Antec Legend?

[Ross_S]

LOL sorry I'm referring to to the 90's.

[alan802]

The pallet system does suck, and I do wish they were more capable of handling auto sized/roller frames.  But as a stand-alone manual that you can dedicate manual frames (preferably rollers with the square ends) there simply isn't a better option out there.  I don't think it's light years above the other manuals on the market, but if you can get over the fact that it doesn't have interchangeable pallets and screens that can be used with an auto I will always think that it's the best manual on the market.  We used to have a guy that worked for us that used to work at a shop in Cali that printed for Disney and most of what I know about the Antec comes from him and he had printed hundreds of thousands of shirts on a manual press in his career and simply told me that if I wanted him to print multicolored jobs on a manual that we had to buy the Antec Legend or we (and he) would suffer greatly.  I do agree, just spinning one and playing with one briefly will probably not impress anyone.  But, if you plan on being a manual shop for a while, or forever, and you don't want your equipment to hold you back, I honestly don't think there is a better option.  But if you've got autos, or plan on having them and want everything to be interchangeable as possible, a Sidewinder is the best option, in my opinion. 

A local shop close to us has a Kruzer and I got to play on it the other day.  I've only seen them at shows and haven't printed on one and I must say that for an entry level press, it's not very entry level.  It's a great manual and it didn't have any of the weaknesses that I thought it might with it being an entry level manual. 

[mimosatexas]

Kruzer is my everyday press and I freaking love it. The only thing it lacks is stuff related to how the central shaft is designed, which means you can't use airlocks or things like that surevac system. Being able to use 25x36 screens on it would be a nice bonus as well, but not a big deal at all.

[jvanick]

Kruzer is my everyday press and I freaking love it. The only thing it lacks is stuff related to how the central shaft is designed, which means you can't use airlocks or things like that surevac system. Being able to use 25x36 screens on it would be a nice bonus as well, but not a big deal at all.

our manual press is a kruzer as well..  for a lightweight, 'entry-level' (I put this in quotes as there's really nothing entry level about it), it works awesome.  Bonus that we can use it with our auto pallets and trilock.

fyi, we have been successfully using 25x36 aluminum (rollers would be too heavy) frames with it on every other head.  It's a touch finicky to get setup, but it does work, and gives us the option when we're doing bandannas and other large prints.

just hang the screen holders a bit off the edges of the square bar (about 1/2" seems to be enough in most cases) and as long as your art is placed with tight tolerances left and right, you're good to go.

if I was spinning a manual press all day I'd likely want a sidewinder or chameleon with air-locks tho... but at the point of spinning a manual press for an 8 hour day, you should be considering an auto anyways, so the Kruzer fits a nice niche in our shop process.

[mimosatexas]

Yea I've made the 25x36 "work", but it definitely isn't ideal. You also start to run into issues with image placement vs the length of the pallet arms. I definitely think for the price it is the best press out there, which is why I bought mine to begin with.

[Prosperi-Tees]

On the Kruzer other then the screen issue which really isn't a con at all to the press is there anything that you guys wish it had that it doesnt? Is that the only gripe? How are the micros? How is that lever that is used for off contact? Just curious of any cons or what you would have liked to see different?

[Nation03]

On the Kruzer other then the screen issue which really isn't a con at all to the press is there anything that you guys wish it had that it doesnt? Is that the only gripe? How are the micros? How is that lever that is used for off contact? Just curious of any cons or what you would have liked to see different?

I have the same questions about the press. Also, is anyone using a triloc with it? Does it work well without the airlocks? My old boss is going to end up asking 3 grand for his Legend that I've been using and it is pretty beat up and just not worth that price to me. I'd rather by a new Kruzer at that point. My only gripe is that it seems to be big process leveling the machine. I could be wrong, but it is something I never had to do so I'm not sure how difficult it is.

[mimosatexas]

No issues with using triloc, I use a diy version of one and rarely touch the micros. Micros are fine. Off contact system is easy enough to use, no complaints. Leveling everything is as easy as any other m&r press.