Come take this piece of junk

[SightLine]

I cannot agree more on our Mimaki. I did at first ooh and ahh the expanded gamut of the Epson but quickly got over that. After many years of an older JV3 and now more than a year with our JV33 I've come to realize that 99% are perfectly happy with the gamut and quality our JV33 puts out and most would never see any difference unless idenatial prints from each were near each other. I also see others proclaiming about other machine things like "NEVER leave you rprinter running unattended"..... wow, that is sad. Our Mimaki makes us the most money overnight when no one is here chugging away unattended night after night. In 7+ years of running Mimaki's unattended I can only recall about 3 snafus..... one the takeup motor finally gave out after 5 years of abuse. Nice messy pile on the floor. Another was a head strike - not fun at all, it really got jammed up and sat probably 7 hours like that. Did not wreck the head but sure knocked it out of alignment good and took half a day to recover all the nozzles. Cannot even remember any others specifically. Have been a few operators ones for sure like not making sure it had enough material or ink to run the job. Always fun when the manufacturers attach the media to the tube with gorilla tape and the printer sits there printing in the same spot over and over... I've been to several trade shows over the years and have seen many other machines including running a few other and the only ones I've seen yet that are built as well or better are some of the grand format brands.

 

[artbot]

it's my opinion that insignia's issues being posted on this board have already cost epson scores of printer purchases. after reading what he's gone through, i'd be terrified to plop one of those things in the studio. maybe he can go through his request for a replacement machine (sure-color?). then if nothing else he can post the email addresses to his contacts and his dealer on signs101 and we can all start a letter writing campaign. one guy complaining is one guy. getting 500+ emails complaining about a colleagues issues is something else.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

it's my opinion that insignia's issues being posted on this board have already cost epson scores of printer purchases. after reading what he's gone through, i'd be terrified to plop one of those things in the studio. maybe he can go through his request for a replacement machine (sure-color?). then if nothing else he can post the email addresses to his contacts and his dealer on signs101 and we can all start a letter writing campaign. one guy complaining is one guy. getting 500+ emails complaining about a colleagues issues is something else.

Ha! That's not a bad idea!

Oh, and in case anybody's interested, it's 6:45 PM and I'm still waiting for this conference call from Epson and my dealer... I'm going to go ahead and guess they're avoiding me.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Update in case anybody is interested...

It's Tuesday, the magical solenoid arrived this morning, did not fix the problem. Fortunately the technician Epson sends us understands our frustration and went ahead and ordered just about every other part imaginable as well. So far, because of what I would call a minor head strike, we've had to replace:

-carriage drive motor
-head park solenoid
-head park sensor
-heap position sensor

None of that worked, he's currently replacing the main board to see if the problem lies there. If it does and the printer works, we still don't know if we'll have to replace the heads. Without the head lock solenoid the heads haven't been firmly seated on the capping station so for all we know they're dried up. This is a lot of hassle over a head strike, and definitely makes me feel significantly more uneasy about the build quality and "fragileness" of this printer. If we had a "major" head strike is it just going to burst into flames?

Anyway, that's where we are. We've finally been able to have some discussions with our dealer and the higher-ups at Epson about our distaste for the machine and have requested it be replaced or that they buy it back from us. They are of course resistant to that, but have dispatched a high-tier engineer to visit us on Friday to assess further. Not sure where that will lead, time will tell.

Anybody want to buy a GS6000? I'll make you a killer deal?

 

[jayhawksigns]

Man that sucks. We ran a JV3 as well and for the reliability we had with it, and the opinions you gave me last year, the Epson was definitely out of the running when we purchased our new printer.

Know that every printer has its issues but these Epsons seem to have more then others.

 

[TheSnowman]

Wow...after reading all this, I'm not sure I want to do anything but keep my JV3 alive. All I've had to do is put pumps in it twice and one damper. That's in seven years. If they don't buy it back or replace it with something better, that's enough reason to me to never buy an Epson.

 

[rjssigns]

Insignia I feel your pain. Had a similar situation with thermal printer several years ago. What a mess. Told them I was in the sign business not the printer repair business. I will save all the gory details, suffice to say they over-nighted the latest unit from Taiwan! So I got the unit serial number, posted details on ebay and it was gone in a couple days. Bought my Roland as soon as PayPal cleared and never looked back.
Problem is you will never get compensated for the lost sales and hacked off clients that will never return. Hard, expensive lesson learned.

Take this for what it is worth. I would tell your rep to get bent. Any place worth their salt should not pass you off to corporate. They should do everything in their power to help you. THEY should be handling everything for you, PERIOD. As far as waving a potential hundred grand contract in their face to get service, I'd promise you the moon to get that contract. Then you can receive our complimentary stellar customer service as shown by our handling of your GS6000 issues.

 

[ProWraps]

tell him to order you a new chassis, head, and carriage and build you a new printer!

 

[WildWestDesigns]

This thread came in while I was on my business trip. That really does suck. I've had that happen with some embroidery heads, just had one that always gave you problems, no matter what.

I'm glad though that my consumables aren't as bad as those that use printers though. Only printers I have to worry about are the sublimation printers and they have been rock solid so far.

Too bad. Let me know how it goes. I've always had very good dealings with my embroidery dealers when equipment acts up like this, but I have no idea in the world of printer suppliers what all goes on. Very much interested in seeing how they handle this.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Take this for what it is worth. I would tell your rep to get bent. Any place worth their salt should not pass you off to corporate. They should do everything in their power to help you. THEY should be handling everything for you, PERIOD. As far as waving a potential hundred grand contract in their face to get service, I'd promise you the moon to get that contract. Then you can receive our complimentary stellar customer service as shown by our handling of your GS6000 issues.

Agreed, believe me our dealer is in line to lose some business. I don't claim to be their largest customer by a long shot, but we spent about $50k with them last year and seriously were considering a flatbed purchase from them this year, but I've lost faith in them after this situation...

Also just found out that probably a big reason we've had absolutely zero luck with the takeup reel on this is because the legs are pigeon-toed significantly. The distance between the inside of the legs on the front of the machine is a little over 1.5" less than on the back of the machine, which renders the takeup mechanism completely useless and out of alignment with the printer. Working to fix that now.

Good news is that replacing the main board fixed the current issue, the printer is alive now. I still can't fathom how a minor head strike can cause that much damage to the machine. And surprisingly, even though the heads have been uncapped since last Wednesday, the test draw was perfect so no new heads are needed...

 

[rjssigns]

Forgot to mention in all my ugly mess that I did have my attorney draft a whoop-a** letter to the offending parties. Money well spent as it got things moving rather quickly. Until that point they seemed content to string me along.

Still wonder what it cost to over-night that pig from Taiwan.

 

[Typestries]

Keep track of your downtime, and the opportunity cost of it. Base your suit on that. I'd bet it's way more than the cost of the printer. Oce took back my second Arizona 180 this way. It never ever worked right. Even had the best arizona tech here for a week straight. It was so bad they didnt even want the machine back. We crushed it up with a customers track hoe. Man was that fun, and a great way to end an 18 month battle. Yeah, oce may not be the same company today, but you'll never EVER see another piece of oce equipment in this place, ever again!

 

[HulkSmash]

I hope you get what you want mike. I can see through the years... you've had a ton of issues.. at LEASt they send a tech when problem arises... that's a plus... but yeah.. sounds like you got a lemon...good luck

 

[SD&F]

If they are sending an engineer out there, that is either a really good sign or they want to defend their position. I would definetly negotiate with them and have all your documentation in front of you and organized.(all problems, issure, service calls, etc...) If you are going to buy something from them then get as much if not all credit back for the machine, less wear and tear. I would not volunteer that you are willing to do this upfront immediately. I would also have all the time down documented and perhaps the $$$ figure on jobs lost due to it. This puts you in the position of how much money you actually lost and it was due to their faulty machinery. I would ask for heaven and settle for earth. I may not start off aggressively, but firm and willing to give the illusion that you will pursue and use all media avenues possible. GOOD LUCK

 

[Out There]

it's my opinion that insignia's issues being posted on this board have already cost epson scores of printer purchases. after reading what he's gone through, i'd be terrified to plop one of those things in the studio. maybe he can go through his request for a replacement machine (sure-color?). then if nothing else he can post the email addresses to his contacts and his dealer on signs101 and we can all start a letter writing campaign. one guy complaining is one guy. getting 500+ emails complaining about a colleagues issues is something else.

It sure kept me from buying one. Grimco was really trying hard to sell me a GS6000, but I went with Mimaki due to what I've read on this forum. I told Grimco about some serious issues shops were having with the GS6000, he seemed very surprised there was any issue with that printer.

 

[parrott]

Would love to hear an update. We own a GS6000 and have been very happy with it, but you can't help but feel a little nervous when you hear about situations like this.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Would love to hear an update. We own a GS6000 and have been very happy with it, but you can't help but feel a little nervous when you hear about situations like this.

The Epson "high ranking" engineer will be here tomorrow morning, we'll see what they say, I'll report back with an update then. So far though the printer's printing fine. We haven't tried to print anything heavy on it (banner or wallpaper) so I'm not sure if aligning the frame will have fixed that problem or not, hoping to experiment with that today if we have time but it's not looking likely, we're just too busy to take it out of production right now...

 

[rjssigns]

Funny you should mention the Chief Engineer is stopping by. Had the same thing with my old thermal. The genius that designed it flew in from Texas for a look see. After about an hour I burst out laughing when he couldn't do a darn thing with the rig. Not real tactful on my part but at this point I had had enough. I said: "When I say something is effed up it's effed up, just like I told you countless times on the phone"!!

When the high High Mucky Muck stops by I hope you have a similar experience. It will serve to reinforce your case against them. Make sure you collect all documentation of the visit like we did.

I am sorry I cannot proffer any sage advice to cure your issue. Just know I understand your plight, and lived the printer hell you are experiencing.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Funny you should mention the Chief Engineer is stopping by. Had the same thing with my old thermal. The genius that designed it flew in from Texas for a look see. After about an hour I burst out laughing when he couldn't do a darn thing with the rig. Not real tactful on my part but at this point I had had enough. I said: "When I say something is effed up it's effed up, just like I told you countless times on the phone"!!

When the high High Mucky Muck stops by I hope you have a similar experience. It will serve to reinforce your case against them. Make sure you collect all documentation of the visit like we did.

I am sorry I cannot proffer any sage advice to cure your issue. Just know I understand your plight, and lived the printer hell you are experiencing.

Ha! I'm sort of expecting the same thing honestly. And like I said, we're super busy right now because we're so far behind from having a machine down, I'm not sure if they're expecting me to sit there and run wallpaper samples through it all day so they can see it for themselves but that's not going to happen. We've got plenty of photographs of it ruining jobs, that'll have to suffice. I don't really get what them flying somebody out here is going to accomplish, unless it's just a PR move on their part to keep us from burning their building down...

 

[rjssigns]

Can't wait for details.