new gerber FX

Some better news than normal, A brand new machine arrived last week. Gerber have got a great new client focused person.

This domain is now for sale if anybody wants it!

update on the self cling problem on the GERBER FX

After I tested the new self cling, it seemed to work much more efficiently - email today from Spandex
___________________________________________________

Hi Tom

We have now been able to confirm that the new stock of the Cling Material that you recently tested will be with us the first week of October.

We have the White Cling in stock but the clear is due the first week of October.

Please find details below.


P50824A GSP STATIC CLING CLEAR 380 x 45.72 M £1.68 Per M

P53202A GSP STATIC CLING WHITE 380 X 45.72 M £1.68 Per M


Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Kind Regards

____________________________________________________________________________

Spandex UK

Aftermarket Territory Manager

1600 Park Avenue

Aztec West, Almondsbury

Bristol BS32 4UA

ph +44 (0)1454 616444

f +44 (0)1454 616777

The Spandex engineer has just left

what a joke - In walks this guy with a dazed look on his face asking me what going on. I explained that the last time he tested the machine he was not happy with it and sent off the test print.
It appears that they now need control materials to print the test on, which I understand 100% - Apparently this has now been ordered and he will come again - 5th time lucky. You really have to feel sorry for the Gerber engineer, he is really embarrassed at this situation.
So here I continue to sit with a machine that I am not happy with and can do nothing.

I called the head of customer service on Friday to tell them that this was just going to waste the engineers time and mine - the answer I got was " I cant help you " apparently any machinery (Greber FX) complaints must go through to technical. Whats the point of having a customer service dept if they can't deal with customers complaints???

the same engineer

Had a call from Spandex yesterday, they said an engineer is coming down "The best one they have" I found out it was the same guy that has been here twice before. Now the last time he was here, he printed out a long halftone print and said it was not very good and would take it back to get the guys to look at it. I never heard a thing, now they want to send him again to I suspect do exactly the same. What a complete waste of time.

Now remember the only hold I have is to withhold payment for the kit. I have called Spandex to tell them this, they said "Its not their problem as the agreement is with GE Commercial. I also called GE Commercial and they said the money has been paid to Spandex and I should deal with them.

So now I have equipment that is substandard, the company that sold it to me cant help, the finance company don't care and now I have a legal company after me. How much is this all costing??????

spandex Gerber engineer on the way

I thought I would make a phone call to Spandex and see where we are with the tests, it seems I am due an engineer within the next 2 days, lucky I called. Anyway, lets see what happens, this is now the 5th visit. It must be costing them a lot of money! I have a feeling they will just do the same tests again. I also assume they will have no Gerber FX materials with them and use mine to do all the testing.

Just in case you are wondering what this is about - read the intro - GERBER FX STORY

WWW.GERBERFX.CO.UK

some more testing

One of the issues I am waiting to sorted is the question of my Gerber FX printing good halftones, I ran this design through to test and the results are patchy.

the power of the Gerber FX blog

I am rather amazed that there has been no feedback from Spandex with regards to this blog. It was started out of pure frustration with the absolute lack of support and technical help from the company after the FX was bought.

Is is now starting to propagate through the web and I was sent a mail telling me that it was spotted on the main google GERBER finance page

A visit from Spandex UK sales - Gerber FX Issues.

Yesterday we had a visit from Spandex, it was however a sales person. As per normal they seem to be the best people to deal with in Spandex, She did however ask me about the self cling problems I have been having and had prior to the visit sent down a new self cling material that has been sourced.

We ran it through the gerber fx with the dust strips back in and it seemed to work very well. We again tried the older supplied self cling and it jammed almost immediately. So on a positive note it seems the hardware manager is on the case.

I am still however waiting for the Spandex technical dept to give me an answer on the test print they did, this is now a good few months back and now word from them.

Based on the apauling service I have received and the fact that I feel the machine sold to me is not working as it should I have stopped payment on the machine. I have notified both the finance company and Spandex UK, both of whom have not got back to me. I received a legal letter yesterday from the finance company so it seems they think all is fine. They did say they would speak to spandex and get back to me, but as with Spandex this was a month or so ago and I did not get any response back from them.

So still my Gerber FX sits on the desk here with only the spandex Sales team trying to sell me more products, and the Gerber Technical team obviously too busy to speak to and help clients.

a glimpse of spandex help DASHED again

a week or so ago I had a call from the Tech department of Spandex UK, I nearly fell off my chair. At last I thought something was going to be done. He asked me "where are we with the machine" I thought that was rather funny as I have told them exactly whats going on and even an engineer has been to visit. So here I am reminding them whats going, surly they should know by now!!!

I was still upbeat that somebody had bothered to call at all, I reminded them that I was waiting for the engineers report that was going to be done over a month ago. He then said 'PROMISED' (in the interest of customer service and all that) he would call back on Monday. Its 2 weeks later now and still no call. Man this is unbelievable! Perhaps they are issued with invisible ink when taking down client comments.

I then phoned the accounts dept and said I am stopping payment until these issues get sorted, the promptly said that its nothing to do with them and I should phone the finance company (GE Capital) I then called them and told them the issues, and they replied with its not their problem Spandex have the money and they would pursue me for the payments.

what now I ask??? - but I suspect there will still be no answers from Spandex!

for those of you wondering what this is all about, read the Gerberfx blog from the beginning. check out the gerber archives : http://gerberfx.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_gerberfx_archive.html

more unhappy Spandex UK clients that own an edge

I recieved this via email, I knew it was not just me -

"Hi Tom, just spotted your post on UK signboards, just read
> your blog as well, sounds like you've had a complete nightmare with
> them.
> I decided to buy a reconditioned Edge which (touch
> wood) has been fine up until now, but I had to wait weeks for
> delivery, bits were sent at different times, I even went back up to
> open account because they just couldn't be bothered to email me the
> documentation, I'm still waiting for an up to date price list, decided
> to buy all my foils from Printone and I buy all my vinyl from APS so
> Spandex have missed out on at least another £8000 to date because of
> their customer service.
> Just thought I'd let you know that you aren't the only one to be
> treated badly by Spandex.
> Andy was first class and I would by another edge but would never use
> them for anything else.
>
> Hope its paying for itself by now.
>
> Best wishes

another unhappy Spandex UK client

Update on the self cling problem with the Gerber FX

This is a mail I received after posting questions on a forum.

"I think that the static cling that Spandex sells is not sourced from GSP, and so is not ‘EdgeReady’. I suspect that the Spandex static cling is sourced in the UK (hence the ‘Transtec’ house branding and 50m roll lengths), because it’s cheaper and to be fair, perhaps works just as well. You might want to quiz them about this. This could be why you (and Spandex UK) have not seen the instruction sheet and hence didn’t know about the application tape tip. You may ‘demand’ that they sell you (or at least get some to try) the ‘EdgeReady’ material if you think that it would make a difference, although hopefully the application tape tip will solve your problem."

still no call back from Spandex :-(

WHERE ARE THEY?

Well, its now the 4th of July and I have still not heard from the Spandex Technical dept. I have cancelled the finance direct Debit and still nothing, I wonder when they will wake up.
Let me give them a call right now and see what the update is.

more wasted phone calls To Spandex

Since my last post a few weeks back, I have been waiting patiently for a call back from Spandex telling me the results of the test the engineer did. I called the 2 days ago and the young lady I spoke to said she would need to chase up the engineer and call me back, Guess what no call back - Surprise Surprise

I called again yesterday to speak to accounts to tell them that I am cancelling my payments for the gerber, the Spandex Representative just said its nothing to do with them (Funny that - after all they sold me the machine that does not work correctly, well at least I think so - It would be nice for somebody to give me a straight answer)

I then called the finance company and they also said its nothing to do with them, and I I did cancel the payments they would chase me.

So here is the scenario

1: I am on my second Gerber edge in a few months (I still don't think its working - but nobody will tell me)
2: Spandex wont help and have the money for the machine.
3: The finance company wont help either saying its a spandex problem

what now - Oh by the way still no call backs !!!!!!!!

self cling is a problem it seems with the Gerber FX

A massive thank you to the guys at http://www.4edgetalk.com/ forum for pointing this out to me, I am just amazed that after dealing with at least 5 different people at Spandex UK, not one of them knew this - simply appalling !!!!!
__________________________________________

Gerber Scientific Products Inc.
Product Bulletin
Reference PS-Static February 1997 FastFacts # 5551
Gerber Static Cling Vinyl

DESCRIPTION
Gerber Static Cling is a 7.5 mil, highly plasticized vinyl film designed to adhere to glass and other clean, smooth nonporous
surfaces. Static Cling has been designed for use with Gerber Digital Color Printing Systems and GerberColor Foils.
Gerber Static Cling is available in clear and white.

INTENDED APPLICATIONS
Static Cling vinyl is ideally suited for producing attractive single and multi-color graphics for interior signs and displays.
Static Cling can also be used as a substrate for easily-mounted and removable, temporary signs.
This vinyl is intended for temporary application to glass. It may also function adequately on smooth, non-porous plastics
and metals. Static Cling is not intended for use on painted surfaces without prior test and approval by the user. The user
should determine the suitability of all substrates prior to application.
Static Cling is intended for interior applications only. It is not intended for applications where petrochemical contact may occur.

APPLICATION TECHNIQUES
Applying the decorated surface of Static Cling directly to the substrate may result in partial transfer of the graphic. Print
graphics in reverse mode if the opposing substrate surface is the preferred viewing mode (clear Static Cling only).
Clear Static Cling may develop a surface haze. The haze will dissipate after the graphic is applied.
The application surface must be clean, smooth, and as close to room temperature as possible. Small Static Cling graphics
can be applied dry and without application tape. Use a roller or a squeegee with a non-friction sleeve to smooth Static Cling into place.

PRINTING
If your software material selection palette does not have Gerber Static Cling, use Scotchcal 220 lighter print settings.
GerberColor Spot (GCS) Series, GerberColor Process (GCP) SUPER CMYK Series, and GerberColor Transparent
(GCT) Series Foils can be used to print onto Gerber Static Cling. Blot away any excess pigment transfer of certain
GerberColor Foils with application tape immediately after printing.
The bail arm squeegees on your Gerber Digital Color Printing System may stick to the surface of Static Cling. Applying a
strip of Gerber Hi-tack application tape on the squeegees should eliminate this occurrence.

CUTTING
Gerber Static Cling can be cut on any 15” GRAPHIX ADVANTAGE compatible plotter. A 30° SuperSharp blade is
recommended. Plotters can be set to full speed. A test cut should be performed by the user to determine the proper tool
force setting.
PROTECTING GRAPHICS
Abrasion Guard is a clear, top-coat GerberColor Foil designed to protect graphics from moderate contact or handling.
SHELF LIFE AND STORAGE
Gerber Static Cling can be stored for six months after purchase. Film should be kept in a clean area free from excessive
moisture and direct sunlight. Maintain temperature at less than 75°F (23°C) and ensure 75% RH.
Use a paper interleaf between printed materials that are stacked or rolled. Do not store printed graphics face to face.
MAINTENANCE
To clean printed graphics, use a mild, non-abrasive soap with a soft cloth or sponge. Avoid using alcohol-based cleansers
or soaps containing grit or abrasives
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Thickness 7.5 mil
Film Color Clear, White
Adhesive n/a
Adhesive Color n/a
Minimum Application Temp 40°F (5°C)
RELATED LITERATURE
GerberColor Spot (GCS) Series, GerberColor Process (GCP) SUPER CMYK Series, and GerberColor Transparent (GCT)
Series Product Bulletins.
For help with questions concerning Gerber products, please call your distributor or Gerber Customer Service at 1-800-
222-7446 or (860)643-1515.
GRAPHIX ADVANTAGE is a Registered Trademark of Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.
GerberColor and GerberColor SUPER CMYK are Trademarks of Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.
Scotchcal is a Trademark of The 3M Corporation.

Self Cling Vinyl problems

After about 3 days and 20+ ms of self cling I have finally figured out what is going on. The biggest problem I have with this Gerber fx is that it keeps jamming when printing self cling. It just so happens that its the material I print on the most (car park passes etc...)
I even went as far as going up to Spandex and got the demo room machine up and running, that machine failed to print them, so we got another brand new FX from one of the class rooms and low and behold that jammed as well. I was then told that guys that print onto self cling just expect wastage and don't do long runs. This amazed me, my average run would be 2000+ labels in one go and to do them one meter at a time is ridiculous.

Eventually I found that the 2 white dust strips stick to the self cling. I ripped them out and it now works a treat. My question to the engineer was is this normal, he replied with - clients do what ever they need to to get the machine running as they want it to. I just assumed that the Gerber FX would cope with self cling - is this not the case?

just to set the record straight

The sales guys that I deal with for material orders are fantastic, the guy that sold me the Gerber FX, is probably the most helpful sales guy I have ever met. He went out of his way to help me, If only he was upper management.

Gerber FX not printing as well as the Edge 1

After years of having these labels printed by a local sign maker I am convinced that the Gerber FX is not quite up to the job.

Even after having an engineer down, when printing over 3 meters of these labels, they seem to degrade a lot, I am having to do them in batches of 50. These print fine on an edge 1

materials ordered for the Gerber FX DAMAGED

When the correct materials do arrive they are often damaged, here is just one example: I ordered a roll of static self cling, firstly they sent the wrong width, that's gone back now, but when the correct material arrived it was in this condition















I called sales and told them about it, the fact that I had to bin at least 10 metres, and not even a follow up or a credit ???

When I questioned the delivery company, all the delivery guy said was - " ah Spandex again, they never package their deliveries correctly and we have loads of returns" - I personally think its to do with the delivery company in this case, they simply don't care.

The most important thing was that I got my order out and did not let my clients down.

the vinyl does not fit

Just a quick one before I detail the catalogue of problems I have had.

Yesterday I phoned and ordered a roll of Static self cling for the GERBER FX. The sales guy said that it was out of stock, which is understandable and I can wait.

This morning, a Spandex box arrived and I jumped for Joy thinking they had come through for me. However upon opening the box I discovered a 1200mm unsprocketed roll of self cling. (How does this happen???)

Now the thing is that in a space of the last month this is the second order that has been dispatched and the wrong goods have arrived. So I guess this roll just goes into the pile waiting to go back.

My Little Gerber FX Story - INTRO.

After using various unreliable signage companies for years to outsource my label printing, I decided to purchase the fantastic Gerber Edge. The latest Gerber Edge happened to be the Gerber FX.
This Blog is to let everybody know what a complete nightmare this has been for me.
Although the Gerber FX machine is a fantastic machine, the experience of actually dealing with Spandex to get a machine up and running has been a complete nightmare. I would expect for paying over £8000 for this new FX, there would be a little product support and customer service, but so far its been the worst service I have ever received.
I have run a very successful business for many years now and we will go out of our way to never let our clients down. A concept that Spandex I believe just does not understand, perhaps £8000 is not enough for them to care about.