Anatol?

eetherman

Ok, So many of you know that we are in the market for a new or used machine. Anatol has become a part in our search. What has caught my eye is the step back program. Is this feature all it is cracked up to be? Does anyone here run a newer Anatol with this option? Also what is the chances of premature servo failure, if any? Seems that this would be hard on the machine over a period of time? Once again any input is appreciated.

Printwizard

I'm kind of curious on Anatol. I see some struggle down the track with maintenance parts and diagrams etc a few times. Like all companies, they evolve and the machine of ten years ago may be significantly different now not only in terms of build, but also the cuoture and support of the company who built the machine now may be managed and staffed much better or worse. Anatol is definitely a top manufacturer of global status and it would be knieve for any shop to discount or not investigate their models in making a purchasing decision. One curiosity that I have with them really also is that the second hand machines for sale on here and elsewhere don't have high impression counts that you may expect to see on similarly aged Rhinos, TAS or MnR models. Some of the Anatols I see second hand may be a 14 col with 300,000 impressions, but for a machine maybe eight years old you can see MnR with over a million on them, where I don't see Anatols with the huge impression counts?? Maybe they must aren't for sale because their owners are happy with them?

Eetherman, also like many manufacturers Anatol has a lot of models in the market, these will also be very different from an entry level to a top line model, so really your question should be more specific in terms of size, budget, models etc. the more specific the question, the more specific the answer that will help your decision making process.

musterdbom

I haven't seen many Anatols up for sale in almost a year here and I check about every day even though I'm not shopping for another one. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a used one with the step back feature as that's a fairly recent addition. As far as wear on the servo I would say no. Servos are designed to do work, doesn't matter whether they're pulling or pushing.

If you're shopping used, try to find a bigger Stratus or Trident with more heads and skip the whole step back idea and run shirts around the press once and be done. Good luck finding one! Seems like a year ago there were a couple a week on here.

srimonogramming

I don't like the step back program, I personally think it's a bandaid for bad pre-press and should only be used in rare occasions. If you're thinking of buying a press because it has that feature then I think you'd be much better off hiring a consultant to come in and make sure you don't need to lean on something like that to get jobs out the door. As far as the feature itself, it's a great idea for a smaller 6 color press, but slows production down to a crawl. If you have a 10 color, that feature should never be used in my opinion. I'd much rather do a revolver type action than the step back, I think it would be quicker overall.

And as many of you know, I'm not the biggest fan of Anatol because of some of the conversations I've had with customers that have had service after the sale issues. I think the machinery is ok, nothing spectacular but better options than a lot of what is out there. There are a few areas where I'd like to see a little more beef on the press but I don't think the current mechanical heft of the machine affects the operation of the press in a negative way.

I also question the overall passion Anatol has for this industry. I think they were looking for a niche to get into and screen printing happened to be it. Maybe that has changed recently, but it always seemed like their place in this industry was simply a means to an end, and not driven by a passion to be in this industry. I think that I feel that way because of the service after the sale and the amount of turnover that I see within the company.

I know my comments may seem harsh, hopefully it does to those who work for Anatol so that they realize the perception that is out there because I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. I think that the number 2 manufacturer here in the US can be a lot better, like there is plenty of room for improvement.

californiadreamin

Anatols are good machines! Servos are not an issue. Go to the DAX show at the end of this month in Chicago, April 27 I believe ,and check out any and ALL manufacturers,
first hand! The info you receive there,will help you decide in a much "wiser" fashion,
than on these boards. Hands on knowledge,beats Book Knowledge alot of the time!

tonypep

Anatol has had several employee turnover issues with regards to techs. Last guy I talked to was his first week. His background?......HVAC. Every time I talk to them about a service issue I have to take pictures to illustrate the problem. They don't even ask for the serial #. Also I believe some of the schematics went missing during the bankruptcy or whatever it was.
I have run shops with Vindicators, Tridents, and can include a Stratus. At this point I can service the machine myself. Even brought in a machine shop to beef up the indexer assembly. OK machines, nice people, service gets a C+

musterdbom

Or you could just ask Tony (tonypep), as he has ran almost every year/brand of press extensively. I don't think I could form a valid opinion of any press other than mine unless I ran one for a week or at least a couple days. Learning the little quirks and shortcuts take time and in that time it exposes the shortfalls of the press. I know what mine are, but I don't know what would bug me about a diamondback or an MHM for that matter unless I ran one for a while. That being said, I agree with Alan that the step back feature is about as useful as nipples on a man.

Gilligan

__________________
"you don't need a hook for the worms to dance."

Prosperi-Tees

I think the step back is geared more toward their 5 color Titan and a 1 man small shop. I like Anatols feature sets. But I worry about service like Alan said.

Inkworks

Step back seems like a step in the wrong direction to me, but then so does the revolver program and flash-backs. Just burn another screen and buy a press with enough heads (if it's in your budget and fits in your shop) to print/flash in one go-around without stopping.