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Are the Daige Quickmounts really that bad?

D

digitalgraffiti

New Member
I bought a Quickmount 4 early this year and was ready to trash it when I realized that the bottom roller had a ridge in it going 3/4 the length and wrapping itself around the roller in a corkscrew effect. Tech Support at Daige told me that was impossible, that they "Do Not let that kind of thing out of their shop" and "it must be my fault". Finally I had the dealer who I bought it through come out and take a look at it and he got on the phone right away to Daige and demanded they send me a new roller. That roller got here and was not level, had a huge dip in it.

I went off and they finally agreed to send me a whole new machine. Though the machine is not the most user friendly, at least it finally does not waste everything I try to put through it. By the way the Tech Support guy I had talked with through this whole ordeal (same one that made the comment about "letting that kind of thing out of their shop" told me when he agreed to ship another one that "they had some guy working there for two weeks who did not know what he was doing."

Once business gets a little more established, I'll be getting a "REAL" laminator.
 
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os101king

os101king

New Member
Hmm. I have to say there aren't any used Daige models on Ebay... usually a good sign. GRS here in Jersey told me $5100 for a Royal Sov 1400... I need one but I need to be able to pay my bills as well..... still on the fence, here. I checked SignSupply and only found Royal or the "house" brand that they call "ProLam". They show a pic and it's nothing like the Applikator. Which model do you have, the 2 or 4?

Tparkin, can you put me in touch with this Daige cat? Might sway me to buy that unit, especially if he can explain how to use it correctly....
 
Charlie J

Charlie J

New Member
i have a quickmount 3 and its decent. I've laminated like 8ft prints without trouble so far. I've seen the qm4 and they look like a lot better machine. There is kinda a learning curve to using but I think its a pretty good bang for your buck
 
os101king

os101king

New Member
John Butto said:
http://www.codamount.com/laminators.htm
This has been used for 5 years and are well made.
Click to expand...


Any problems with "silvering"? I had heard that heat assist deals with this but the CODA is cold-only, right? Looks like a helluva machine, but $6,800? Wow. The Royal's only $5100 (cold-only) and that's supposed to be a really good laminator. My guess is that the CODA's automatic features probably aren't found on the Royal, right?

Man, there's a lotta info out there, right?
 
John Butto

John Butto

New Member
coda

os101king said:
Any problems with "silvering"? I had heard that heat assist deals with this but the CODA is cold-only, right? Looks like a helluva machine, but $6,800? Wow. The Royal's only $5100 (cold-only) and that's supposed to be a really good laminator. My guess is that the CODA's automatic features probably aren't found on the Royal, right?

Man, there's a lotta info out there, right?
Click to expand...

The one that I have is for cold laminates, no silvering, the machine is just well machined with good adjustments, compared to the Daige, have used a Royal before and they are an excellent also, best to go to a show or a distributor and check them out for yourself.
 
d fleming

d fleming

Premium Subscriber
My 54" daige works just fine. I do not use a sled. Mounts to rigid board great as well. We use it daily.
 
signs2trade

signs2trade

New Member
I AGAIN HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE HIGHWAY HANDYMAN. WE USE IT 10 TO 50 TIMES A DAY. IT MOUNTS FLAWLESSLY AND LAMINATES. TO LAMINATE YOU MUST CUT YOU LAMINATE TO FIT THE PRINT. NOTHING AGAINST THE BIG SQUEEZIE. I READ ONE POST AFTER THE OTHER ON HOW GOOD IT WORKS...PERSONALLY I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO MASTER IT AS OF YET. WE ALSO HAVE A 60 " STAR LAMINATOR FOR LONG WRAP RUNS. ANYONE IN THE DIGITAL PRINTING WORLD THAT DOES ANY KIND ON VOLUME MUST INVEST IN THE HIGHWAY HANDYMAN. WE MOUNT ALL OF OUR DIGITAL PRINTS WITHOUT MASKING.
WWW.HIGHWAYHANDYMAN.COM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=F2Um3pPVtac
I DO NOT WORK FOR HIGHWAY HANDYMAN.
 
graphixtogo

graphixtogo

New Member
i45...
what price range are these Highway Handyman units running? Also, I am wondering if the air lift unit they have can be fitted (with some creative modification) to a Daige laminator? I like the idea of equalized, air-controlled pressure! :smile:

I do have a 65" Daige. Like others have said, it is a basic laminator. Not alot of features, hence the cheap price. But if you get it set up correctly, it does what it is supposed to.

Dale... I also have a 38" Big Squeegee and love it. :thumb: A little learning curve, but not bad. I will be ordering a longer one soon.

Weeder/Sheeter... I saw this at the Dallas SGIA trade show in '01/'02 and was immediately sold! I bought both in 24" width. These things allowed me to do jobs by myself that I couldn't have done otherwise. I once did several 20' and over one-piece graphics for a semi-trailer; just me, the Weeder/Sheeter, and a 8' folding table. And it just took a couple of minutes! Get it lined up straight and let it rip! I highly recommend the Weeder/Sheeter as a part of your sign arsenal! Last year, I spoke with Tom from Weeder/Sheeter and, if I am remembering correctly, he said they were working on a wider width than the 30" listed on their site. I could be mistaken though. I wouldn't mind adding a wider one if it was available!
 
high impact

high impact

New Member
That's funny you mention the weeder/sheeter...we used to use it for masking but found out it works just as well for laminating. SERIOUSLY - I installed calendared laminate in it and use it all the time. I have cast lam in the Daige 4 and it works fine now that I got it figured out. I don't use a sled but I do wd40 the rear table so the lam does not stick on the way out. Works fine for us.
 
os101king

os101king

New Member
high impact said:
That's funny you mention the weeder/sheeter...we used to use it for masking but found out it works just as well for laminating. SERIOUSLY - I installed calendared laminate in it and use it all the time. I have cast lam in the Daige 4 and it works fine now that I got it figured out. I don't use a sled but I do wd40 the rear table so the lam does not stick on the way out. Works fine for us.
Click to expand...
so, the word on the Daige at the end of the Dai seems to be positive.... it's just no-frills. how about silvering? does anyone know what that is caused by? And by the sound of things, as long as the Daige comes with all the machined and formed edges nice and even&square, I shouldn't have any problems, right? (oh yeah, and the WD40 lube, too.)
 
R

resqfiremedic

New Member
I have the old Daige QM3 and I have ran quite a few rolls of laminate through it WITHOUT a sled! Its a great machine when you learn the tricks and dont really have the cash for a big one. The new QM4 is much better than the 3 since they have added a paper reel on the front and changed the belt system. I had problems when I first started using mine without a sled because the bottom roller had a bad spot but since I replaced that no problems! You get silvering but its par for the course when you cold laminate,it goes away!! I think the QM4 is a great machine, call me if ya have any questions!
 
os101king

os101king

New Member
Guess I gotta learn the tricks.... I can't put another $200-$300 into more lease payments, but I can shoehorn $2k outta my credit cards. Where did you buy your Daige? I'd be going with the 4 most likely....

... ok. That's the biggest problem spot, isn't it. The rollers having flat or bad spots. Ok, I'll keep my eyes peeled before I start ripping my hair out if there are problems.
 
high impact

high impact

New Member
You will be happy with the Daige IF you understand that it is a cheap, no frills machine. If you expect to run full rolls a day through it then forget about it, but if you are laminating the periodic print and are on a budget then it is not too bad.

Keep you expectations low and you will be amazed! ;-)

OR

Have high expectations and you will be let down and push it into the middle of the road hoping a semi comes by!

It's not bad but it is not great. It works well for us but I can see where it is not for everyone. There is a slight learning curve and the stand is marginal at best.

IMO - the 3 was made by jr highers and the 4 was made by high schoolers. I keep waiting for Daige to hire some college students! lol ;-)
 
gpd123

gpd123

New Member
funny

Its funny, I read through this whole thread and never read a single word about Ledco. I have a Ledco 60" hot shoe. If you want a real laminator, check out the Ledco
 
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