posted
My biggest waste was for a thermal printer Graphtec gc1300 some seven years back. It cost around 10,000 at the time. Was supposed to do everything the edge could do but failed miserably. Threw out more prints than I actually sold. Have five tears finance on it too so had to stick with it till it was paid off and then got my Edge. I never buy anything anymore unless it has been two years in the marketplace. Very costly being a guinea pig for some of these products
-------------------- Kevin Gaffney Artistik Signs Kinnegad County Westmeath Ireland 044-75187 kevingaffney@eircom.net Posts: 628 | From: Ireland | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
A Fargo thermal printer about 8 years back. It had a 30 day money back guarantee,but I lost a lot on supplies, shipping etc. Still glad I sent it back.
-------------------- Wright Signs Wyandotte, Michigan Posts: 2785 | From: Wyandotte, MI USA | Registered: Jan 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
ALPS MD-1300 PRINTER anyone want one???? was $399.00 and they are outa business......
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
That ALPS MD 1300 Printer you have might just be worth some money.
There are a number of them on E-Bay for sale and I know the problem of getting parts and that the company no longer sells these printers in the USA but they are great printers and many people are buying them just for parts.
I was floored at the price of the ALPS 1000 which I wanted to buy and the the only one I could find was on E-Bay and was used but in good condition.
They are excellent printers for certain things like making decals but finding parts is a pain in the neck.
You may find it worth more then you think.
J. Hill
-------------------- Jim Hill Nostalgic Racing Decals Inc. 637 Sedgewick Way Palm Harbor, Florida. 34683 jimbo1734683@yahoo.com Posts: 22 | From: Palm Harbor, Florida | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
$15K in 1999 for a '96 Chevy Silverado pick-up that is on its 4th transmission. (a glitch with that model, so they say) Got rid of the hubby, he took his truck with him, and I had to have something ASAP for hauling materials & deliveries. I was only able to get a 10-year home equity loan for it. I will probably be paying $260/month for it long after it is sitting on top of the heap at Marshall's Junk Yard. Love...Jill
-------------------- That is like a Mr. Potato Head with all the pieces in the wrong place. -Russ McMullin Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Ah ... you're talking about Trophies ... got a few
Bought a color copier last year (a steal at 13k), I'm replacing it already because ...
1. operating cost on newest generation machines is 50% lower, avg 3800 color prints a month ... you do the math 2. Lost main board 2 months after warranty expired ($4300 part) ... (new one will have 5 yr FSMA...) expensive boat anchor
Epson 2000P - nice toy, just not productive enough for shop use, six color process (2 carts); cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow, black invariably emptied the yellow part of the color cartridge before the other 4 colors were even ½ empty
Funny you mention fargo, my first color printer was a fargo primera pro(1992), It paid for itself with t-shirts & mugs... 3 minutes per 11" color print vs 22 color prints per minute a decade later.
-------------------- Mike O'Neill
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. - Arthur C. Clarke
posted
Flexi -Sign Pro-at 4g's plus the upgrade costs, I still do everything in Illustrator, the most expensive bridge program ever!!! At the time I was a newbie with computers and this was the "IN" thing in sign design....phooooooey!!!!
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1539 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Without a doubt I'd have to say a PNC5000. The most expensive door-stop on the market at the time. I think the print head went faulty as I pulled it out of the box. By far the worst machine I've had the un-pleasure of owning so far.
-------------------- Kevin Alan The Sign Shop Lethbridge Alberta thesignshop@shaw.ca
posted
Roland PC-12. Sample prints they sent were georgous... if only they'd tell me how to get the thing to print that way. Very long learning curve, no technical support at all other than to tell me to use their garbage bridge program, then not tell me HOW to use their garbage bridge program when I ask how.
Edit: Forgot about the second one: ROTO-ZIP. How I have managed to not hurl it through the picture window yet amazes me.
posted
Used Mutoh SpectraJet(1995 era) 36" printer with no instructions or lessons.....very dumb....don't know how to bleed the lines either....hope to learn then I can at least print some large indoor posters.
Fargo Pictura 310s...Has paid for itself, but sooooooo much waste because it does not register properly with full color. It still works great for spot colors...although it hic-ups every once in a while....maybe I should advertise it in the Letterhead classied section.
Dome Kit (really cool effects) but didn't use the stuff before it expired. More waste!
I have to learn to be practical....not impulsive! I say this on the eve of finalizing my new Gerber Edge 1 purchase...any words of wisdom before I sign the papers? (This time I have done my some thorough homework...the salesman is probably tired of all my questions)
-------------------- Susan Banasky Source Signs Nanaimo, British Columbia sourcesigns@shaw.ca
When in need....go directly to the "Source"!
Proud Supporter of this "Knowledge Network"! Posts: 1323 | From: Nanaimo, B.C. Canada | Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Just sold my ALPS MD1300 for $250 on Ebay this past week and actually made money.
As I told the judge at my divorce hearing 20 years back, If I would of known this wasn't gonna work, I would have been collecting life insurance instead of wasting my time in court.
Outside of my wife, I never had a tool that didn't work
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
posted
I gotta agree with Rick C. on this one. Flexi Plus 5.8 is nothing but a paper weight for me. Not just the program, but the company itself. I lived through the "merger" with 8-10 day call backs from tech support. I got mad and got a Gerber system......SO MUCH DIFFERENT----BETTER! Gerber's tech support is second to none! SO, my 4K for the software was my greatestwaste since being in business.
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3488 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I jumped into the digital printing void way too early with a NovaJet III and a hardware RIP to the tune of 14K.
It worked OK if you used it every day but leave it set for two and it was a three hour job to get all the print heads firing again. It got so frustrating that I wouldn't even take jobs for it because of the time investment involved in getting that first print. I finally gave the whole thing away to the local Voc Ed center for them to play with.
I fortunately was able to get into GSP's beta program for MacImprint in 99 and never looked back. Got back into large format a couple of years ago with an HP 5000. This one has been a pleasure to use all the way.
-------------------- Bill Modzel Mod-Zel screen Printing Traverse city, MI modzel@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1357 | From: Traverse City, MI | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
letter art software...junk...a year later i got an edge so i've been with gerber. aside from buying all sorts of stupid purty colors of vinyl(when i first started) that no one would want...i finally tossed those out...i must have heaved about 50 partial rolls of 9 yr old sparcal 15"...even tried to give them away...obvious they couldn't take them soon enough...when i'm through i want it out of my face at that very momment.
i was a syquest victim also...almost forgot about that $500 no good piece a sh!t..
oooh and i paid $2,500 for a hp deskjet in 93 when they were the size and weight of a small elephant. what a slow p.o.s. aah the memories!
[ March 19, 2004, 10:39 AM: Message edited by: KARYN BUSH ]
-------------------- Karyn Bush Simply Not Ordinary, LLC Bartlett, NH 603-383-9955 www.snosigns.com info@snosigns.com Posts: 3516 | From: Bartlett, NH USA | Registered: Jan 2001
| IP: Logged |
Back when 600 dpi was the "top end" of most home and small business printers, I felt I needed to go higher for our "camera ready art". I spent $10,000 for a nice 1000 black and white dpi printer. Remember, 600 dpi was way out there and expensive compared to the 300 and 400 dpi printers. It worked fine for several years, but eventually needed some service work. With a $10,000 investment setting there, I sent it in for a full service job and paid several hundred dollars plus shipping both directions. About one month later, a fine wire broke that was connected to a cheap plastic part and ruined the whole thing. They didn't stand behind their service work and I ate the whole thing.
Now, of course, you can get a 1400 dpi color printer for $350.
For the rest of you young pups , you might find it interesting to know the first Gerber 4bs sold for $7,450 with one font. There was no dealing or dickering either. Each additional font cost $295 and it only held a total of 10 fonts. That was one font-one weight for $295. Looking at it from today's standards, it was a terrible investment, but at the time, it was a valuable tool and worth every penny.
I can certainly feel Kevin's pain with that big investment. Been there, done that.
Mike Jackson
-------------------- Mike Jackson Golden Era Studios Jackson Hole, Wy www.goldenstudios.com/ Posts: 390 | From: PO Box 7850 | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
pc60 never made money with it, wasted lots of ribbons when it waould mess up half way through a job,no support.10g mistake. now what about the sp-300, new machine same compay ps-kissy told you not to buy the 12 at mass mania 3 sorry.
-------------------- Burris Custom Painting 203 Brown St. Tewksbury,Ma. 01876 Posts: 96 | From: Tewksbury, Ma 01879 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Kevin Alan: Without a doubt I'd have to say a PNC5000. The most expensive door-stop on the market at the time. I think the print head went faulty as I pulled it out of the box. By far the worst machine I've had the un-pleasure of owning so far.
Yup Kev total pile of junk
-------------------- Steve Broughton Alpha Grafix Signs Lowfields Road Benington, Boston Lincolnshire, England Posts: 315 | From: Boston, Lincolnshire, England | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
-------------------- John Byrd Ball Ground, Georgia 770-735-6874 http://johnbyrddesign.com so happy I gotta sit on both my hands to keep from wavin' at everybody! Posts: 741 | From: Ball Ground, Georgia, USA | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I am glad I did not jump on the new technology bandwagon like you guys. My biggest waste of money lasy year was $20,000 spent on rent & expenses to run my shop, my lanlord made more money than me!
Going homebased!
Cheers
-------------------- Rob Thomas 3410 Ketcham Ct Beautiful Springs FL 34134 Posts: 965 | From: Bonita Springs, Florida USA | Registered: Feb 2000
| IP: Logged |
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[FYI]](graemlins/fyi.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic