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Buying Signmaking or Printing Equipment Buying equipment is a complicated process. Often we rely on the advice of friends, or worse, the advice of a sign equipment dealer. This information bulletin is designed to help you make an informed choice when purchasing equipment. In our 12 years of providing equipment to the Signmaking and Large Format Printing industries we have seen people make alot of mistakes: 1) Understanding yourself. What are your technical capabilities? Do you understand computers? What operating systems are you familiar with? (Windows 98, Windows 3.1, Macintosh) Are you comfortable installing your own software? Can you open up a computer to insert a new component? Can you move between several different programs, importing and exporting files? How is your mechanical competence? Can you understand the basic working components of your equipment? Often people will overestimate their technical ability and will purchase a system that is too complicated. They will overpay for things that they don't need in the near term. Modern systems require a basic understanding of computer hardware and software. Take a course at a local college or computer store BEFORE you buy the equipment. Rate your Competence: I don't have a clue: Purchase your equipment from a local supplier known for their technical support. You may overpay in the short term, but the hours lost to going it alone could be better spent in other areas of your business (such as marketing) I have a working knowledge of computers but I have no computer graphics experience: Mail order purchases might be ok, however, concentrate on easy to use software and less costly hardware. I have been using graphics software and output devices for years. I'm an expert! Take the time to define your needs. (see "Know Your Customers") Take the advice of the equipment dealers. I have had many "experts" call and give me detailed specifications for their purchase, only to find out that they were buying all the wrong stuff. If you are buying based on price, check out the customer support, training, shipping policies and honesty of your vendor. 2) Know Your Customer What market are you targeting? (auto graphics, retail, corporate, trade show, etc.) What are the needs of these markets? (longevity, quick turnaround, price, quality, size) There is no "do everything" product. Each piece of equipment has it's strengths and weaknesses. Knowing the needs of your target markets will help you and your equipment vendor determine what is right for you. 3) How much can you spend? If your budget is limited, your equipment dealer can help you determine where you can cut corners. Often a good strategy is to phase your way into a market. Building capabilities on a strong foundation of software and hardware will help you get the maximum value for your dollar. 4) When are you buying? If you call me today and tell me you are interested in buying a large format printer in 6 months, I'll tell you to call me in 6 months. The technology is changing quickly. You want your product knowledge to be current when you are ready to buy. 5) Beware of "specials" and limited time offers. There are some legitimate "deals" available. Manufacturers sometimes offer volume discounts, closeout specials, or show specials which really are short term in nature. Usually, however, you should be wary of excessive pressure from a salesperson. I have never seen a "show special" which couldn't be purchased from your local dealer the day after the show. Take the time to call one or two other dealers to see if they can match the price. Remember, it is not price that is important, it is the service you receive. A printer that sits in the corner unused (at 10% off!) is less valuable than one that is printing you money. 6) Break up the component parts! Most manufacturers produce "open systems" which work with non-specialized equipment. There may be an advantage to purchasing the main components of the system: Computer, Scanner, Software, Output device, from different sources. You may already own some of the components, and need someone to integrate them for you. If someone is selling you a "package deal" break out the component costs so you can compare "apples to apples" of different systems. The key is to understand your own technical competence, and evaluate each of the components seperately: Computers: Tomorrow they will be cheaper and faster. My advice is to always purchase the fastest you can afford. I also advise those in major cities to purchase their computer locally. Despite the claims of Gateway, Dell, Compaq, and IBM, when their computers crash, you will be waiting DAYS to get them fixed. Buy a "clone" computer locally, and you can usually get emergency walk in service. The pricing of local "clones" should match the prices of Gateway and Dell, and your local manufacturer should use "brand name" parts. A further advantage of local purchase is that these computers use non proprietary parts available anywhere. If your local vendor doesn't have the part, someone else will. On our "SYSTEMS PAGE" we list pricing and configuration of computers for the systems we sell. Use these as a guide when specifying your computer from a local vendor. Remember, if my prices are more than a month old, the systems are now faster and cheaper than shown. If you do purchase your computer mail order, be certain to specify that you need: Two working Com Ports, two parallel ports, at least two open ISA slots, a zip drive or super drive, a cd rom, and room for memory expansion. Also, if you are really smart, you won't "junk up" your production computer with a sound card and modem. You should buy a seperate machine for playing games and accessing the web. Remember, this computer is a tool, not a toy. Scanners: Beware the $69 scanner! High end design professionals may spend thousands of dollars for a high quality scanner. For the average user this is overkill. Know your customer. Most artwork is of such poor quality, that a high end scanner is wasted. Unless you are dealing with transparancies or slides, the average $500 scanner will provide you with maximum image quality. A photograph or printed piece actually has poor resolution, and color depth. (You know all of those great prints you see at shows? Unless you scan transparancies, you won't be able to duplicate it!) At the low end of the spectrum, I usually recommend a Hewlett Packard. You will be guaranteed a long life and compatibiltiy with future operating systems with an HP. Look for optical resolution, color depth (i.e. 30 bit or 36 bit scannner) Speed, interface (parallel port or SCSI), and the software that controls the scanner when making the purchase decision. Software: STAY WITH THE MAJOR BRANDS! The pace of change in the graphics industry is amazing. As output devices, computer hardware, and operating systems evolve, you need to insure that your software keeps pace. The smaller vendors with a small installed base have a greater difficulty in keeping abreast of the changes. At any given point in time, one software product will outshine the others. With each new release, the sofware adds features. Rather than looking at software at a point in time and choosing based on the current feature set, take the time to talk with the company about future upgrade plans. When evaluating the software consider: Ease of Use, Current features, historical upgrade costs(what has been charged in the past for product upgrades), technical support, upgrade paths (i.e. the cost of adding additional functionality to the software), and price. How will you be trained in the software? Beware of dealers who bad mouth software. (This means that they usually don't carry that brand!) Output Devices: Output devices are the most difficult component to evaluate. Because output devices are highly specialized, the most time should be spent evaluating your customer's needs. (KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER!) Answer the following questions at a minimum when evaluating output options: Vinyl Cutters: Reliability, size, perforated or non perforated, does it pounce? Speed, (inches per second is a worthless measure. Because different cutters perform corner and curve cutting at different speeds, a better measure is the time it takes to cut a 1" helvetica alphabet. If you are viewing the machines work, watch the speed on the curves!) tracking accuracy, additional features such as a stand. Printers: Technology is changing rapidly. Some of the questions I would like to know are: Speed, reliability, cost per square foot, size, for ink jet printers: time required to change between pigmented and non pigmented inks, for resin printers: do you need to change each color? time required? Quality of output? (DPI is not necessarily the best measure, especially when printing larger images), durability of image, cost of printer. Good luck with your purchase! Remember, when in doubt, buy the reputation of the dealer first!
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