Buying a used Automatic Press

[Dochertyscott]

Hello all,

I have been in business for close to 4 years now, and screen printing for 10 or so.
I started on my own and now there are 4 of us working.
Business seems to be growing rapidly and I have a great reputation around town for quality and service.
I am now at a point where if I get anymore work I will be letting down my clients as I can no longer keep up. As well as this I want to grow the business further which is impossible at the mo.
I tend to have to work every weekend and a lot of overtime.
I feel like I am now established enough and confident enough to take the next step into an automatic press.
I'm going to allow myself a budget of $50,000 NZ including flashs install and compressor which is why I think used is the way to go. (Buying new would mean big debt which I don't like the idea of)
There are a couple that are here in New Zealand for sale.
One being a 2007 TAS Compact CX9 and another a Compact CX8 year unknown,
A really old 91 or so 8/10 gauntlet. And a late model Diamondback XL, And the last a TAS ROC 12/14
I have previously ran a Tas hawk 10/12 at a past workplace and loved it but have never worked on anything different to compare it with.
The Manual press's that I have are Workhorse, American M&M and a recently purchased M&R sidewinder.
The sidewinder obviously being the favourite. (What a dream)
Can anyone give me a comparison between M&R diamondback XL and the Tas compact Cx?
Has anyone used a TAS ROC?
As well as opinions on buying second hand and perhaps even insights from those who have imported machinery from the states...? Eg digit smith. Or SP resource?

Thanks in advance,

Scott

[TCT]

I think it is safe to say you will have much more support with the Diamondback vs. the TAS, especially when buying used. You say importing from the states, where are you located?

[Frog]

He's in New Zealand, which adds a little weight to a Tas purchase, though M&R's reputation is international.

[mk162]

I would get in touch with a few local techs and pick their brains.  Also, they might know of some good deals out there.

support will be huge for you...i would see what the techs around you can fix, and how easy it is to get parts there.

That being said, the late 90's gauntlets are great little machines.  I wouldn't get the early 90's.  There are some features you want that you cannot live without once you have them...a big one is air locks on the screens.  Squeegee and flood air locks aren't that big of a deal, but the screen one are.

[ZooCity]

I've never seen a TAS press, there seems to be less of those around the states, but they look very simple/solid and have a very good rep.  I might pick that ROC over the others.  You'll need all those heads much sooner than you think.

We run a 90s Gauntlet and they are brick sh!thouses which will last forever provided the install and PM was done correctly.  You can replace literally anything but the main shaft assy that goes out on those presses.  Downside to some of the 90s Gauntlets are platen and print arm deflection, choppers that don't pull up after the stroke, no stroke adjustment and, depending on what and how you print, the air driven heads which for us are limiting.  There's nothing wrong with air heads but they will dictate how you print jobs and you may not care for that whereas I feel like AC heads will allow you to print a job the way you want it done.  Some of the later model Gauntlets took care of the above issues and even have AC heads, I would look for a Gauntlet II or an RS if there are any around first.

All that you listed are good presses, check out all of them and see them print if possible.  If I was in your shoes I would go with the press that had the most parts/service available (printing slower or having longer setups on a simpler press beats a fancier press being down for too long too often) and then compare setup times.

[abchung]

Can anyone give me a comparison between M&R diamondback XL and the Tas compact Cx?

For the Tas CX, I think they are all electric print heads.
http://www.tasinternational.com.au/screen_printing_machine.asp?MachineID={0000001D-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}

[Dochertyscott]

After much consideration and advice I have chosen to buy New.
I have decided to go for a Tas compact 8/10 compact.
Dealing with the sales manager has been an absolute dream
Look forward to posting photos and reviewing machine

[Evo]

TAS are solid machines. Not the most feature-filled, but they are relatively fast, simple to maintain and hold tight registration. (what more do you need?)

Registering from the side clamp takes some getting used to though...
 

[Frog]

Was a little surprised to not see them represented at ISS Long Beach this year.

[TCT]

Was a little surprised to not see them represented at ISS Long Beach this year.

I thought the same thing...


Do you mind if I ask, was your decision heavily based on your location and the close proximity to TAS?
I am looking forward to see pics and your reviews!

[Parker 1]

You will be pleased with TAS I spoke with one shop owner at ISS that is running them now with 1 million + impressions and no major issues.  Keep us posted.

Chris

[mraph]

My only problem with Tas is no flood angle adjustment you have to purchase angled flood bars


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[TCT]

My only problem with Tas is no flood angle adjustment you have to purchase angled flood bars


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That is "different" but aside from maybe trying to squeeze a extra half inch of length for a print on our first press, we never adjust our flood angle anyway...

[T Shirt Farmer]

I have owned 3 Tas machines over 15 years and only need tech help 2 times and 1 fix was a graingers plug and play part. These units are amazingly simple and strong , the only reason I went MHM is that Tas is way behind in features specifically fpu and frame loading like mhm pin system. Although they do not have much presence here in the states they are very popular in other countries. They have what is referred to as a masters frame for registration which I found to be extremely easy and precise. 

Google luck with the purchase

[Rick Roth]

TAS is very solid machine. US rep is an awesome person. The main drawback is that it sets up as slowly as an M&R.

As for Gauntlets, while M&R's are built better than some presses, saying it is built like "a brick shithouse" seems a bit exaggerated. They have all mechanical registration and in a way you can say that they shake themselves to bits and definitely things wear out. To do really good work you have to level them constantly.

We had an MHM that was the first SP3000 in the United States. Until we sold it, it ran for 20 years every day and we never had to level the platens. They set up faster than any press because the platens are always level, parallel and flat, the screens are always level.  The screens are what I call locked and super locked, not unlocked and lock. This means that while registering you do not screw up what you just registered by locking the screens (which is what happens on just about any press.) Not only are the platens level, but we can change our  whole 16/18 press from adult to youth platens in under 2 minutes (not each arm, the whole press.) The MHM doesn't wear out as fast because the basic design has it register electronically and the registration blocks are more like a guarantee than what pushes it into place, unlike almost every other type of press.