rightaboutnow Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Hi Guys, I am really looking to get your thoughts on the best choice to make for an engraving machine for our business. I would like a machine for ring engraving and I would prefer a dedicated ring engraving machine rather than a multi-purpose machine just for ease of use which is clean, with a small footprint and will be reliable. I have spoken with Gravograph and they can offer a new M10J machine for £2585 + VAT, which includes their gravostyle software, 120 font pack and 3 hours on site installation+training. We would reclaim the VAT so the total cost is £2585. Another option is to purchase a second hand IM4 RM machine like this one. This particular machine is 9 years old, has had light use, but the software is the very old QuickStyle 1.6 so will probably need upgrading. Seller would like circa £1350 but I thought true value was closer to £800. What do you think? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0928586076 A third option is to get a second hand M10J machine like this one. This machine also has had light use, but is coming to the end of the 1 year warranty and seems to me too expensive when you can buy a new one for circa £300 more. What do you guys think the true value is of this unit (£1850?) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gravograph-M1 ... 2a2d3988da A left field choice is to go for a cheaper India/Chinese made option like this one http://www.citizenscales.com/ring-engra ... cpm-r.html I've not been able to get a price from the manufacturer yet, and I can't see it in action before I would purchase. However, they do a more advanced machine (closer to the M20J I think) and I know the price of this is circa £1900 + VAT delivered to the UK. http://www.citizenscales.com/multi-engr ... cpm-m.html I also know if I go for the cheaper Asia option, servicing and spares would be more difficult. Plus I could make an expensive mistake is the quality of the machine isn't right or the quality of the engraving it produces. Plus I don't know if their software is reliable etc so it gives a lot of unknowns and risks. On the other hand, they must be selling these machines and they don't seem that complicated from what I have seen so far, so how big are there risks for this kind of machine in reality? Sorry for such a long first post, but I really can't decide which is the best option and so would really welcome your thoughts! Cheers, James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Hello James and welcome to the forum. It depends on what demand you are getting at the moment. I would avoid all cheaper foreign options. What engraving machines do you have? Attachments are a cheaper option and not such a big deal to change. I have a manual Gravograph ring engraver which I hardly ever use. Perhaps you should go down the manual route first to test the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rightaboutnow Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 HI, demand is about 3 or 4 rings per week so not massive but it should pay back, plus it improves our turnaround time for our customers. At the moment we outsource the ring engraving and I don't have an option to buy an attachment for another machine. Unfortunately whilst a manual machine would only cost £300 or so, the choice of fonts I think is limited to a block/script font choice whereas as the moment we can offer a full range of font options which customers tend to like. Appreciate your thoughts about the foreign options. What do you think about the price/value of the second hand machines? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 The choice of fonts on manual machines isn't great I have a total of 2....... ......... Call me old fashioned but I am wary of foreign stuff.....Back up would be difficult...better to stick with equipment you know you can get help on, either on here or from the supplier. I did think about getting a ring attachment for my Uni300 but the demand isn't there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenB Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 I have the ring attachment for my universal 300 - I probably use it less than once every couple of months, so it will probably never really make me much in the way of profit. Good to be able to offer the service though, or at least, good not to have to turn jobs away. As I use it so infrequently, it scares me to death every time I use it! :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CotswoldEngraver Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 I have the ring attachment for my universal 300 - I probably use it less than once every couple of months, so it will probably never really make me much in the way of profit.Good to be able to offer the service though, or at least, good not to have to turn jobs away. As I use it so infrequently, it scares me to death every time I use it! :lol: Same here ~ 5 minutes to set up and 3 hours to pluck up the courage to press the start button! Only used our ring engraving attachment about half a dozen times - probably something to do with not publicising we can do it because it scares me so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hibsjo(SCO) Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Ive got spare IM4r £800 and its yours ill even send it to you for that carry on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanessaB5 Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 To My Universal owners..... You need to buy some plumbing olives and practise, practise, practise, then advertise & make loads of money !!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Ha! no thanks V. It's too expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledouble Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 I used to work for Gravograph. The IM4RM is a decent shout. Very easy to use. The M20J is great all rounder but at 5-6 k plus vat is a little steep. You can do lots of fancy logos, designs etc on the inside and outside though Most engraving firms I met didnt do many rings. I'd get a manual ring engraver first definately. The ring attachment for the IS200TX OR Vol are quite difficult to master and even then dont give you consistant results. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irontoe Posted June 14, 2019 Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 Sorry for the bump... My trusty Gravograph manual ring engraver looks like it is giving up the ghost. It keeps slipping and the letters are either crammed together, all spaced out or deformed and occasionally all three! I don't do enough to warrant a new M10J which is the computerised one but I did find these 'Gravograph' ones on ebay. I suspect they are either made under licence or are (more probably) copies but for the price it might be worth trying. Has anyone any thoughts or experience with these machines? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283439532055 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon1 Posted June 14, 2019 Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 My old Gravograph does the work The problem is, most good jewelers are selling wedding rings with engraving included I have been doing very little for the last few years This Chinese machine looks good and is cheap it means that these two categories are ok as to the quality you have to try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beware Posted June 14, 2019 Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 We no longer supply the Model B (manual ring engraver). The IM4RM is solid, but we cannot repair them any more if they fail (other repair services might be available). On a Technical note, if you need to run on Windows 7/8/10, Quick Click 3.08 is required, and NOT 3.29 - 3.29 has a bug with IM4RM. The cost for the latest version of Quick click is £185. version 1.6 would need windows XP to run. I would place the resale value of a working IM4RM at around £4-500. Bear in mind it is Serial port only - USB->Serial adaptors can cause issues. The M10J can do bangles as well. If the quoted price is a little too high, consider enquiring about exdemo machines, as our demo M10Js get very light use. For 3-4 rings a week, I would personally continue to outsource. Ben (Gravograph) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irontoe Posted June 14, 2019 Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 18 minutes ago, beware said: We no longer supply the Model B (manual ring engraver). The IM4RM is solid, but we cannot repair them any more if they fail (other repair services might be available). On a Technical note, if you need to run on Windows 7/8/10, Quick Click 3.08 is required, and NOT 3.29 - 3.29 has a bug with IM4RM. The cost for the latest version of Quick click is £185. version 1.6 would need windows XP to run. I would place the resale value of a working IM4RM at around £4-500. Bear in mind it is Serial port only - USB->Serial adaptors can cause issues. The M10J can do bangles as well. If the quoted price is a little too high, consider enquiring about exdemo machines, as our demo M10Js get very light use. For 3-4 rings a week, I would personally continue to outsource. Ben (Gravograph) Ah, thank you. I had been told a new manual ring engraver would be about £900 by my gravograph rep. He did discuss an ex demo model but for the amount we do it's just not cost effective. As a matter of interest, is the gravograph machine in the link a copy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beware Posted June 14, 2019 Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 2 hours ago, Irontoe said: As a matter of interest, is the gravograph machine in the link a copy? It looks the same as ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irontoe Posted June 25, 2019 Report Share Posted June 25, 2019 Just for future reference I bought the one off ebay and have returned it already. It looked too good to be true and it was. It's a cheap chines knock off which was awful in every way! They've given a refund so nothing ventured etc etc. Daft thing is I didn't even think of trying Rona machines and they had a proper gravograph one. All sorted now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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