"He who marches out of step hears another drum." ~ Ken Kesey
A while back I had a chat with a young fellow and his wife (she was stressed) about whether or not payments on an automatic press were a good or bad idea.......Based on how much labour he was paying to keep up on his manual, I thought it was a "no brainer".....I can not remember all the math but as I recall the payments were just under 700.00 a month and he was paying 950.00 to 1,200 a month in casual labour.....Now the automatic press did not completely eliminate the casual labour but with his wife's help, he was able to get more done in 4 days than he had in the past in 6 days (has a life now).....In time his volume will grow and the math will get even better.....This is my mind is "good debt"......PS....Although we all know that a good manual printer can turn out great work, there is a "perception" that a person with an automatic press is better....You can exploit this "perception" in you marketing....
I would just be careful who you buy from and certainly go see it or use it even before buying. A lot of these brokers out there aren't on the up and up. Some good ones out there I am sure.
You guys actually are making my decision tougher lol! The machine im looking at is thru a broker but he is a well respected broker and even offers a parts warranty upon install.I think im making my decision tough as well. Nothing has come easy in my life. I dropped out of school in the 7th grade and started working. I think that has developed me into somewhat of a tightwad and making big decisions are even tougher because I like to hold on to things in fear of losing them. I guess I should stop living in fear and take some chances.
Quote from: Prosperi-Tees on May 12, 2013, 05:57:05 PMYou guys actually are making my decision tougher lol! The machine im looking at is thru a broker but he is a well respected broker and even offers a parts warranty upon install.I think im making my decision tough as well. Nothing has come easy in my life. I dropped out of school in the 7th grade and started working. I think that has developed me into somewhat of a tightwad and making big decisions are even tougher because I like to hold on to things in fear of losing them. I guess I should stop living in fear and take some chances.No risk no reward, but don't take any risk without caution or calculation.
Something that often is over looked is the "extras" when buying a press or any piece of equipment. This is what will nickel and dime you to death. Need to look at the big picture. Someone has a budget of $20k and finds a machine for $19k. Sure you found the machine for $1k less, that's great but now you need a $2k compressor, $1k chiller, $500 in pipe and fittings, hose and a filter then another $1k in wire and plugs and maybe a disconnect. You may have to hire an electrican to do the hook up for another $500. Add in the cost of shipping and the lost hours of production while the machine is being set up. Then the cost of the install plus expenses. It all adds up quickly and can easily add anothe $5-$6k to the cost of the press and now well over the $20k budget.
or better yet, you already invested in a NEW compressor, NEW chiller, NEW lines...and you still don't have enough cfm....those old machines take some serious volume, really think about it before you buy it....my new chiller and tank arrive today