thanks for the info Ronald D. Peeler Jr., B.S. IE Process Engineer SWEMCO Moorestown, NJ 08057 Tel: (856).222.9900 ext. 31 Cel: (484).948.0779 Fax: (856).222.0700 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Stephen Gregory [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 11:09 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Dek Printer Hi Phil! I just talked with our maintenance tech again. There seems that there was some confusion between him and the spares person at DEK. It seems for some reason maintenance tech WAS quoted the conversion. He said he told DEK that he just needed the clamps, and then asked the person from DEK to verify that the price for the clamps had really gone up that much. He told him that the last time he bought them they were only $184. The person from DEK told him that the price was correct. That's when my tech came to me and told me that the clamps had gone up over ten-fold! I just about s#%t! So I apologize for my rant earlier... -Steve Gregory- -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Phil Zarrow Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 1:49 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Dek Printer Hi all, Steve presented an interesting situation regarding the cost of the replacement parts for his printer. Being a fellow veteran "equipment guy" he accurately points out that supporting and older machine is a bit more expensive. I looked in the situation with the front door cover strut and, apparently, as a result of time, inflation and, most importantly, lower volume purchases (since that part is no longer used in current equipment), the price has gone up. As one of my hobbies is keeping some older sports cars alive and running, I have run into this syndrome quite a bit and empathize with both sides. The Edge Clamp Foil dilemma boggled my mind. I had to look into this - inquiring minds want to know. As it turns out, one of my clients recently undertook some upgrade work to their older DEK printer. I inquired about the prices they encountered and the aforementioned clamps were $217 (where, as Steve mentioned, they were previously $184). Not too bad. However, a complete upgrade from the original system to a quick change clamp system cost (a year ago) $1284. That's more like it. Again, that was a year ago, though, and I suspect the conversion costs even more now - again lower demand and volume purchased, not to mention our fragile dollar). And at least they were in stock! K Jaworenko's experience with having to wait 32 weeks for replacement parts from an equipment supplier is deplorable. Maybe I'm too altruistic, but I really don't think (and hope) that the more reputable equipment manufacturers have to resort to gouging on spares to coerce us to buy newer machines. Certainly, some seem to have their acts together better than others. Of course our experiences, both in use and support with these manufacturers will influence our next purchasing decision just as much as their specifications will and they are aware of that. But, speaking as someone who spent a lot of time on the equipment side, supporting older machines both in terms of spares and retrofits is a tough part of the business. One further suggestion when contemplating a used piece of equipment and calling the OEM's field service department and chatting with a field service tech. Besides being the guys who actually work on the machines, most field service techs are opinionated and tell it like it is - good or bad. (Sometimes they can be the "anit-salesman"). To use my automotive analogy again, if you're considering buying a used automobile, who better than a mechanic to tell you what's good and what to watch out for? Again, caveat emptor, indeed. Phil Zarrow ITM Consulting Durham, NH USA _www.ITMconsulting.org_ (http://www.ITMconsulting.org) --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------