Help Deciding

[doug parker]

Hello, I am ready to purchase a new or used laser and I am trying to decide between the versalaser and epilog mini series. I want a 12 x 24 and the wattage I want to be 25 or higher. I have seen the epilog screen shot of where you adjust the power and speeds but I have not seen the versalasers adjusting screen. I do like the look of the epilogs setup screen. Without starting a war here can you guys chime in on what you like and dont like about these machines. Thanks Doug

[Scott Shepherd]

Good luck! The people with Versalasers will like the Versalasers better, the people with the mini will like the mini better.

Pick the one that does what you want it to do (make them do it on the machine), and the one with the best warranty. You'll get excellent service from ULS and Epilog. It really is flipping a coin at this point, in my opinion.

[Tim Bateson]

I agree with Scott. I almost started with a Versalaser, now I wouldn't have anything other then an Epilog. Both Epilog and Universal have fine machines.

[David Fairfield]

Hey Doug

Can you explain what exactly you want to be doing with your machine?
Because these lasers tend to be similar, its the fine points where we might be able to give you real insight without just cheering for our brand. I use an Epilog 12 x 24 , do a lot of precision miniature work and am very happy with everything but the rotary tool. Tech service is tops.

Dave

[Frank Corker]

I've only ever had Epilog, but from what I have seen and even the demo that I saw of the Versa, I'm pleased I went with mine!

[Scott Shepherd]

Yeah Frank, but you also never had a Trotec. Trotec runs circles around all of them on speed!

[Frank Corker]

Sorry Steve, I didn't know what the speed of a Trotec and a versa laser were.

[Scott Shepherd]

You know I'm just picking on you Frank :) On a serious note, if you've never seen a Trotec, you should do so. Very very nice machine. Plus, every time the job finishes, it plays The Sound of Music soundtrack ;)

"Doe....a deer.....a female deer......." Oh, job must be finished :D

(I hope someone gets that!)

[Frank Corker]

I knew you were picking. No never seen one, but I'm sure they are good.

[Bill Cunningham]

I'm sure if you contact your local reps for either machine, they will be happy to arrange a demo.. You can then decide which is best for you, and if you supply a file for 'what' you want to do they can run you file, and you can see for yourself..

[doug parker]

Thanks everyone, I plan on doing some 1/8 to 3/16 cutting and engraving on wood and some of the plastic. I would maybe like to cut thicker stuff later. Does the universal stuff have a a setup screen like the epilogs where you set the power and speed? Anyone know what I should pay for a 05 mini 18 25 watt? Thanks again Doug

[David Fairfield]

Hey Doug

The engraving I can do on the Epilog is just awesome. And that's with the general purpose lens, I've not yet tried the 1.5" lens. Besides the customer service, that's what sold me on the Epilog. I compared the engraving finesse of some demo samples under magnification, and for my purposes (scale models) Epilog looked the best.

But I agree with Bill. See if you can have your sample file demoed by the manufacturers using same material and same file and compare the results.

Let us know what you get and how it works for you.

Dave

[Zvi Grinberg]

Thanks everyone, I plan on doing some 1/8 to 3/16 cutting and engraving on wood and some of the plastic. I would maybe like to cut thicker stuff later. Does the universal stuff have a a setup screen like the epilogs where you set the power and speed? Anyone know what I should pay for a 05 mini 18 25 watt? Thanks again Doug
Absolutely yes.
Universal Lasers allows you to set custom materials or manually set power, speed, PPI (Pulses Per Inch) and Z-Height for each color.
You can also define whether to allow it to Vector, Raster, Both or Skip - this is a very handy feature for tricky jobs.
With ULS control panel you can change settings of old jobs (which are stored on your PC - practically limitless number of jobs), change materials and so on.

ULS has job time estimator (good for vector work). Even if you don't use it, after a first time - it will count backwards during the job.
You can relocate parts in existing jobs. For example, if you have an already used and cut board, you can locate graphics whereever you need (and a new cool feature is UNDO)

On the more sophisticated aspect - you have extra control on how vetor and raster are processed.

For vector you can define which sorting optimization you prefer (great time saver) and also define the throughput vs quality balance.

For raster you can define how to treat grayscale images.
You can also define graphically how gray scale values respond to changes of power.
Another cool feature is rubber stamp settings. Using these settings you get an automatic ramp between black (full power) and white, so that the engraving will produce modest "fillet" or "chamfer" to make rubber stamps more durable.

I maybe put a thousand words here, and a few pictures could be helpful.
I am quite busy these days, but given enough patience I can do this.

I think now it's time for you to see a proper demo... that's the best

[John Noell]

My 2 cents: be sure you get enough power! I have 45 watts and often find myself at speeds that are in the 0-20% range.