It's not much of a secret (on here anyway) that we've had a less than great experience with our Epson GS6000. It was purchased specifically to print wallpaper, but it can't handle the media and craps out in one way or another whenever we try to run it. It can't handle any heavy media, it won't even run 13oz banner without having a fit. In and of itself, while that's frustrating, we dealt with it by shifting thick materials to the Mimaki and running thin stuff on the Epson, because when it does print the quality is stunning.
But on top of that, we've had 8 tech visits in the year we've owned it, amounting to over $8k worth of repair work, thankfully under warranty (two of those visits were to address why it won't handle heavy media, both ended with them throwing their hands up and saying "not approved media"). But the thing is not built well, if you sneeze near it it will break. We had a "paper jam" yesterday while loading static cling vinyl in it, it bunched a little in front of the head (nothing major, pretty average, I've seen waaaaay worse on the JV33 or our old JV3s). Somehow that managed to burn out the carriage motor and destroyed a little solenoid that locks the head in place when it parks on the capping station. So it's down. Epson is very good about dispatching a tech quickly. They overnighted parts to us, and the tech came to make the repair. Problem is the little solenoid is back ordered apparently everywhere in the world; the printer won't run without it. So here we are busy as crap and down a critical printer (again). They have no idea when the part will be in.
We're just sick of fighting this thing tooth and nail. Between all the downtime we've had and ruined jobs because it won't pull thick media it's cost us more money that we've made on it. And we're only at the end of year 1. The warranty runs out very soon and I'm scared to death I'm going to have to shell out $8k+ every f'n year to keep the thing limping along, at that I'll never get the production out of it we expected or were promised...
Anyway, have a conference call with my dealer and a couple regional Epson managers this afternoon, I want them to replace the machine with a new GS or that new SureColor printer they have coming out next month, or even better, just give me my money back. Never been in a situation like this before, I don't really want to go in guns blazin' because I want them on my side so to speak, that's why I'm curious if anybody's ever been successful in similar situations and if so how...
