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Ezy Taper
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Hello,
what do these machines cost and where do you get them from. how long do they take to get. you all seem pretty happy with them, think i want one.
cheers.
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hi gab…the link for the ezay taper is on the home page bottom right hand side….im not sure though if you can see it, as you not being a paid up member 😀
nik
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Anyone still using theirs?
We’ve had ours since 07, When we first got flood coated 15 8’x4′ sheets of Dibond, which was a dream, However, We cant use it for wide format any more, Its constantly gets bubbles through the middle, Laminating Not even worth mentioning.
I have just noticed on the site they have new base stands now, Ours is terrible, Half the screws always fall out, Its rickety, We even replaced the top with a work top to make it steadier but its still not ideal.
We can only really do small prints etc now, Wouldn’t want to risk loosing anything wide format, We was sent a small roller that supports the middle. However, this constantly pops out of place.
It sits pretty dormant. to be honest I wish I just spent teh extra on a decent laminator with mounting capabilities.
Whats everyone else’s like? anyone having similar issues?
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Sounds very familiar. When I very first got mine (1530 wide) it wouldnt laminate or flood coat without bubbles straight down the middle. they blamed me for a few weeks and after many people complaining to them (& on here) they finally admitted the machine was substandard and sent me out a roller which goes under the middle of the rollers. it then was mediocre but usable for a while. and now it won’t flood coat anything. if i mount an 8′ 4′ print the middle 10inches of it has bubbles all the way along it as though there has been no pressure applied at all. It is a very disappointing piece of kit and I would advise anyone thinking of buying one to buy a laminator instead!
oh, I was also charged for a stand which i never received and I also never received my free gift of a temp gun which I was promised for being a member of the UKSG, which is probably why i’m bitter about this waste of space in my workshop! -
You certainly didnt miss out on the stand, Its sways side to side, none of the holes line up, even from new.
Have you had any joy from the Uk supplier? I’ve never had any emails replied to, To be honest I thought they had gone out of business until I took a look at their updated site.
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Ok
the stand is a major cause of the problems with bubbles through the middle, when used in conjunction with the center roller the MDF gives way because the stand does not support it. Tensioning of the center roller is also another reason for these problems to much tension causes as many problems as not enough tension. If your rollers are still running straight then all you need to do is wind the adjuster nuts finger tight, occasionally 1/4-1/2 turn more with spanner it is a matter of testing. Spring tension now needs to be spot on or you will cause more problems, start with minimal pressure ensuring it is even each side. I have actually re-made my stand to combat the central bubble problems, it is now constructed from a 120mm x 120mm box section directly under the machine this is then welded to 50mm x 50mm box section for the legs all sitting on 50mm rubber castors. Will try to post pics of the new stand when i get time.Kev
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We use our most days for mounting although rarely mount full width boards so haven’t has as many problems as others here. The centre roller seems to close up the gap but I am concerned that the top roller could deflect upwards too?
Ironically I have never had success with taping vinyl despite many attempts with medias and layout so have given up with this use. Mounting onto boards up to 4’x3′ is a breeze though and although I have never had a powered laminator, I feel certain that the ezytaper scores on ease of use and speed of setup. I have looked at laminators but the additional bulk and complication has always put me off, especially given the cramped conditions we have. We rarely have large runs of work so the messing about of pre-feeding lamination film for one or two prints only to then unravel the whole lot to mount the odd board would drive me nuts!
You could perhaps check your stand with a 6′ level to see if there is any deflection in the centre? Maybe some packing pieces between the mdf and the stand could straighten any bow?
A lot of the success with larger sheets is down to the feed of the material and this only comes with practice. Unfortunately its an expensive lesson when you are messing up large digital prints. For larger board mounted prints we have changed to thicker (100 micron) vinyls and found that any problems with bubbles have all but been eliminated.
Colin
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Colin
i put 3mtr x 1.5mtr sheets regularly which is why i made a new stand i had the bubbles through the middle before i made the stand, before i could ruin sheet after sheet. The stands where crap however there are 30 people out there with heavy duty stands made by Heritage Steel you will know if you have one of these because they are heavy & powder coated black instead of a hammered finish. I had these made for Peter when they had a problem getting them made in Spain.Kev
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Expensive door stop. I posted some problems on here a while back with pictures about rollers splitting. I think the original machines were OK but they changed the roller material and I think my problems were due to slightly damp conditions in the basement which caused the rollers to rot and go mouldy and split. We have a normal Seal laminator kept in the same place for several years with no problems so it must be down to the rough surface letting in the slight damp (The original machines had smooth glossy rollers).
Eazytaper in Australia offered to change the rollers if I paid the shipping but this was almost as dear as a new machine. If you want a cheap laminator capable of mounting as well I would check out the ones on Flea bay as they get good rating in America. -
Maybe its time the guys over there began to get in touch with people and try to help them resolve their issues, Its pretty poor I have to say.
The stand its self was about £300.00 iirc, Thats a lot of outlay for something that doesnt fit together in the first place, We had the same issue with the MDF warping, I noticed on their web site they are garuanteed for 5 years? Does this include the stands? It must include the Rollers Martin?
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I haven’t done a wide sheets for a long time but on reading this I looked at the MDF base. Guess what? Severely bowed.
I do use this for application tape all the time but there is a knack to getting it right – basically, follow the instructions to the letter.
I’ll be modding my stand now. -
quote Peter Dee:I’ll be modding my stand now.Mine too. We have some mechanical rollers which we find easier to use when mounting to large sheets but for laminating we still use the ezytaper.
With regards to guarantee, I had a battle with Australia trying to say that the guarantee laid with the European supplier even though at the time the European supplier wasn’t doing them any more( I don’t know who it is now or even if they have one)…. I argued the fact that I contacted them through their website and until I received the invoice I didn’t even know who I was buying from. In the end they relented and sent me the part FOC.
I have said this before but the Ezytaper is a great concept but is very poorly engineered.
I still wouldn’t be without mine though and actually bought a smaller version from a member on here a couple of months ago which also gets daily use.
Cheers
Gary
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Regarding the guarantee they first said the same to me and I was not happy with the machine right from the start. They said they would replace the complete roller unit under guarantee but I would have to pay the shipping from Australia which would have cost almost £1000. So it sits in the corner covered in mould. I agree the idea is good but it just don’t work like it should. It really takes two to use properly as well. With our Seal laminator I can laminate 1360 vinyl single handed metre after metre, but still have a need for a second machine for flood coating and mounting prints. With the proper laminator once its set up you don’t want to keep reloading laminate, you just use the whole roll.
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My colleague sent the uk supplier an email and got this in return.
"Thank you for your email.
In answer to your questions, we DO NOT supply any parts for the taper and we DO NOT offer any warranty on the machine, this is reflected in the purchase price.
Do let me know if you have any further questions.
Kind Regards"
Just to clear that up for anyone thinking of buying one, nearly £2000 is such a steal…. You shouldn’t expect a warranty.
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quote Richard Daniel:My colleague sent the uk supplier an email and got this in return.“Thank you for your email.
In answer to your questions, we DO NOT supply any parts for the taper and we DO NOT offer any warranty on the machine, this is reflected in the purchase price.
Do let me know if you have any further questions.
Kind Regards”
Just to clear that up for anyone thinking of buying one, nearly £2000 is such a steal…. You shouldn’t expect a warranty.
I dont think there has ever been a uk supplier, I know jag signs were stockists at one point but not sure if they were official. it does not matter though, under uk law, the supplier is responsible for any claims against unfit for purpose, or defaults not the manufacturer.
in turn if the supplier is not getting the back up from manufacturer then problems will arise.
I think the ezytaper is a marmite thing. love or hate.
I dont know if any company has picked up the ball for ezytaper but I havnt seen them for sale in the uk for a while, has anyone bought a new one recently?
so the point of this thread may now be irrelevant if they are no longer available.Peter
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Peter.
A company named bluewater trading, are selling them across the Uk
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Richard
I am pretty sure that that was who I bought mine from a couple of years ago. Peter was then based in Spain which I think is still the case and I was of the understanding that he had stopped selling them due to grief he was getting from customers.Someone may correct me here though.
Cheers
Gary
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When I got mine about a year and a half ago Peter was in Spain as European agent and Bluewater Trading were just a forwarding, collection & payment point near Dartford.
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quote Peter Normington:I think the ezytaper is a marmite thing. love or hate.Peter’s hit the nail on the head with that statement…we even have guys in the same team that swear by it or swear at it in the same measures
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