By Binkspot on
Feb. 02, 2010
United States
:cool: We are looking for a new automatic and would like to get honest pros and cons about the following machines.
Anatol Horizon and Stratus II
M&R Sportsman and Sportsman E
Progressive Falcon M
TAS Hawk and Hawk compact
Any input positive or negative will be appreciated. Please do not turn this request into a bash party.
—
Owner/Operator of Middletownink
There are 8 Comments
Re: Looking for honest opinion on automatics
Anatol all the way.more dependable the the M&R.M&R'S are overrated.Ive had bolth.
Re: Looking for honest opinion on automatics
Do yourself a favor and at least check out the RPM. I went through this scenario this time last year and it has so many printer features and is so robust and well built it's ridiculous. I hate to put down any other press on the market but feature for feature and the overall ability of the press cannot be beat for the price, not even by the big dogs. I think there are better presses on the market but they are 3 times the price. I think it's the best press for the money and I researched autos for 3 years before we pulled the trigger.
Re: Looking for honest opinion on automatics
feel free to call & discuss - been in the industry for 30 plus years
Dave 415-895-1507
Re: Looking for honest opinion on automatics
We have a sportsman and are SUPER happy with it. It's level, holds great registration, does sim process like a dream. We've gotten fantastic support from M&R, and it can print faster than we can load shirts.
I don't have experience with other presses. It's important that your press isn't a light weight one. You don't want it to move or creep.. If it does it will mess up your off contact and thus your registration.
Also make sure you get a great tech to set it up / install it for you. Make sure you learn all the maintenance and be religious about it. - jamie
T-Shirt, Sweatshirt, Hoodie Screen Printing in Portland Oregon.
inkbrigade.com
Re: Looking for honest opinion on automatics
dont do anything except buy M&R.. Im not in bed with m&r, they have the best service and equip.
Re: Looking for honest opinion on automatics
I just went through the research and bought my 1s auto in November. I went with an RPM 8 color. http://realperformance.com/rpm.html
Rick the owner personally came and installed the Machine. I was up and running within a couple of hours. I had never run an auto before, so my biggest concern was having someone that could really show me how to run it. Most of the other manufacturers said they would get it up and running, but Rick was the only one that said he wouldn't leave until I felt comfortable running it and making shirts. He's been in the industry for years, and really knows the ins and outs of printing. He's not just a sales guy...he knows how to print.
As far as the machine itself...it's awesome!! It has digital readouts for pressure, off-contact, squeegee/floodbar speeds. A/C heads, Servo Indexing, Air locks.
It really depends on what you are planning on printing with it. I started out looking at the DiamondBack & Horizon. I then decided that there were some features that I would miss down the road in the entry level machines. I then moved up to looking at the Stratus, Sportsman & RPM. They all had about the same features, and price was comparable. I really liked the digital readouts on each print head. What really sold me on the RPM, was when I talked to current owners of the RPM. Everyone I talked to that has the RPM was still in awe of getting to print with it every day. I didn't get that as much when I talked to owners of the Anatols & M&R's. I probably would have been fine with the stratus or Sportsman....but I LOVE my RPM
Feel free to PM me for my phone number if you want to give me a call to talk about it.
Re: Looking for honest opinion on automatics
The M&R and the Progressive are almost the same. The Anatol is a little bit better depending who you buy it from. Tas and MHM are not even close!
Call me and I will explain ?
Steve 626 644 3825
Re: Looking for honest opinion on automatics
go M&R.. the best. I will NEVER buy any other machine than theirs.
If you get a chance to go to a trade show, look at all the other machines and then look at M&R's.. way better built. great support! dont buy anyone else