Hi, one man business here and looking to purchase a table top laser system, something small. Have been trying to get a V- series from sign warehouse but have had the MOST dreadful service and haven’t even got the darn thing yet! They obviously don’t really care if they get the order or not and this has been going on for nearly a month with phone calls not being returned etc… have seen some past posts on here and am now rethinking doing business with them so my next question is does anyone have any other recommendations for companies to purchase a small system from ?? Thanks for all replies, cheers P.
1) Epilog Laser Systems 2) Universal Laser Systems. Everything else is trying to catch up with these to companies. and their service before, during, and after the sale are top notch.
I agree. I am looking at the VL series the smallest is $10k but I expect to up grade to larger. Their sales guy Jeff has been able to do everything via e mail… I don’t have much free time and this is the best bay for me to get things done - he is great their products are said to be excellent.
I know I’ve posted before look into a trotec they have a new small desktop I have had my speedy II for almost a year now and man I love it I love the driver and I’m not sure how anyone can do without it. if the trotec desktop is just 1/2 the machine the speedy II is it would still beat the competition (PS I’m not in sales just a very happy customer.)
Wow that looks like a nice machine how are the prices?
After pricing both the trotec and the universal of the same size the price was very close I’m not sure on the table top price I do no they have very good customer service and the best warranty there is. You can call trotec for a dealer location at (866)226-8505 there U.S. office is in Michigan.
How long is their warranty? What does it cover?
3 years it covers everything except lenses they are a consumable item I would have to make 100 % sure but I also think it covers co2 refill if needed in the first 3 years they are very fast to help when you have a question, I crashed my computer the other day and had to get a new computer trotec walked me thru resetting up the driver and job controle had me up and running in less then 15 min.
There is a great article in ARA’s Recongition and Review about how to buy a laser. Recently I have visited Sign Warehouse and left feeling good about my purchase from them. They are most certainly going through growing pains…BUT….I do intend to write a letter to the owner. If you are uncomfortable with Sign Warehouse, I suggest finding a ” Laser Pro” dealer. They are the same machine.
It is my understanding that The laser that SignWharehouse sells is not the same as what LaserPro is currently selling. I am told the SignWarehouse Laser is an older version. The laserPro is a newer design. The pictures I’ve seen of the the SWH laser do look like the old GCC LaserPro - however they may not have redone their pictures!! LaserPro is also about to introduce a desktop laser really soon. The LaserPro has some really nice features & warrant a look. I did see for myself that some of the drivers issues have been resolved. In 1 or 2 areas I think they have an edge on the competition.
Do you have a website for the LaserPro? I am just thinking of getting started in this and need all the info I can get before deciding.
Laser Pro Website: http://www.laserprousa.com/
If I had it to do over again, after seeing the Universal Laser, and the Epilog, (both of which are good machines), I would still go with the LaserPro. BUT I would go from a “LaserPro” dealer and not someone that markets the same machine under a different name. I have had mine for two months now, and as my learning curve accelerates, I am VERY please with my machine….BUT, research research research……..
After a one day visit to Sign Warehouse, I can assure you that their laser is in fact the “laserPro”…same machine etc. They ( sign warehouse have a different color because of the volume they sell. It is staggering…. When I got MY laser, the crate it came in was “LaserPro” and the unpacking sheet was “LaserPro”…..the manual, well that is another story…. All in all, I am satisfied with the laser.
LaserPro reps sell the Explorer with its 20″x38″ engraving area and 80 IPS speed. Sign Warehouse sells the Mercury (AKA Pinnacle) with 18″x25″ engraving area and 42 IPS speed. The Mercury was the predecessor to the Explorer. The outer design of the cabinet is the same style, making them appear to be the same, especially in a web picture.
Explorer Info: http://www.laserprousa.com/equipment/cf-lpexplorer.cfm
Mercury Info: http://www.laserprousa.com/equipment/cf-lpmercury.cfm
Sign Warehouse Pinnacle Info (LaserPro Mercury): ttp://www.laserpin.com/Mseries.htm
According to the Signwarehouse site their “E” series sounds like the Explorer.
Perhaps I left out something out of my post. What I mean is the SignWarehouse Machine (older model) Pinnacle & LaserPro (new model) Explorer are not the same machine - only the same manufacturer - GCC LaserPro. The LP Mercury appear similar - there is still a difference I really like the LaserPro. The LaserPro laser has a unique feature - you can locate the image position by hand. For the money the Laserpro is great. The relays, ethernet, table size, bypass doors combination are not found on many lasers. The actual table is built like a tank. It has 4 leadscrews & is one of the best setups I’ve seen.
SignWarehouse is not the latest greatest LaserPro - I think GCC shot themselves in the foot on that deal. Many people don’t realize there is a difference. I see people turned off & not knowing there is an alternative.
The LaserPro Reps have to fight this all the time. The LaserPro Reps are Helpful, Knowledgeable & Responsive. The LaserPro Reps will also come out & do demos. My local rep has a small invetory of replacement parts. I like my Universal Reps also.
These are some of the differences:
The SignWarehouse laser is rated @ 42 ips The LaserPro laser is rated @ 80 ips (60 ips on the LP Mercury)
The SignWarehouse laser uses a pulley type motion system The LaserPro laser uses a sealed linear rail with recirculating bearings Ditto on the Lens Carrier.
The SignWarehouse laser is 18 x 25 The LaserPro laser is 20 x 38
Maybe a price difference???
I just want people to realize there is a difference. I dont think you can go wrong with any of the brands out there. Universal, Epilog, LaserPro & Xenetech all have up/down sides. We just need to realize what machine is appropriate for our needs. Any Laser is better than ‘No Laser’. They still cost less than a car & make you a lot more money.
In discussing the table size below, you are comparing the Explorer series with the Mercury (M) series. The Explorer and Mercury series are wholly different models. When comparing the M series that SignWarehouse sells, you need to look at the Mercury, NOT the Explorer. I can see no differences between the Pinnacle M- series and LaserPro’s Mercury series.
Compare the specs of these two lasers: http://www.laserproi.com/product/p_mercury.htm#b vs. http://www.laserpin.com/Mseries.htm
The situation as I understand it is. The mercury and explorer are similar machines made by the same manufacturer. The manufacturer sells with the name laserpro. They have also licensed Pinnacle to sell the mercury and relabel it with there name. So while the mercury and explorer are similar, only the mercury is licensed to Pinnacle to sell.
My experience in the typesetting business was that you were always better to buy the name brand model than from a re-labeler. They maybe the same machine, but if laserpro goes out of business, you will be equally screwed regardless of which name the machine has, where if re-labeler goes down, quite often your screwed. I’ve got nothing specific against Pinnacle.
The Explorer and mercury are not the same, I have had both, and I bought directly from the agent (we don’t have relablers where I live). I can only comment about signwarehouse in that I have seen posts in other forums purporting to come from happy users of their machines and they came from signwarehouse itself. The machines are great, the sockpuppet antics of signwarehouse stink. Buy from an agent.
In essence the Explorer is a vast step up from the Mercury. It uses a coherent DEOS source rather than the synrad which was a little flaky in the mercury. The drivers are a whole lot better, but what’s REALLY impressive is the speed increase, it zips along and is a true production machine. Our 3 run 8-10 hours a day all week. The motion system, due to increased speeds is more robust on the explorer. The air assist is adjustable too. The rotary attachment sucks big time - GCc need to re engineer this - it’s dreadful and almost unusable. Size too is increased to 1m x 500 which is a very useful size, combine this with the pass thru and you can do big stuff, we regularly do 3m long items. The Explorer also had a collimator lens and the beam quality is really good, with 35 watts you can actually engrave stainless at very slow speeds in vector mode.
The driver is very very good and GCC constantly upgrade it and the firmware. The lens assemble and indeed the lens holders are different for the explorer to the mercury, however you can use the mercury lenses if you have (we use a 1.5, 2 and 4″ lens). We have had a few teething troubles on our early explorers, but these have been fixed and weren’t really that dramatic. This machine really moves, its sometimes 3x faster overall than the mercury and in laser engraving or processing, time is money. It has some really nice new features in the job queuing dept and in positioning (like centre point etc). As I say, we use 3 of them.
I guess I must be one of those that purport to be happy with signwarehouse because I work for them. Wrong I just have never had a negative experience, maybe I’m too laid back to get really excited about phone calls or emails not being returned within hours if not minutes. There are horror stories from all manufacturers in every field. Ever have a car that wasn’t right? The vast experiences that I have read about on various forums is really neat and I have learned alot from many people and I really appreciate it. I am a novice and look forward from learning from the pros.
I believe the problem with signwarehouse is they are trying to sell at warehouse prices something which is a specialized item. signwarehouse expects to sell a product and help you get it running, but what does it mean to “get it running”? For a warehouse place that means to plug it in and see the light come one, but to consumers, they actually want to be able to work with it. I wasn’t allowed to buy my explorer without a day of training. Forced training can be looked at 2 ways. It’s an expensive mandatory option, but at least both parties will agree that you could at least do something on the laser after you got it.
You’re absolutely correct. I opted to save the $2000.00 that would have sent a tech out for training and setup and it has been slow going. I have been able to learn to do quite a few things and basically I am writing my own manual, (boy does the owners manual and EngraveLab manual stink). But as I stated in am earlier post I consider the forums to be the best teacher other than a classroom. The folks that are members and share their expertise are the best. I really appreciate the comments and the techniques that are shared.
I too saved the $2000.00 by not taking the training. The one thing they forgot to tell me was that if I came “there” I could get the training for free. While the learning curve was steep, I think that ultimately it was cheaper for me to go there to learn. Most of the education I have received is on these forums and through the help of Kevin Huffman and Eddie LaRue, (who in my opinion are the saving grace of Sign Warehouse) and of course my own experimentation. I am now comfortable with my laser and am working on learning Corel. Personally I think EngraveLab is a dog.