Do you Print / Laminate / Cut from home?

[Kemble]

Been looking at the SW package deal of their 48" Printer / 53" Lam / 54" Cutter. Currently we (meaning the wife and I) work out of our home with just a 24" Graphtec. We do 95% of our business through our website, eBay and Amazon. Were looking into going full color to increase our sales.

However, upon speaking to the SW rep we were made aware that the 53" Lam is one piece and is 680 lbs. Our intentions are to continue to work out of our basement, which obviously involves ~12 steps and the entire door FRAME to be removed.

My question is, how many of you have one of these 53" Lam and work out of your home and where is it? How many people did it take to get it where you wanted it?

Thanks

 

[FatCat]

Going from a 24" cutter to a 48" printer, 53" laminator and 54" cutter is a big step in required space. Realize each piece of equipment is going to need roughly a 5' x 7' area just to exist in. THEN you need to have the room to actually work/load materials and sometimes let prints/vinyl lay flat out on the floor. THEN you're going to need at least a 4' x 8' work table to deal with what those machines produce. Hopefully you have the room in your basement for all of that.

Getting the stuff downstairs is another maneuver in itself, but it can be done. Might need to hire some professional riggers - but I would think 3-4 able bodied guys and a little creative muscle would make it happen.

 

[Chuck Olson]

I have a 62" Seal Image Plus Laminator in my basement. It weighs over 1,500 pounds. I hired a moving company to move it off the truck and into my basement. They sent 6 guys with ramps, pulleys and all kinds of other stuff to move it. When I sell my house the laminator is going with it!

On another note, a 48" printer? Some day you will want to print to that full 48" and you won't be able to do it.

Go with a 54" printer (same as the cutter). You will have a wider range of materials and increased printing width. You'll also have to go with a larger laminator.

 

[Gino]

Many people have created far worse conditions, but the one thing you might want to consider....

Unless you're using some aqueous based ink... all printers give off a certain amount of toxic chemicals and if the area isn't well ventilated.... which most basements aren't... you could be doing you and your family a great injustice. A vendor will sell anything to anybody.... anywhere. It's your duty to make sure you have the right conditions. In a well ventilated room [about 20' x 35'] most odors and chemicals will not matter, but in your location, according to weather conditions and other things going on.... working and living with a printer is not a very good idea.

If you have young ones or pets around I would not consider it in the least. Not worth the risks.

As far as getting it down there.... one small slip and you just bought yourself a pretty big expensive paper weight, not to mention the damage it could cause falling on someone.

Why not just set it up in your garage ??

 

[p3]

agreed with chuck, We were looking into the same deal that you are thinking about purchasing. But we went with the 54" just because the material, and if you ever do bigger stuff, such as vehicle graphics you can do a hood with no seams. Just like horsepower, better to have it and not use it, then need it and wish you had it. We have all our stuff in the dining/living room in our house..its a bit cramped but works for now while looking for a shop.

 

[300mphGraphics]

I have the SW package, plus a 2' x 8' table to load materials in a 12.5' x 12.5' room at my commercial location. It is very tight. The layout table is in another room. Took two guys just to get the laminator over the threshold, going down stairs, sounds like a challenge. I'd build a ramp and rig a winch or come-along and let 'er down slooowly. What a pain to move materials down. A roll of vinyl or lam can be 40+ pounds and I'd recommend having two people to load the printer as the little plastic roll holders don't look all that strong..

 

[Idea Design]

I have all three pieces that you've listed here. They used to be in my basement until we opened our retail store.

The only thing that gave us trouble was the laminator. I'm here to tell you that it is H E A V Y. I believe somewhere in the 800 pound range. When I got bought my printer and lam at the end of 2007, they had just changed the model of the laminator without changing the model number. So I went to look up the shipping weights on it all to make sure there would be no trouble, they had the laminator listed at 440lbs. I figured two or three guys could struggle and make it, no big deal.

Five guys, thirteen steps, three and a half hours, and gallons of sweat, we finally made it to the bottom of the stairs.

All I'm saying is be weary, at least they told you it was heavy. My staircase is only 3' wide and at the bottom, the landing abuts the concrete foundation wall. An architectural wonder, really.

I do not envy you in the least, but wish you the best.

 

[Kemble]

We live in a quad level. In our basement we have a 23' x 15' workable area (the basement is actually 27' x 15'). Should be plenty of room for the 3 machines and my (2) 8' work benches. If we feel a bit cramped we can put one of the machines in our 7' x 12' laundry room that is only 5 stairs up.

As far as ventilating, I plan on putting the printer near the wall that has our dryer on the other side, planning on tapping into the dryer vent.

As far as going with the 54". For our target niche that we sell on the internet we wont ever do anything larger than 22". Word of mouth and for those that want some banners made we will use up to what the printer can handle but it won't be our biggest selling point. If we feel the need to go larger in the future then we will, by that time we will more than likely be expanding to a storefront and have the necessary room then.

 

[Kemble]

Cody, how did you get it down the stairs? Just brute strength? did you build a ramp for the stairs? I'm considering going to Home Depot and buying some 1" particle board and build a ramp over the stairs. Get some heavy duty tow straps and slowly move it down the ramp.

 

[Idea Design]

It looks like a machine that belongs in a machine shop. It's built with like 1/8" plate steel and is super heavy duty. Don't take my comments out of context, I love my laminator; they sometimes get a bad wrap around here. It's just bulky, that's all.

When I ordered it, I was under the impression that it weighed 400lbs plus or minus. When it showed up, on a semi, I gathered my troops to discuss.

One of my race car drivers used to deliver refrigerators when he was in high school, so he called in a favor and we borrowed a refrigerator dolly. We turned the big-ass thing on its side and strapped it to the dolly. Then two guys got below on the stairs, and one heavy-duty guy was on the dolly. One stair at a time we lowered it down. Extremely dangerous the way we did it because if the guy who was manning the dolly would've slipped, it would have killed both of us that were on the bottom side.

I think I would recommend raw horsepower to move this thing; I don't think a ramp and all that is a good idea because of the bulk. One slip and someone's getting hurt or something's getting damaged.

I did, however, look into the automatic stair climbing dolly that are out there for rent. I don't have the space to get the dolly in place, strap up, and move up or down the stairs. If you have room to move, you might check it out. There are some that can carry somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000lbs. They're used to move pianos and large safes and things of that nature.

 

[dlndesign]

Funny this should post at this time, we have the SW package too, its a RS Laminator, and yes it is heavy, but we're in a industrial area, so no problem moving it to a truck with a lift gate and moving it. We're moving locations next month and this was something I was wondering myself, but with a lift and a truck and just rolling it out, no problem. I do not envy the process you're going through either. Keep in mind that you keep notes on how you got it down there, 5 years down the line when you move into a retail spot, you might have forgotten a thing or two. Good luck!

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

I thought bringing my 3 65" machines was rough thought the second floor window. I'm thinking bringing them down stairs would be even harder. These are allot heavier than you think. Plus they are LONG and you'll probably need to disassemble the printer to get through and around doorways. As much as you've researched you equipment, I urge you to research your intended source.

 

[Ponto]

Wow... I don't know whether I should applaud the enthusiasm, wish you luck or forewarn you about the inevitable pitfalls associated with such an endeavour... I personally find that one can never have enough space and cramped quarters will lead to a frustrating production environment.

...my 2 cents

Jp

 

[SEOR]

In my printing room at the shop, which is 1400 sqft, I use a 54" Printer/Cutter, a 60" laminator and a 5'x20' working table. You better have a big basement because space disappears REAL quick, especially with "walk-around" space.

 

[TheSnowman]

We didn't have downstairs, but in our old shop, when we went digital, we had to put all that upstairs. I carried our 54" Mimaki plotter up the stairs myself (without the legs attached) and then I had one other person help me lift the printer off the bed of my truck, and up into the next level entry door. When we moved to our new store front, we just used a scissors lift, wheeled the printed off the second story platform, and took it down to the bottom level, then with six guys, lifted it off, and onto the trailer.

I think you just need a little creative thinking, and lots of muscle power. The ramp idea with some kind of a ratchet strap, or come-along might work?

 

[Extreme Graffix]

I work out of a 20x24 room and i have my 40inch gerber, my 60 inch inch cutter and my pc-60, one work table and supplies in there and i am running out of room.I i have a mimaki JV-3 printer i bought too that is still at the place i bought it cause i have no where to put it right now. i have to keep moving things around just to use them. So make sure u have the room to move and store your needed sign boards and supplies. You are going to be going through alot of work to find out later when you get down it all down there u have no room to breathe.So being im in that boat right now make sure the space is there before u find out the hard way.I had to use a room in my house for my screen printers cause there is no way of putting them in my shop. Hopefully soon my new shop is done and i will be in heaven.But like they say there is never enough room no matter how big your building is you still run out of space.So do yourself a favor measure your equipment and draw it out on paper and make a floor plan before you strain yourself for nothing.

 

[J Hill Designs]

...measure your equipment and draw it out on paper and make a floor plan before you strain yourself for nothing.

AND have to carry it all back up the stairs...

 

[Gino]

I debated for awhile about writing this, but do you know how many laws you are breaking with some of the stuff you are admitting to ??

• Your insurance would drop you like a hot potato if they knew you were doing this.
• Codes would probably site you for various infractions.
• Neighbors could have a field day with you, if you ever pissed one off and they knew this stuff was down in your basement.
• Venting an industrial piece of equipment out a dryer hose is totally illegal….. and stupid.

I’m only saying these things because if some other person reads this in the future and thinks they can do it without any flack…. they’re also in for a wide eye opening experience if ever found out.

There are laws about doing some of this stuff inside a residential home. Main one being…. Insurance and Zoning. You can’t mix home owners and business insurances together unless you’re lying to your agent.

Before computers when all we did was hand paint… do you know it was against the law to store your paint in your basement, let alone put them there temporarily overnight ?? That goes for your garage, too. My argument used to be… but I do this professionally and I know more about this stuff than the guy who is storing house paint and thinners in his garage for weekend painting. And that was the difference… I was professional, therefore held up to different laws and rules.

If you are running a business in your basement, garage or kitchen and no one knows… then you’re just cheating… and I do mean cheating. If you or anybody else is doing this for more than 3 months [one quarter] without taking out full permits, licensing and business insurance… I have no time for ya. Doesn’t mean I won’t help you, buy you don’t deserve the same chances which are given to others that are doing this 100% above board. Weekend warrior or not. You’re either in business or you’re not.

All the excuses in the world don’t work unless you are set up in business and I don’t think with this new stuff, you’ll be legally permitted to do so.

For all of you that are set up in a bedroom, basement or garage out back… so be it. Keep doing it if you can beat the system, but please don’t be upset with those of us that have struggled for years or decades doing this business by the rule book. I’ve been legal for almost my entire time in this business… 38 years. When the insurance agents told me I needed to do this or that… I did it. I didn’t look for weak excuses or do it illegal and just wait for the law to show up and take my chances.

Anyway, my rant is over and as far as the OP goes…. I think there is plenty of proof in the above threads that you better think this thing through very carefully, cause it’s harder pushing this stuff up stairs then it is lowering it. Gravity works against you moving uphill. And now….. Good Luck. ​

 

[cajun312]

If you aren't going any wider with your prints than 22" why not get a 30" Roland VersaCamm and a 30" laminator. Save lot's of space and money. Plus you wouldn't have to deal with SW.

 

[Extreme Graffix]

i started out in the garge out back but i had to do a lot of rezoning to get part of the property zoned commercial after the headache i should of just rented a building somewhere.So now i get two tax bills for the same property one for the commercial part and one for the residential part. Its a pain but to be legit you have to do it.I know here in indiana there are a few people that have gotten a wing of there house ok'd to put business's in they are real estate offices and insurance agencies.But i dont think a basement has been done or can be done without its own outside entrance that passes code. But then it depends even then on what business's they will allow to do that. Zoning for every business is different. Zoning varies by counties here even.One county u can do this and that and one county you can't. So just do a lot of research and planning before going to all the trouble and cause yourself a lot of headache and trouble.