Thoughts on Zing + Rayjet

[Zac Altman]

It seems that the laser companies are companies are coming out with new small form factor "desktop" engravers. I know what you all think of these small lasers in terms of your business. But i want people actual opinions on the lasers themselves for doing one off jobs, such as iPods, or cards.

To me they both seem perfect for small scale engravings, both in size and quantity.

So has anyone used either of these?

What do you all think about these lasers for one-off jobs and small scale projects??

Thanks =D

(Please dont turn this into a hate thread.)

[Scott Shepherd]

Don't forget the Versalaser that's at $7,600 right now.

I don't see why any of the 3 wouldn't be good for engraving the items you asked (small scale, low quantity).

All 3 are made by companies with good track records.

[Dee Gallo]

The Zing is very very similar to my Mini 25, and if I had known about it, I probably would have bought the Zing instead. It's only 2" shorter than the Mini workspace-wise, and I don't need the rotary. Almost everything I do is very small, so it would have been ideal. Unfortunately for me, it was announced the month after I got my Mini. I don't know how the reliability and quality of the "works" compare, but since they are both Epilog, I assume they are the same. For the money, it would be ideal for small items.

My dealer offered to buy back the Mini and let me have a Zing, but it was already paid for, set up and running, so I opted to keep it. He's a nice guy! Jeff Aichinger -in NY, in case anyone needs a dealer.

Bottom line, I would not have hesitated to buy one just because it was a new item. Even without seeing a demo.

cheers, dee

[David Darnell]

Well, My $.02- the "lower cost" machines are perfect for the newbies (like myself) who want to get their feet wet without the pressures of having to make money with the machine while still learning the ins and outs of engraving.
I figure if I decide I don't want to go into the business of engraving- I'd be out roughly $10,000, not $30-40,000- which makes the decision to try it much easier

[Zac Altman]

Hmmm, these machines are no longer "lower cost" for me. Thanks to the Australian dollar, there has been a 33% increase in prices...Now I have to pay over 2.5x the US Price, compared to the 2x it used to be.

Lets see, I havent got pricing for the Epilog Zing, but the other 2 (VLS 2.30 and Rayjet) cost upwards of $20k...for the cheapest model.

[Bob Davis]

Zac, it's not just the Aussie Dollar, the Australian dealers all put a big margin on the products. Prices were hardly reduced at all when the Oz increased in value and now that it's gone down again they simply raise the price by the same degree. "Gouging" is the term that comes to mind.

Find a US price, convert it, add import duty (10%) and transport and compare it to local (Aus) prices. There's an additional very large margin involved. Don't forget, you're comparing retail to retail and the US price already includes dealers' margin; the importers are likely to pay a lot less.

The high-margin small volume marketing model is what the Australian dealers all seem to use. Maybe it's the only one that works for them, but I would love to see some real price competition in the local market. If the local price was more reasonable I would update far more often.

[Zac Altman]

Well at the moment they have lost my sale, ive decided that to start off with im going with a rabbit, about 1/4 of the price including shipping. They say it works with corel, but thats for another thread!

Im just disappointed, if they made the prices a bit more reasonable then I would have paid the extra to go with them.