Banner weld

4k for a banner welder. They're good until you get to the end of a banner then it really distorts the end of the seam.

 

I don't know much about much... but I do know a thing or two about banner welders. One of my best friends is the Canadian distributor for Sinclair Equipment (Triads and Specs and such). They're considerably more than $4K ...and they are awesome. If memory serves me well, you break even on monthly lease payments (for a Triad) if you're finishing in excess of 1000 sq ft per month. Just FYI.

 

Here's an ebay model for $479
There's a video showing it hemming a digitally printed banner.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/LATEST-Banner-We...413?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5f1414ad

 

I turn into sleepy mode if I don't do something within 15 minutes too :ROFLMAO:\


But does anyone here have one of these?

 

Fellers sells one made by Leister that runs $4000. I've seen it demoed at a show, but don't own one. From what I remember it made a strong seam. We use tape for hems. A welded hem would seem fine if you are using gromet. Don't think it would be good for pole pockets if used outdoor because your welding a laminated material to start with and the layers could seperate. sewn seam I would thin would be stronger.

 

I just got the Triad last week. I'm still in the "testing" phase however I'm pretty happy with it so far. Definitely more than 4 grand though.

 

i was talking about the one from fellers that does the same thing for 4 grand.

 

There is a huge difference between the Leister and the Triad. The Leister is a hot air system and the Triad is a contact wedge welder. The Leister is fine for non precision work like seaming tarps and such, but it's really slow for a production tool when you've got 20 banners to get out today. The Triad is a good intermediate tool but still isn't the fastest thing. If you're doing 100's of banners at a crack and you want to weld vs sew you want a Miller.

 

@StickySigns - Assuming you bought from Thermal Bond, say "Hi!" to Steve for me - and let him know I've got his back at Signs101.

@Colorado - Sorry, didn't mean to offend. Just wanted to be sure that all banner welders didn't get painted with the same brush. As Slamdunkpro stated, there's no comparison between the Leister and a Triad.

@Slamdunkpro - With respect, I think you're wrong about the Triad being "intermediate". If set up correctly you can easily attain equal if not greater output speeds. Plus, for the money you pay for a Miller, you can own a small fleet of Triads.

 

Things to consider when buying a welder.
What do yo need it for?
What kind of volume will you be producing?
What kind of sizes are you dealing with? 2'x3' or 10'x20'?
Space requirements - You need space for the machine itself but you also need space to work on the banners. IE a 10'x20' is gonna require a lot more room than a 2x3.
Power requirements - IE a triad or a leister only require regular power. A Miller requires 220v and an air compressor.

Just some things to think about.

 

http://www.signwarehouse.com/BAN-PRO-p-SE-SPL-BP-1.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCOaB3efM7o

I think I would rather spend $1300 on this thing... but I'll probably just keep using good old banner tape.

 

If a small fleet is 2, then you are correct. BTW I have a Triad, what do you production seam with?

 

I don't production seam with anything. Do you have a Miller too?

 

No, like i said I have a Triad, I couldn't justify the Miller based on my production when I bought the Triad, but if I stay this busy I'll invest in a Miller vs another Triad. I like my Triad just fine, but it's not in the same league as the Miller if you actually use them every day, it's more of an intermediate unit.

 

I've used two different finishing houses that have had the triad welders.

Both jobs came out horribly substandard. In one case the supplier (who I bought the media from) blamed it on the media because the welder couldn't hold the heat over a 40' banner. Yeah right! It's the media, of course, it must have gotten thicker or something.

In both cases I yanked the jobs out of their incapable hands and went with banner tape. Nothing's failed and both customers are still loyal clients.

Even at 14K the triad is considered a cheap welder. WTF? I could outfit two full blown Tig systems with a big *** diesel truck and employees and send them out into the oil patch to weld pipelines for less than I can get a good banner welding system. Something is very very wrong with that portion of our market.

I for one am very happy to service the 99.5% of customers who are perfectly happy with taped hems.

Oh yeah BTW, those cheap chinese knockoffs of the leister hot air units don't do hems. They just weld flat panels together.

After investigating this portion of the market at length I think the best possible solution is a double needle Juki system and sewn hems for banners that require strong durable hems. Which are few and far between.

 

The media does make a huge difference with welders. Some vinyls just don't produce a good seam when welded, although in your case it sounds like the vendor screwed the pooch. I've done quite a few seams longer than 40' and not had a problem with my Triad. That being said, the Triad isn't something you can put a trainee on and "set and forget", you've got to watch it as it seams and make periodic adjustments.