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View Full Version : Questions, recomendations, etc



Ray McAlister
11-05-2006, 10:46 AM
I am in the process of buy a laser engraver. My wife is an artist and does all mediums including sandblasted glass, the website if allowed to post is www.maryannart.com (http://www.maryannart.com) . My goal/plan is to start going to the art/craft shows and sale the lasered items(nameplates, frames, orniments,etc) to cover cost for gas,booth rental and make a small profit while showing her blasted glass, i understand that $125-up items(the blasted glass) are not going to be as easy to sale at these shows.
I have met with the staff at "engraving concepts" and spent about 2 hours watching and having 5 or 6 items lasered, some of my art and materials. I was pleased with the results and like the epilog, but i asume that most lasers will perform about the same. I also contacted engraving warehouse about the special on the web,Pinnacle M-25, it appears to have everthing included that i would need, and has the pass-through doors. I would like to use the laser to also "sign" the glass after blasting, and some of the glass is too large to fit in the machines with out the doors,.
I have read a ton of post and understand that people have there likes and dislikes of the lasers, is there any online reviews with addn'l information?
The other issue is that the epilog is 2-3 weeks delivery and the Pinnacle M-25 is in stock about 90 miles away. I feel like engraving cocepts is the better dealer(service, help getting set up) but that engraving warehouse is the better deal, and close enough. I don't think getting started and learning how to use the laser is going to be a problems
Any help is appreciated. I plan on buying this week, and need to stay below 15,000, and if all goes well, i'll expand into a larger more powerful laser in a year.
This site has been extremly helpful and i thank each person that posts and shares your knowlegde.
Thanks
Ray

Nancy Laird
11-05-2006, 11:03 AM
Ray, LOML and I are the proud owners of two ULS lasers, an M-20 which we "inherited" from a close friend (no one else wanted to buy it and the business which came along with it), and an M-360 (40W) which we purchased within the last two months. The gentleman from whom we purchased our M-360 is Bob Belt, who is a member of this forum (but has sort of dropped off since he sold us the laser). I know that Bob did about a year's worth of investigation into the various engravers before he bought the ULS, and he is very knowledgable about the functions, capacities, and limitations of the various engravers. You might try to e-mail or PM him to pick his brain on his choice and his process before buying.

Unless you go for a relatively low-powered laser (25W) you're going to have to pay more than your $15,000 upper limit, and when you start adding in a dedicated computer with a graphics program, cables, a rotary attachment, a cutting table, etc., you are definitely going over your limit. The learning curve is steep, and unless you have used a laser before--or a graphics program--you aren't going to be able to set it up, plug it in, and start doing what you want to do. For example, the M-25 from ULS goes for about $13-14,000 IIRC, and the M-360 retails now for about $27-28,000. I'm no expert, but I'm not sure how well a lower-powered laser will do with glass. Our 40W does fine, the 20W doesn't. Someone else needs to chime in here on that issue.

As a craft-show person myself, I can tell you that the laser products in the upper end of $$ don't sell well. I have a line of wooden bookmarks that fly off the table, as well as Southwestern-themed key tags. I have trouble moving even $20 and $25 wooden plaques. It seems that in my part of the country (New Mexico), people want "kitch" rather than quality when they buy at craft fairs. It never fails to amaze me that someone will pay for some of the stuff that I see being offered--like two ashtrays glued together with Christmas lights in the middle for a night-light! Your profile doesn't indicate where you are, but you might try getting admitted into a juried art show for your products rather than a "craft fair" - the admission fees are higher and admission is highly competitive, but the attendees tend to have more money to spend.

My knowledge is based on my own experiences, and as I said, I'm no expert, so you can take this for what it's worth...just my .02.

Nancy

Mark Fitzmorris
11-05-2006, 1:32 PM
Ray,

I have the GCC Laserpro M-25 which is the same machine as the Pinnacle M-25, just sold under a different Company. It is a very well built machine that is more then capable of doing what you have stated you want to do with it. I too compared it to other brands including Epilog when I bought it and found that it best met my needs and was at a better price for all that was included. I am very pleased with the machine and with the service I have recieved from the company I bought it from. The only "problem" that I have had was a software file got corrupted (engravelab) and the Company that I bought from (jorlink) quickly contacted the Software reps and they had it fixed bright and early the next day! It is not a small machine so make sure you have room for it! Mine has a two year warranty I do not remember how long Epilogs. Do not get wrong I am not putting down the epilog machine, as I have never used one, but for me the GCC was a better fit. If there are any question that I could help you with do not hesitate to ask! Many on this board have helped me and I am happy to help anyone I can.

Joe Pelonio
11-05-2006, 1:46 PM
I looked at her website and your wife is very talented. You will have one advantage over many other laser people. You can use her original work to engrave. When you advertised as original art, and even number them as limited editions you will get a better price. Placing laser items with the other works in the same booth will as you wished, bring in money from those that cannot afford the originals but like the art. Especially if you are in a high-end show, like the juried ones.

Yesterday a friend had a booth at a holiday craft fair and was selling more expensive items, and had me make $2-5 ornaments on the laser to sell with them. Actually I have not heard how they did yet. When my wife stopped by to help them setup they had sold one to another vendor before they opened. I'm guessing that if they had sold really well they would have called me last night though.

As far as a laser recommendation there is a lot of comments on may of them here if you search old posts. The best recommendation I have is get the most power you can afford.

I have been happy with my Epilog and my experience with their support people has been great.

Ray McAlister
11-05-2006, 9:14 PM
Start Your Own
Laser Engraving Business!
M-25, Software, Clip Art, Accessories and Delivery
$14,999 - Only 7 available!!
Here's what's included:


Compressor
Blower
Large vector table
Rotary attachment
Laser Master 2 software
Pinnacle Engrave Pack (9 cds)
4163 Pinnacle Corporate Logos
Free deliveryThis is the "package deal" on the Universal Pinnacle m-25. And per the sales rep it is in stock and i can have within the week, the epilog delivery is about 3 weeks. I can't find my paper work from the epilog, but if i remember it's about the same price adding the options in.
Epilog has a 18x12 table
Universal has 25X18 with the doors that open.

Both are 25 watt(I understand, as Tim Taylor would say, i need more power) and the more powerful machine would come later after the "record sales".
My wife is very knowledgible with adobe, and i'm pretty good with the computer, so between us i believe a small learning curve. I also have 3 computers so the laser and "supplies" are the cost for me.

Thanks for all the information, I hope to post within days the laser of my choice,
Ray

mike klein
11-05-2006, 9:55 PM
Ray,

I purchased the M series from the same company you are dealing with. We had some problems at the beginning but they resolved them quickly. One advantage you have over me is you are 90 miles from them and I am over 900. As for the engraver being dependable, I can't complain.

I have the 45 watt machine and don't regret getting the extra power. I'm also glad I went with the pass thru doors as a lot of the wood signs I do could not be done without them.

My sister runs a large craft shop in which she use to hand paint her signs she makes. Now, they are mostly laser engraved and her sales have increased 100% in the sign market, we sell out at every show, so there is a large demand out there for the laser engraved signs.

If I was going out to the shows myself and just selling signs, they probably wouldn't sell as well but when mixed in with here 100's of other craft items, that draws the people into the booth. I have had requests to attend craft shows with our laser but because of the size of the laser and transporting it, and issues with venting, I choose to engrave in the shop.

Mike

Richard Rumancik
11-06-2006, 10:15 AM
This is the "package deal" on the Universal Pinnacle m-25. And per the sales rep it is in stock and i can have within the week, the epilog delivery is about 3 weeks. I can't find my paper work from the epilog, but if i remember it's about the same price adding the options in.
Epilog has a 18x12 table
Universal has 25X18 with the doors that open.

Ray

I'm confused - did you mean to say "GCC Pinnacle"? I thought the Pinnacle was a re-labeled GCC LaserPro.

Richard

Mark Fitzmorris
11-06-2006, 11:43 AM
Ray,

That is a similar package to what I bought but I did not get the rotary attachment. My package included Set up and training is that included in yours? My deal was about 2000 less then what they are selling for. Perhaps there is still room for negotiation on the price.

David Sabot
11-07-2006, 1:16 AM
Start Your Own
Laser Engraving Business!
M-25, Software, Clip Art, Accessories and Delivery
$14,999 - Only 7 available!!
Here's what's included:



Compressor
Blower
Large vector table
Rotary attachment
Laser Master 2 software
Pinnacle Engrave Pack (9 cds)
4163 Pinnacle Corporate Logos
Free deliveryRay

Here is my 2 cents

I purchaesd the M-25 a little over a year ago from Signwarehouse (same company). You can negotiate a better deal than the one mentioned above.

First of all the blower they will sell you is a Penn Industries 850cfm blower, their price is $400, you can purchase direct from Penn for $200.

I didn't purchase a rotary attachment, and never regretted it for a second, I know some people got them and sell them used as they don't ever use them.

I did purchase the compressor from them for $400 but know you can get them much much cheaper (hindsight is 20/20).

Personally I wouldn't use any software except Corel Draw. Everyone on the forum here uses it and can help with any issues. They are trying to push their own software (read more money in their pocket). You can really only go to them for support, not a good idea.

As for the discs of clipart and logos, ask yourself if you will really need this stuff. You can download gobs of clipart online, or just post a request here and the gracious members are always uploading what they have. Sounds like a fluff to me, to pad their package.

To put it into perspective, I got the M-25 and compressor with delivery for $10,395. I knew they had them in stock, I knew they wanted to close out their monthly books, and I knew I didn't need the engraver so I think I got a good deal.

I engrave glass every single day with the machine. It does a beautiful job and the machine is rock solid, I love it.