New to the forum, We are an in house utility with a one man shop which I have been running for 13 years. Started out with a Hamada C248 and a Hamada 612, 30" Challenge cutter and a Baum 2020 with right angle. Had an ECRM Imagesetter. 7 years ago we added an old Solna 425 25" 4 color and upgraded to an Agfa Avantra Imagesetter. We are thinking about getting rid of the Solna and the Hamada 2 color and getting a small 4 color press. We have talked about a Presstek DI and I have seen a demo and of course I was impressed with the demo but after researching what operators and owners have to say I have my doubts. The Hamada C248 that I have has been the best small 2 color I have ever run, and I have run AB Dick and Ryobi and a few others. I have had about 4 service calls in 13 years for this machine and they were for general maintenance like rollers and I had an electrical problem. Other than that I have changed rollers a few times and just put in a new pump in the water system. I have heard that the Hamada has gone down hill and that they are now made in China so I don't know what to think. Maybe a GTO and a platesetter would be better. We do a newsletter that goes in the monthly bills that is 10 x 14 4/4 60M pieces so that would leave us in a situation that really would require a long run plate. We do a lot of short run color and some color booklets also but not the amount a commercial shop does and being a one man shop I need to cut time as much as I can. There is a lot of good info here and any input is greatly appreciated.
Banjoman in NC
Banjoman in NC