today on a very special "what's wrong with my printer?"....

[Marlene]

is it just me or has the site become a "what's wrong with my printer?" forum? are all these printers really that bad that we can't go a day without a clodded head, gainy prints, missing colors? makes me glad to be an Edge person as it seems like our printers just print without all the drama

 

[Asuma01]

Its basically.
Free Tech support > Paid Tech Support.

But seriously though. Its the best place on the internet that I have found to ask questions like this. Plus all the major vendors and hardware manufacturers monitor this forum. And I trust another person that actually has and uses a printer then a phone tech that has never even touched one.

PLUS! I usually get answers here faster then through official tech support.

Aren't edges small and slow? From what I know you cant print 54" on an edge.

 

[artbot]

when you see an old printer knock out up to $10k in product in a day. then maybe two times a year it needs attention, it's not so bad.

 

[gabagoo]

I think it has to do a lot with the training we get from dealers. When I first got my printer I was the only one I knew that had this model. I ran into many issues with colour and and dealing with different types of materials. I would call them and they made me believe that I was the only one having issues and refused to give me a list of others who had the same machine so I could call and discuss how to deal with things.

Signs 101 was the best thing I think the internet ever did for my quality of life.
I seriously thought I would drop dead of a heart attack with all the issues I was having. but once I asked questions in here with such a large group of members having the identical machine, all my problems slowly vanished. I want to thank all the members and especially Fred for this site.

I value this site and check in daily to see if I can help others.

 

[HDvinyl]

Again, there should be the top asked questions "sticky" at the top of the index page.

Newbies should have to search 5 times BEFORE being able to post any new thread.

 

[rjssigns]

Again, there should be the top asked questions "sticky" at the top of the index page.

Newbies should have to search 5 times BEFORE being able to post any new thread.

THIS^^^

So many ask the exact same question that has been covered ad naseum.

 

[player]

Cut them some slack... When your printer goes down you just need to ask for direct help. Especially with the risk of missing deadlines.

 

[Gino]

No one can dictate or tell another how to act or perform, unless they are under your hire...... or a family member, but a free open forum is different. While some get tired of the same ol same ol..... others think it's a race to answer as quickly as possible with little to no regards to if the answer is even worthwhile..... let alone correct.

I see so many answers/posts which are repeated from somewhere else in the forum and they just say it, cause it stuck in their head. I've seen people start using new words that never appeared before..... and then it becomes a buzz word and the whole community makes it theirs. Again, nothing wrong with that, except it s all just copy-catting and not pulling from any real concrete knowledge.

s101 is great for finding out all about your printers, media and business philosophies, but as for signs..... not much happens anymore. S'Rex had a spectacular one in here recently as did some other people, but in general, this is more of a tech support site than a sign site. Discussions on signs barely exist and when they do, it always turns into fight as to how IT SHOULDA been done, instead of keeping it a discussion or a learning experience for all involved or watching on. Many many avenues have taken place since I joined 9 years ago and most of them were pretty neat, but something always got in the way and closed them down. The attitude has changed from being a helpful environment to a petty battleground.

There are many sponsors here... and they want to make a living selling their wares, too, but the brawls prevent a friendly atmosphere. It spills out whether you see it or not. Everyone of us contribute to this new era. Is this the image sign shops are taking on.....?? No pun there.

Perhaps a 'Help Needed' category could be implemented. It would/could mean some heavy monitoring, but what will happen is..... all the same people will see that thread and still gripe. ​

 

[Billct2]

Yep, this business is more about being a printer/laminator/computer technician than crafting great signs. Though hopefully the end result is good looking signs no matter how you get there.

 

[Solventinkjet]

It seems like fewer and fewer dealers are employing full time techs. The ones that do, tend to drop you as soon as your warranty runs out if you don't buy an extended warranty or new machine. I get calls from people all the time saying that they called the dealer they bought the machine from only to be left hanging. I get even more calls from people saying everywhere they have called had no idea what was wrong with their machine. 90% of the time the issue is easily fixable but the dealer won't sell parts to the customer without an expensive service call. To become a tech for a dealer, all you have to do is take a class for a lot of these machines. They don't make you take a test and they don't even keep a record of who has taken the class. I believe this is why there are so few good techs out there. I have met a lot of very good ones as well but they tend to shy away from working for dealers. All of these factors have contributed to Signs101 becoming more tech oriented. People are fed up and want to learn how their money maker works so they can fix it themselves. At Solventinkjet.com, we have no problem with that.

 

[rjssigns]

Gino makes some good points. I think you don't see many people posting their wares anymore because it turns into a petty b!tch fest.

Everyone has their opinion and it is just that an opinion. Very rarely do you see members commenting about kerning or what constitutes a readable sign. Nothing based on classic layout, just I woulda done it this way.

I don't let my students make baseless comments. Critique needs to be backed up with facts. Same should apply in these forums.

As far as computer/printer/laminator "runner" that is what it's come down to. I looked at my old photo book and it made me sad.

Used to get to do all sorts of neat sings/projects. I was doing cut vinyl only, but I learned to spice it up with airbrush work and paint techniques. Dimensional show cards and signs and candy paint on motorcycles too.

Now it's how cheap can I get it and can you deliver yesterday.

 

[Fred Weiss]

12 years ago, when I first began managing S101, Rick suggested that I not run it with a heavy hand and let things go wherever they would go. I took that advice to heart.

One of the places it went was tech support with the various manufacturers being more than happy to recommend us. Marlene was also more than happy when Tony T helped her solve some problems with her Edge. Now it's suddenly a problem when others seek the same benefit.

Others bemoan the lack of discussion of design and production. Yet some of those folks think it's OK to post pics that ridicule a job posted recently without offering any constructive criticism of how it might have been done better. One can only wonder at their understanding of cause and effect. Oh wait! Rudeness be damned. We can call it blunt truth.

Still others think the posting of often asked questions would solve the shortcomings of an online community with 4,000 to 5,000 unique members and visitors a day when most don't even use our main menu or read our few rules or the How To threads.

The reality is that you get what you give. When you ridicule and complain instead of making positive contributions to both the knowledge here and the environment, people go away and don't return. The community is then the loser. You get the drift.

 

[Gino]

Personally, no.... I don't get the drift.

There is so much rubbish put up one can't tell if the OPs are serious or not anymore. The thread you referred to.... I specifically asked, what was the actual meaning to the thread. It was complete garbage. I WAS being nice and not ridiculing. The OP never came back, which is an indication, he/she didn't have a thought in their head. If anyone could defend that truck as needing guidance, they'd need their head examined, too. The thing was unadulterated horribleness and the last 2 pictures were quite fitting. You had to be blind not to see all the problems and faults with that thing. Is this being mean ?? NO. It's being honest..... something some others should try on in these waters. The feeding frenzies that go on are overwhelmingly from people who don't have a clue about business, craftsmanship or the sign business. That's sad.

I'm not saying if you can't paint by hand, weld, bend neon or go 35' up in a bucket truck you ain't sh!t. I'm just saying..... why don't these people want to know or try to better themselves ??

I guess because the site's name has Signs in it, I would think signs would be the greater part of discussions here. When I joined, it was more prevalent, but now represents less than 15%..... if that. That too, is sad.

I, in no way, intend to try to direct you or anyone else in how one should run a forum, but I am free to suggest things and make comments.


As for getting what you give...... I for one see mostly takers and no givers here anymore. The takers continue taking and the same givers continue giving, but the givers are becoming more scarce, while the takers are joining in droves, discouraging most from decent conversation and discussions. Serious minded people would love to share methods and brainstorm together, but it cannot happen... and won't happen as long as ne'er do wells keep stalking the halls.

 

[Fred Weiss]

Personally, no.... I don't get the drift.

That's a shocker. :ROFLMAO:

There is so much rubbish put up one can't tell if the OPs are serious or not anymore. The thread you referred to.... I specifically asked, what was the actual meaning to the thread. It was complete garbage. I WAS being nice and not ridiculing. The OP never came back, which is an indication, he/she didn't have a thought in their head. If anyone could defend that truck as needing guidance, they'd need their head examined, too. The thing was unadulterated horribleness and the last 2 pictures were quite fitting. You had to be blind not to see all the problems and faults with that thing. Is this being mean ?? NO. It's being honest..... something some others should try on in these waters. The feeding frenzies that go on are overwhelmingly from people who don't have a clue about business, craftsmanship or the sign business. That's sad.

But the thread was in the Portfolio Board forum. Not the Layout and Designs forum. No critique was therefore requested. True, the job had numerous problems, but the OP said he was proud of it. Your initial response, for better or for worse, led others into a series of rude replies that costs this community members every time it happens. The picture was flat out rude and Signs 101 was not the better for it.

I'm not saying if you can't paint by hand, weld, bend neon or go 35' up in a bucket truck you ain't sh!t. I'm just saying..... why don't these people want to know or try to better themselves ??

Why don't you see that most are trying to better themselves and that a rude "honest" (in your opinion) reply instead of the different reply many would give if face to face, has the effect of driving people away or scaring them into rarely or never posting. The fact is that the reasons people join Signs 101 are as varied as the number of members we have. You do not have a lock on what is appropriate to discuss here and what is not. Some want to know how to hand letter and some want a font identified. Some need a source or want to know how to achieve some design or production goal. Some want to improve their work and are ridiculed or see others ridiculed when they seek it out. Some make an occasional contribution but mostly love to pounce on some novice who doesn't say what they have to say very clearly or very well or in a way that some approve of.

I guess because the site's name has Signs in it, I would think signs would be the greater part of discussions here. When I joined, it was more prevalent, but now represents less than 15%..... if that. That too, is sad.

Signs 101 has evolved along with the industry. One might observe that it's more about printing these days than about the craft of sign making. Who knows what it will be next year.

I, in no way, intend to try to direct you or anyone else in how one should run a forum, but I am free to suggest things and make comments.

And that's a good thing because there would be no Signs 101 with you calling the shots. Yes you are free to suggest and comment, but please don't try to wear the hat that what you do is helpful, courteous or of benefit to Signs 101.

As for getting what you give...... I for one see mostly takers and no givers here anymore. The takers continue taking and the same givers continue giving, but the givers are becoming more scarce, while the takers are joining in droves, discouraging most from decent conversation and discussions. Serious minded people would love to share methods and brainstorm together, but it cannot happen... and won't happen as long as ne'er do wells keep stalking the halls.

That was suggested to you as an idea for a second forum website a while back. You did not see any benefit for you.

 

[HDvinyl]

That was suggested to you as an idea for a second forum website a while back. You did not see any benefit for you.

I found this new sign place that seems to be geared more towards seasoned sign makers.

 

[Fred Weiss]

I found this new sign place that seems to be geared more towards seasoned sign makers.

Interesting that the second most active thread there is mostly about bashing Signs 101. I hope you find more mission related things to discuss as well.

FWIW, my notion was quite the opposite of what is going on there and how it appears to have been setup ... but I wish you guys every success. You might want to contact Dave Darlak for some pointers. :ROFLMAO:

 

[Gino]

Interesting that the second most active thread there is mostly about bashing Signs 101. I hope you find more mission related things to discuss as well.

FWIW, my notion was quite the opposite of what is going on there and how it appears to have been setup ... but I wish you guys every success. You might want to contact Dave Darlak for some pointers. :ROFLMAO:

Just being invited to browse and becoming a member there, I guess it can't be helped, but if you really read it, there was no bashing of s101 at all. It was an outlet of how the place has taken on a new appeal, which seems to be what sparked this very thread. Since you've been there, in that thread alone, more content was discussed then in any 10 over here. Instead of making fun of another forum which works along side of yours, maybe you could get past your insecurities and check it all out. For the short time it's been around, there's been quite a bit of good discussions there. All get along with no animosity among the membership. I would like if ddarlak would check it out, but how would you suggest that be done ??

 

[HDvinyl]

I like the new spirited Fred!

 

[Bly]

Hey come on.

Those printer repair guys charge a lot...

 

[Fred Weiss]

Just being invited to browse and becoming a member there, I guess it can't be helped, but if you really read it, there was no bashing of s101 at all. It was an outlet of how the place has taken on a new appeal, which seems to be what sparked this very thread.

Not quite true but I was not bothered by it.

Since you've been there, in that thread alone, more content was discussed then in any 10 over here.

That's arguable and is a pure statement of opinion on your part.

Instead of making fun of another forum which works along side of yours, maybe you could get past your insecurities and check it all out. For the short time it's been around, there's been quite a bit of good discussions there. All get along with no animosity among the membership.

But you're attempting to compare a by invitation forum with 24 members to a big board forum with more than 42,000 members (some of whom have an established history of being rude to other members). I'm not making fun of them at all. I just know that on a couple of occasions you've been exposed to proposed ideas that would allow the steering of a forum community towards something of higher appeal to you and you have goosed the moose on each occasion. So it's, IMHO, highly hypocritical of you to critique discussions here when you have no apparent solutions to what you see as problems.

I would like if ddarlak would check it out, but how would you suggest that be done ??

Hmmmm. Let me think. Oh! I know. Visit his profile page and send him a PM. My understanding is that you're somewhat experienced in the use of the private messaging system here.