well regardless of the machine that you purchase.

Isn't it possible that SUMMA users print mostly with CMYK because they don't have alot of choice in the matter?

If I may suggest, pop over to 4EDGEtalk.com to ask some Gerber EDGE users these questions:

• What percentage of their work is in SPOT colour vs process
• How valuable the Gerber Spectratone system for precisely matching 3200+ colours is to them (and to their customers)
• How many would give up (or have given up) their EDGE in trade for ANY wide format printer. A couple of the people you've spoken to may be considering it, but if they consider the pro's and con's carefully...I personally doubt that any will actually do so.

• Printing process colour matches costs about 4x what a single spot colour costs (or still roughly twice the cost of printing colour matches using two spot colours using Gerber Spectratone).
• The range of maeterials that you can print on a DC3 is quite limited and quite expensive compared to a Gerber EDGE...worth investigating before you put your money down.

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