Is Brother or their distro rep not helping you? And did the machine come with training or just out of box? I'm curious as this is coming up for us. When we went CTS a few years back they offered no help. I wont do that again.
This is a very good question and I`m still scratching my head. We paid $1000 for training and the answer we got regarding that issue was "There might be something hidden"- no kidding I thought.
I will give them a call today.
What printer will you be getting?
The problem I see with most equipment sellers that need to do training, often more far more skilled at installing than they are at training and operation. Many don’t really know all of the woe’s an operator might go through with art files. Add to that. Not every Tech is going to be a good teacher, and not every customer is going to be a good student. I’ve trained hundreds of employees and I can always get a good read on the outcome based on the interaction with the employes. I’ve been the one Tech known for extending my stay another day for additional training as I’ve always known most won’t get all of the information stoked up into their system. Then you have scheduling. I’ve been at shops that didn’t allow down time for training or install, and were chomping a the bit to just get jobs out that same our I arrive. Doesn’t happen. (If has, when I do their screens for production for the day when I get their, (Thats happend). Then that puts my schedule behind. A lot of details go into install on both sides that affect How well a shop gets trained. I’m not saying this is not the car there, but you can have a great Tech, a great trainer, and the shop is the cause of a poor install...and it’s the customer that plays says “We didn’t get any training at all”.
Most techs don’t know/ haven’t been trained in trouble shooting all scenarios of art file issues. There are hundreds of art file issues...and like many other trouble shooting topics, one thing can have the signs of 5 other issues. hard to pin point quickly. Take Screen print press techs. You would imagine that they are/were all printers at some point. Not all. It’s a nice benefit and a feather in your cap but not a prerequisite. Many are just very mechanical, have had prior experience at installing machines in general and good at install” but can’t really teach you how to print. I’ve seen people buy automatic presses that have never printed before EVER. One asked me, When they had an order for 2000 50/50 red sweat shirts, they committed to have completed "how to run the new press?" that was just installed and how best to print that order. Mind you, I was there to install their I-Image. The press tech was not there for another 4 hrs handling something else. There are many good printers that work as Press Techs tho. Very common. That is the best candidate. One who’s been in the trenches It’s just that not all of them are.
Same for CTS. Doesn’t matter what brand you get. You will run into many scenarios where the tech will say “I don’t know, that’s not my skillset”. Most I-IMage installers follow the script and won’t know how to deviate for that. They are not artist, don’t deal with art. I’ve had customers wanting me to “consult” and streamline their operation while on the clock for M&R installing their I-Image. Pretty rude of them IMO as they would get defensive and even mad and argued that M&R should offer that as a package when you buy a machine. No, They are selling you “a machine”. They train you on the basic operation of it. How you handle all scenarios of the machine, how you improve it, how you optimize it (in your shop), for your shop is up to the customer. Like when you buy Epson printers. They don’t customize the settings for printing films. They don’t provide you a halftone rip and teach you how to adjust curves etc. Thats on the customer.
I guess when you buy car, there is a script for the sales people who’ve been taught what’s in a car and the price and the deal they can make. They can’t really tell you how best to drive that car.
