Your Opinion Matters To Me...

[reelguitars]

Last year, I wanted to get started doing some digital printing but I didn't want to jump in with both feet quite yet. I have about 2 years on my present job and I wanted to have something in place to do after I retire. I bought a Mutoh Outdoor 62 printer for a good price. I knew that it was going to need a rebuild kit (heads, dampers, capping station) and I did the rebuild and the printer worked just fine. I was in a bad wreck in June and couldn't print for over a month and everything just sort of quit so I didn't do any printing at all. I started working on the printer a couple of weeks ago to try to get it going again. I converted it to after market eco solvent inks (only CMYK) with bulk cartridges. Got the heads firing and good patterns going with them. I know I need another capping station because I don't have a good seal when I draw ink through the waste lines. But...if I do draw a little ink through both waste lines, I can print all day long and the prints look fine (I don't do wraps or anything like that, just mostly signs). I have a new capping station coming and it will be here the first of the week. Here's where your opinion comes in...I have the money to buy a new Mutoh 48" printer. Nothing larger. I have talked to Sign Warehouse and I have to make a decision by Monday to take advantage of the tax breaks that end this year. So...do I buy a new printer or keep struggling along with the one I have and save 10k? I don't do a great deal of printing right now but I'm sure that is because I don't advertise yet I still get a good amount of business from referrels from past clients. I know that the parts for the Outdoor 62 are getting harder to find, especially the heads, but I'm at a total loss as to what to do. OK guys...give this old dog some advice. Thanks, David
ps-Here are a couple of pics...one of my wreck, the other, my album cover.

 

[John L]

Wow, thats grunge lettering the hard way. Glad you are still with us.

Cool scooter.

 

[reelguitars]

Thanks...I built it.

 

[SlightlyChilled]

there are other places that sell printer not just SW LOOK AROUND.. Mutoh has a trade in program right now 3,500 to a new printer but that may be just for the 54 and up.

 

[knucklehead]

Cool old school 'low rider', Had one almost idectical, cept it was blue.

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

By all means, keep struggling with the one you have. You can thank me later.

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

We just bought a brand new M&R 6 color, 4 station screen press a few days ago for the same reason, 2012 tax breaks. Our bookkeeper seemed to agree that it would be a good idea since we have enough cash in our bank account to pay for it in full, so we just did it. I don't think you can ever be unhappy with a decision to purchase new or upgraded equipment. That stuff will pay for itself 10 fold over the course of just a few years. Call it an investment in future profits.

 

[GB2]

Keep the printer you have going, you have a lot invested in it already and you don't want a 48" printer, you want a minimum of a 54" printer.

 

[OlsonSigns601]

From an owner of a 48" Printer, you have no idea how much I wish I had at least a 54" printer.

 

[rjssigns]

I agree with CheapVehicleWraps. (good lord what have I done?)

Hang on to what you have. I would gladly put up with having to pull a little ink through everyday instead of a payment.

 

[TheSnowman]

I've always had a 54". I told my salesman on the last round that I didn't "NEED" a 54" and that I'd get by. He sold me on sticking with at least a 54", and I'm glad he did in the end. I've only had about two times in 8 years that I haven't been able to print what I needed.

 

[Haakon]

Apart from it now being past your deadline to make a choice (what did you end up with by the way?), your future needs should make the base for your choices.

Now the Falcon Outdoor 62 is anything up to 10 years old (introduced in 2003) and the older it gets the more things go wrong until one day you just have to cut your losses and move on.

Now having worked in a shop that had an Old Mutoh printer (Rockhopper I) that had all sorts of reliability issues (this was in 2009, think it was about 7-8 years old then), it made a world of difference when they got rid of it and got a ValueJet 1614 instead. No more worrying about the output, no more malfunctioning parts midprint, no more late nights and weekends reprinting to make the delivery date etc. The new one you could just line up a row of prints at the end of the workday, hit print before you went home and the next morning it was all finished on the take up reel.

It all depends on your use really. Do you print now and then, or do you print everyday (more or less) and really need a dependable printer that you need to last a good while.

In a future perspective of 5 years for instance, would you rely on a 10-15 year old printer not exactly know for its lack of issues (just do a search on this forum), setting aside money for keeping it running, or would it be better to get a printer better in every way, and make payments on it?

Quick guesstimation on keeping old vs buying new printer on a 5 year basis (you say saving 10k on not getting a new printer, so I'll take that as the price)

New printer: 10K, resale value in 5 years: 3K? Value of Falcon now: 1K? Value of falcon if it breaks down within the next 5 years: Nothing?

So over a 5 year period the difference between keeping the old one and getting a new one is about 6k if you sell the old now and the new one in 5 years. If its worth spending 6k over 5 years for added quality, reliabiliy and effectiveness, get a new one. If you would rather keep the money in the bank and gamble on that nothing goes seriously wrong with the Falcon, keep it.