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View Full Version : Advice - Epilog mini18 or zing 24 with rotory attachment



Allan Rabanales
07-13-2014, 11:54 PM
I am buying my first laser and have found . used Epilog mini 18 30 watt with computer with corel draw and engrave lab and a used Zing 24 40w with a rotory attachment and vector table. The mini is $200 more.
The zing is giving me a lot of bang for the buck, but I would like to get some advice from the pros.

Dan Wilhelm
07-14-2014, 7:35 AM
Do you already have a computer that you can use with the laser (it doesn't have to be exclusive to the laser, just located near it)? If not, that will be a few hundred dollars for a properly spec'd computer, plus $450ish for CorelDraw. I think that you will be far happier with the 24" cutting bed of the Zing, and having more power and a rotary attachment will be extremely helpful in the future. Not to mention that the rotary attachment is probably worth more than the computer and CorelDraw combined. Since both units are used, do you know how many hours they have on the current laser diodes? That may be a consideration because getting a laser refurbished or replacing it is a significant expense. If the Zing has more hours on the laser, it could make the Mini more attractive, but with the information provided, I'd say that the Zing is a no-brainer.

Allan Rabanales
07-14-2014, 7:51 AM
I agree that I would be happier with a larger cutting bed plus a little more power. The mini 18 has approx 200 hours. The zing maybe 3 times that. The mini has a computer running Corel and Engrave Lab. Not sure about the zing. Trying to find out. Another difference that i see is the higher resolution in the mini. It is goes up to 1200. The zing 1000.
Is this really noticeable?

Mike Null
07-14-2014, 8:26 AM
There are no engraving jobs that I can recall having used 1000 DPI in more than 17 years. I use it sometimes to intensify the heat when using Cermark.

Allan Rabanales
07-14-2014, 10:05 AM
That is true. This is what I need to know. What i was told was that 1200 resolution maxes out to 600 and that 1000 to 500.
I was told this by a epilog rep. I am sure that i must have misunderstood.

Pete James
07-14-2014, 10:21 AM
Don't worry about the resolution. You can raster engrave at 300dpi and it will look great. There will rarely be a need for higher than that and if there is 500 or 600 should suffice. In most cases, the only thing a high resolution engraving results in is a lot more time to finish the job. Take the larger table and the rotary. You can always get a copy of Corel and find an old computer.

Allan Rabanales
07-14-2014, 10:50 AM
Thank you all for the advice. I think that i will go with the zing.

Dan Hintz
07-14-2014, 12:39 PM
That is true. This is what I need to know. What i was told was that 1200 resolution maxes out to 600 and that 1000 to 500.

I'm not even sire what that means. There is a practical limitation of the dot size on a 2" lens of roughly 5mils. With no overlap of dots, that's 200dpi... but most of the time you want overlap at that dot size. If you pick up a high-density lens set, 1,000dpi is practically no overlap, but the dot is so small it's typically not necessary (using CerMark is one of those times when it's useful, but not a necessity).

Mike Null
07-14-2014, 12:45 PM
Dan

(using CerMark is one of those times when it's useful, but not a necessity).
It can very well be a necessity when using Cermark--depending on how much power you've got to work with and what the job is.

Allan Rabanales
07-14-2014, 2:45 PM
I'm not even sure what that means.

I don't know what that means either. When i got a demo before, the rep input 600 dpi in the software. I then said him if the zing is 1000 why can't i put in 600 also. Then he said because the zing was 1000 I could only put in 500 and since the mini is 1200 I could go up to 600.
Maybe I just totally misunderstood him. But what i see here is that the difference in 1000 or 1200 or 500 and 600 is not a big deal at all.

Kev Williams
07-14-2014, 3:28 PM
Have to disagree a tad on the low-dpi-will-look-great settings--mostly true if you're engraving big stuff. However, if you engrave tiny stuff, say, something that contains a .08" tall .008" thick near-vertical line (say 10°) at even 500 dpi, it will look terrible compared to the same line engraved at 800 or 1000 dpi. The extra resolution helps insure a smooth looking line instead of looking like a staircase...

Mike Null
07-14-2014, 4:17 PM
Kev

Don't you find that it depends greatly on the material?