Why I Bought an RPM Revolution

[alan802]

I've been impressed with our machine over the last 5 years and we are around 1.4 million impressions right now.  I know the press will have more issues in the next 5 years than the first 5 but since we've had one proxy sensor go bad and literally nothing else that has stopped the press from running full speed I can say this machine is VERY reliable.  I'm sure there are other color machines that are the same age and impression count that have had little to no work done on them but I'd bet the vast majority of them have had more than one $40 sensor go out in that time period.  I was told during the shopping process that the chopper cylinders weren't very good on the RPM and weren't the preferred style that most manufacturers use so I was worried about that so I bought a few extra cylinders and haven't had to put them in yet so I'd say that the bimba cylinders are at the very least not a weak point on the press and if they are, this press doesn't have many weak areas.

I like the servo drive system on the RPM a lot, it's simple as can be and solid.  Not to say the more popular style isn't as good or better, but watching the way the other servos operate I can see why the 2M guys chose to run the press the way they did.  I was told the pin-holes for the servo drive would wear out or enlarge due to all the stress they would incur or that the pin would be a weak spot and so far that has proven to not be true.  I'd like to mention here that the guys that were telling me these things that they felt were a weak spot on the RPM were not employees of the company some of you might be thinking of.  There was a little bit of negative campaigning during the process but more of it came after the deal was done for some reason and it came from everywhere, not just from one source.  I don't feel as bad about sales people pointing out weak features or areas of concern on competing presses because it helps to point out why their machine is better but I do think it can be done in a way that sounds like sour grapes or bitterness.  Rick has pointed out to me on several occasions areas on other machines that he thinks are weak, but it comes from a place of practical experience and knowledge and not from a source that's trying to close the deal on a press.  Over the years I've heard a lot more positive remarks and press features from Rick than negative about his competition and he has always done a great job of explaining why the RPM has used one method or design over another.

I have been a huge proponent of the digital settings and I use it differently than I thought we would.  I thought that we would document all the settings we'd use for a particular job but getting to know the press you really don't need to write everything down and you come to know exactly where to put the settings for a particular ink and mesh count and it's like second nature.  Some of the tougher jobs we will write down pressure, speed, angle, etc. but for the most part, I know we can print our white ink through a 120/54 at 25"/sec with 22 psi and if we can't, something is wrong and we need to find out what happened.  I wish there was a job recall feature on the RPM but I'm not sure if it would be used as much as I think it would.

We routinely change the off contact settings and having very precise control over that is beneficial.  Not that everyone needs that type of control but being able to change it in .01" increments can make a difference in the end result if you want/need it to. 

Just in the last 10 years we (the screen printer) have some really good options for autos and in the late 90's up till the mid aughts the machines were nothing like we have now.  Features have come a long way in a short time and that is due to several factors and we will benefit from that with healthy competition.  I do think that there needs to be a top dog and the ones that want to be the leader should work harder to become the top dog and as long as the leader is aware and cares enough to remain at the top then that will push them to make new improvements and we continue to win indirectly. 

[DannyGruninger]

Congrats on your purchase, there's nothing like getting new machines and a press is awesome. Now everyone knows I bleed blue and there's several reasons for that but one of the top is I have the confidence if my press goes down I will have a TECH at my shop the next morning if needed. Rich can correct me but if I remember I think m&r has around 55 techs on staff that handle the service calls. This gives me confidence that if my press ops damage the machine or a fluke thing happens that I will have someone with parts in hand to fix it the next day. Now my question to the RPM guys is what happens if something goes down? Are you waiting for the already extremely busy owner of the company to come fix the machine? How long would it take RPM to service a press that someone damaged?

Not trying to make this a pissing match as it was clear you didn't want to go down that path but I feel this is a legitimate question for those that might be interested in some of the smaller companies. How are those guys servicing their presses if an emergency comes up? My gut tells me if it takes them 4 months to build a new press your going to be waiting weeks to get a press back up and running. What happens if someone in the shop knocks the flash over and busts the quartz bulbs, can you get bulbs the very next day etc?( i did this once so thats why I say this)

Like I said not trying to stir the pot, I just am curious how they service these emergencies because with my shop if I go down for hours I'm screwed. M&R and Rich always have my back is something like this happens so to me that is one big reason I will never switch.

[ScreenPrinter123]

We have had two issues on our 2M machine.  The first time I called Maruisz and he answered and walked me through the problem on the spot and we were back up and running immediately.  The second time we had a problem that left us with 11 print heads instead of 12.  I called him and he overnighted us the part we needed to get that head back up and running.  Didn't need it that fast but he made it happen anyway. 

There have been several other times where we had questions and most of the time he he answers the phone and helped on the spot.  Other times we left a message and he called us back and we still got the help we needed in a timely manner.

[alan802]

Congrats on your purchase, there's nothing like getting new machines and a press is awesome. Now everyone knows I bleed blue and there's several reasons for that but one of the top is I have the confidence if my press goes down I will have a TECH at my shop the next morning if needed. Rich can correct me but if I remember I think m&r has around 55 techs on staff that handle the service calls. This gives me confidence that if my press ops damage the machine or a fluke thing happens that I will have someone with parts in hand to fix it the next day. Now my question to the RPM guys is what happens if something goes down? Are you waiting for the already extremely busy owner of the company to come fix the machine? How long would it take RPM to service a press that someone damaged?

Not trying to make this a pissing match as it was clear you didn't want to go down that path but I feel this is a legitimate question for those that might be interested in some of the smaller companies. How are those guys servicing their presses if an emergency comes up? My gut tells me if it takes them 4 months to build a new press your going to be waiting weeks to get a press back up and running. What happens if someone in the shop knocks the flash over and busts the quartz bulbs, can you get bulbs the very next day etc?( i did this once so thats why I say this)

Like I said not trying to stir the pot, I just am curious how they service these emergencies because with my shop if I go down for hours I'm screwed. M&R and Rich always have my back is something like this happens so to me that is one big reason I will never switch.

I didn't know anything about autos and am not qualified like an M&R tech would be but one thing I noticed right away with this machine is you don't need a tech to swap out about 98% of what's on this machine.  Literally almost everything is plug-in-play.  If you can hook up your desktop computer you just bought at best buy then you can work on this machine.  I replaced a few parts on the press in south Austin and it took a screw driver and a wrench.  Now if you're a guy or a shop who is afraid to unplug an ethernet cable or unscrew a membrane panel or swap out an air valve then you might want to consider getting a machine that only a qualified tech can work on.  As Rick gets more machines out there and needs someone on call to fly out and fix things then I'm sure he'll do that...maybe that someone will be me because although I'm not a tech, I don't think there is anything that could go wrong on this press that I couldn't fix with Rick or Mariusz walking me through the tougher things and most of it I could do without any help.

Our Centurian was over my head with how it worked and whenever we had an issue with it I wasn't able to troubleshoot and fix anything.  There were miles and miles of electrical wires, dozens of proxy sensors, dozens of fuses, I don't know how many contactors and switches and several more miles of air hoses.  Those things aren't really there with the RPM, it's not an issue.  I can literally fix or replace any part that could go bad and the diagnostics will tell you where the problem is so you don't need to drill through a password protected menu and know exactly what you're doing to fix it.  I've seen so many autos where I was amazed at how complicated everything looked and I compare that to what I have out back and I think that I'd definitely need a tech for most autos, but not this one. 

On the same note, if our M&R dryer went down I'd never expect a tech to walk through those doors and fix anything because there is nothing on there that I couldn't fix with someone telling me what to do over the phone.  The RPM is the same way for me. 

I normally get flash bulbs within two days when I need them and I've had Rick overnight bulbs for me once, but we can go a day or two with a bad bulb.  The proxy sensor I needed was already on the press because there is an extra one there for a future add on feature but Rick sent me another proxy sensor to replace the faulty one and it was there in two days but I didn't need it.  I know that a servo issue happened on an RPM and Mariusz flew in the next day and fixed the servo issue and flew back that same day after it took him an hour to fix the problem.  I know Rick has flown in the next day just the same as another manufacturer's tech would fly in the next day to fix something that the shop couldn't do themselves.

I'm sure if a shop has M&R equipment and a press goes down that there are occasions where a tech could be there the same day but I doubt that happens very often.  If it does happen often it would be M&R that could do it.  I'll say this for Rick, his press isn't bullet proof, but if the guy has 100 machines out there and he's rarely flying anywhere to fix something which he would be doing if a press needed him to do the service.  I'm not saying that anyone who buys an RPM will never need a tech but odds are you won't need someone who is certified to fix it.

Our flash units have had issues but the new units have solved the issue that ours has and Rick has recently worked with me on getting our flashes fixed permanently instead of the short term fixes we've done.  I'm glad they've fixed the issue and have a new flash design and not all the older flashes have issues, but ours does when we push it really hard and you guys know I like to print as fast as we can and we've pushed the bulbs past the breaking point.  I like to get things flashed in 1-2 seconds and run the auto at 900/hr even on darks so I know if we were like a lot of shops that our flash unit wouldn't be asked to work so hard and would not have issues.  When we run the flash like I see most shops run them, I doubt we would blow any bulbs.  I can't wait to get one of the new flash units and I've got a shuttle flash on order to try out and if I don't like it then I'll get the new quartz unit. 

[sqslabs]

RPM now offers a 12 Color press?

I don't know if it has been added to the official RPM lineup, but the machine currently being built for me is a 12 color, 14 station press.  I'll ask Rick the next time I speak with him and report back.

[starchild]

The RPM looks exactly like the Mustang. What's the difference? I definitely like the Mustang.

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[ScreenFoo]

Thanks for the great writeup, SQS.  It's always fun to read about new gear. 

Alan: Have you posted pics of the servo drive on another thread?  Sounds interesting, I don't think I've ever seen it.

I remember seeing just about everything on your press BUT that, now that I think of it...

[starchild]

The RPM looks exactly like the horse. What's the difference? I definitely like the horse.

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The horse? I wrote Mustang...

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[Prosperi-Tees]

the horse is made by the same people just rebranded.

[jvanick]

you probably meant to say mu$tang .. LOL

[alan802]

Thanks for the great writeup, SQS.  It's always fun to read about new gear. 

Alan: Have you posted pics of the servo drive on another thread?  Sounds interesting, I don't think I've ever seen it.

I remember seeing just about everything on your press BUT that, now that I think of it...

I just searched through my photobucket account and didn't see anything that shows the servo system well.  I'll see if I can get a video which I thought I had at one time but my video library is backing up and I can't seem to get everything uploaded to youtube in a timely manner.  I have about 6 videos of us printing stuff that need to be uploaded but haven't had time to mess with it. 

[sqslabs]

RPM now offers a 12 Color press?

Spoke to Rick today, and yes the 12 color is part of the lineup.  He's also now offering oversized print area up to 20x24.  I passed on that feature as I just couldn't see myself needing to go much bigger than the 18x22 that I'm already getting with the press, and opted for the digital squeegee angle instead. 

He also said he could make most configurations of press that anyone would be looking for, and to contact him with anything outside of what's listed on his website (which needs an update).