Metaza

[Guest leo]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know if the metaza MPX-80 machine any good ?

 

If not, is there any other similar machine with same price ?

 

I intend to use it to start a small gifts engraving business and renting a stall. All suggestions and comments are welcomed.

 

Thanks.

[Craig Gardner]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know if the metaza MPX-80 machine any good ?

 

If not, is there any other similar machine with same price ?

 

I intend to use it to start a small gifts engraving business and renting a stall. All suggestions and comments are welcomed.

 

Thanks.

 

it is a realy good machine i use a metaza but only as a second machine for small fine detail jobs probabaly only used for about 5% of my engraving workload. If i was you and starting out i would look at a real engraving machine not a metal imprinter. remember the metaza has a very small engraving area compared to normal engravers. if you can stretch your budget a bit more look at the roland egx350 it can engrave an area the same size as a4 paper i bought one from mastergrave and love it.

 

Craig

[Guest leo]

Hi Craig,

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Have looked at EGX350 and yea it has more applications.

 

Is this machine any good with engraving pictures on pendants for example ? and do you need different jigs for different use ?

[kobblers]

dunno about the engraving pictures with the egx machine but you will need jigs, these should come with it though.

 

you are much better investing in a proper engraver though if only for the multitude of items that you can engrave, ideally you want something that can do tankards and other round items too.

 

if you're on a tight budget, try the mastergrave MK5, it's not a bad machine.

 

rick.

[kobblers]

if you're looking to put photos on items then why don't you try 'dye sublimation' instead, it's a very easy method and the start up costs aren't as dear plus you can do full colour high res pictures.

 

rick.

[Craig Gardner]

if you're looking to put photos on items then why don't you try 'dye sublimation' instead, it's a very easy method and the start up costs aren't as dear plus you can do full colour high res pictures.

 

rick.

 

Hi leo i more or less agree with ascap the egx350 will not engrave full photos like the metaza as it uses a diamond drag scratching method like traditional engraving. the machine comes with a large flatbed table which you can remove easily with 4 thumb turn screws anp place the jig table on. mine came with 4 jigs.The metaza will not engrave deep at all as it strikes the metal with pins the harder it presses creates a light mark and lighter it presses creates a dark mark. so it is slower than a real engraver but can build up a good image on the item by placing hundreds of small dots of diferent depth although the finished article will feel smooth.

As i say i do use a metaza but it is a very limited market of use. if you realy want to be putting photos on items i agree with ascap you should look into sub printing try subli-nation.co.uk or novachrome.com i do about 1 metaza job to every 25 sub print jobs mugs and jig saws being my best selling sub lines.

i would not recomend a manual machine nowadays as you realy need a computerised on as you would only be wanting to upgrade soon after buying a manual one.

give mike at mastergrave a call he is a great guy and he can advise you on metazas and egx350 he will even organise a demo for you.Just tell him craig from Scotland recomended the egx350 i was down and seen him about 2 months ago and he showed me some good tips on using the egx350 machine.

 

Craig