Valiani New Interchangeable Head

[Dermot]

I did not focus very much on the MatStylus as I feel it is something that will fall into the category for me as “nice to have” for an occasional job…….

Perhaps I will prove myself wrong….because if I can find a market to use it in, it could prove to be a very nice money spinner….

Let me point out that I’m looking at the CMC as a way to spend less hours in the business …."efficiency"……….I’m not really looking at it as a way to increased production…….my ability to cut mounts/mats with a manual mountcutter left a lot to be desired and I was very slow at it….

I could see a CMC saving me 5 to 7 hours a week in the business….

[Dermot]

I forgot to say that John (Merlin) very kindly did up the template that I used………just in case any of you think I’m a real whiz on this sort of stuff…..

Mind you Wizard gave me a copy of their software to play with, have not got to load it yet…….when I do I will give it a shot of doing the design…..

[Moglet]

Still very surprised that the Wizard people didn't dem the machine fully. At the end of the day, the look of the finished piece is the most important thing.

[Dermot]

John (Merlin) asked me to put a few points about my decision making process for buying a CMC….

Some considerations I’m taking in my approach to buying a CMC…

As a returning framer to the business the main thing I consider I can take to the table is “how not to do it” ……when I was in the framing business before I had some modest success……unfortunately they were outweighed by my lack of good business management……..in other words I spent more time trying to prefect the perfect frame package rather than perfecting a good business package….

OK that said and back to CMC…

I really see a CMC as a no brainer when it comes to the framing business…….sure you can cut mounts/mats with a manual mountcutter….but at what level of efficiency……….of course there are framers who can make a manual mountcutter sing and dance……….and to those people I take off my hat….

A CMC will allow me to have consistently good mounts/mats …….something I never achieved with a manual machine….

A CMC will allow me to dramatically improve on the time I would spend cutting mounts/mats in comparison to the time I would spend using a manual machine…

A CMC will allow me to develop my business with mounts/mats playing a big part of building the revenue stream……something I could not envision being able to do with a manual machine…

I have looked at the four main players for CMC’s in this part of the world….each has it merits which will be taken into account when I make my decision to purchase….

This is a list of attributes that I’m looking at……..which is not exhaustive……..or in any particular order….

Support for the machine in Ireland (this has yet to be determined for all machines) this will be a crucial deciding factor…

Sounds strange but the appearance of the machine is important I will have to live with it for a long time…

The road map for the machine….

Road map for the software….

The performance of the machine….

The template library which comes with the software……

The overall investment into having a machine on my site…to include all and every requirement to having a fully operating system

Training

Warranty

Accessories and useful additions to the main package offered….

The overall cost of a system, however this will not be a deal breaker within reason…

The running cost of the CMC, ie: blades, power consumption…service call out charges……etc…..

There are many more considerations I need to take into account……that said I don’t want to over analyse this purchase ……given the life expectancy of a CMC the investment for me should run at about euro €2500.00 per year given a 5 year write down………I would find it hard if not impossible to have a decent family car on the road for that sort of money……..based on saving me about 5 to 7 hours a week that works out a €10.00 + or - per hour….just above Irish minimum wage level……..I would expect to be able to bill my labour at about €60.00 €80.00 per hour if not more…….looking at it that way it’s a real no brainer for me…..and my setup……..

Instinct will also play a part in my final decision, this will principally be about trust in the company I buy from and their interaction with me….

At present my time frame is to have my framing workshop/studio built and operating by next September….

I’m sure there are other things I should and need to consider…..which I will do over the next while…..

[Dermot]

One thing I will also take into consideration is the interaction that I know of between users of the machine I pick…..this will be a big part of my decision making process…. ….

[John Ranes II, CPF, GCF]

I did not focus very much on the MatStylus as I feel it is something that will fall into the category for me as “nice to have” for an occasional job…….

Dermot,

Although nice to have, it is indeed this feature of Interchangeable heads that helped my decision in 2007 to make the Valiani I series, my second CMC. That combined with its robust construction and its ability to cut 8ply mounts EASILY made this an easy decsion.

So now along comes an inovative improvement with this new Stylus Head and my machine is currrent and able to accept this update.

Working on determining what are the best pens to use will be an issue, both in quality of line drawn and permanance! But already I see an application that will make it a worthwhile option. We have one photographer who specializes in children's B&W portraits. After each multi-apperature mount is cut (8ply), we phone her to have it signed in pencil in the corner before it is fit into the frame, sometimes delaying our turnaround time for a couple of days.

Now....we'll have her create her signature on a Graphic Tablet * save it in Corel, scale it down to the desired size and convert it to a plt file, and "sign" her mounts right after making the cuts!

...I could see a CMC saving me 5 to 7 hours a week in the business….

Dermot.... Absolutely! I would not open a retail shop front today without owning a CMC! I've calculated that one additional multi-apperature mount per week would pay for the CMC.


John

* Bamboo One (Model CTF-430) Auto Vectored

[John Ranes II, CPF, GCF]

....we'll have her create her signature on a Graphic Tablet * save it in Corel, scale it down to the desired size and convert it to a plt file, and "sign" her mounts right after making the cuts! * Bamboo One (Model CTF-430) Auto Vectored

Nico Valiani recommended the graphic tablet mentioned above. Here are the details...

Wacom Bamboo One Graphics Tablet



I'm definitely going to try this out!

John

[DEEPJOY]

At the Spring Fair I was party to a couple of conversations, one with Dermot and one with Merlin chating generally about CMC Mount cutters. I of course see the benefits of ownership, although it will be a long, long time before I get around to consider this type of technology. With not being in the market, I did not feel it right to take information or indeed have a demo on the 3 or 4 manufactures products there. Just a general question however, how easy are these things to set up and operate anyway, are they fairly simple or do you need to be able to recite from memory, word perfect, the full flight manual on a space shuttle?

[John Ranes II, CPF, GCF]

....Just a general question however, how easy are these things to set up and operate anyway, are they fairly simple or do you need to be able to recite from memory, word perfect, the full flight manual on a space shuttle?

DeepJoy,

Amazingly, the maintainance on these CMC's is less than that on a manual, tabletop professional mount cutter! BCMC days, one would take a new employee and begin them with general shop rules, edicate etc. and probably move them into fitting and perhaps joining frames. If they proved competent, they might move onto the design table to learn how good custom framing is created. It was typically only your most proficient candidates that you would bother training them on how to cut mounts properly -- measuring accurately, using stops, adjusting blade depth, not creating overcuts and other little nasty glitches.

After days/weeks of practice, you might allow this person to cut some mounts for actual customer projects, otherwise many would end up back delegated to fitting.

Today in the CMC days, most off the street kids have enough computer knowledge, that the training is fluid and ongoing, and within the first few hours they are capable of cutting mounts like a pro. It is like Day and Night. I'm sure that if you search through these older threads you should find similar experiences from other framers.

This is another reason why we Americans call the decision to own a CMC a "no-brainer".

Cheers,

John

[Moglet]

Hi John,

Thanks for the tip about a recommended graphics tablet for use with the Valiani MatStylus. I'm hoping to be in the market for both later this year!

I doubt you'd remember, but I met you at Spring Fair '08, and was very sorry not to have had the opportunity to repeat the pleasure 'in '09. Thankyou for the help and advice you gave me, and also for your '21 Tips..." seminar, which I found both encouraging and inspiring.

[Mike@GTP]

I saw the new head last month at the WCAF Las Vegas show. VERY impressive, indeed!

We don't have a Valiani currently, but it sure makes buying one a future goal.

Mike

[Dermot]

Got a bit of a heads up today, if you are thinking about a Valiani ………try and make the move before the end of the SACA ……….some of the deals may end after that…..

Not sure how solid this information is but it is worth considering……..Valiani are having a good run right now…..

Quadrum Saca Trade Show will be celebrated from February 19th to 22nd at Bologna Fiere

[John Ranes II, CPF, GCF]

...Thanks for the tip about a recommended graphics tablet for use with the Valiani MatStylus.....Thankyou for the help and advice you gave me, and also for your '21 Tips..." seminar, which I found both encouraging and inspiring.

Moglet,

Thank you for your kind words - sorry we missed you at the JGF Dinner at the Spring Fair. Hopefully next year!

Dermot,

Drop me an email please. I'm not sure that I have your address and name of your new framing business. (Can't tell if your profile describes your previous framing business or the new re-entry name? ) I have a small item to mail to you.

John

[Moglet]

Thank you for your kind words - sorry we missed you at the JGF Dinner at the Spring Fair. Hopefully next year!

I'm nursing proto-plans for hopefully attending the Vegas show next year, John, if only for the fantastic educational program on offer! Also, I'm very interested in American software solutions for the framing industry, and it would be very beneficial to see full demonstrations of their capabilities. You guys are so spoiled!

[span2iels]

I am presently in the throws of writing an article for ABT using my Valiani CMC and utilising the MatStylus head. The fabric art is by Vicki Shepherd and the photo shows a trial mount presently cut from standard white mountboard. The shape was designed in Coral Draw and imported into the Valiani software as a Fu2 file. My idea for the triple mount is as follows; a deep bottom mount around 3.5mm thick in off white (Arqadia - Hayseed), a blue mount to match the blue in the artwork as the second mount and finally, an ivory speckled mount on the top (Arqadia - Sand). This top mount will depend on how well the mount will take lines drawn by the MatStlus I have not yet decided on the colour or number of lines, possibly gold and blue I will see what it looks like when I receive the MatStylus.
Trial mount shown below.

[Merlin]

Span2iels
That looks like an interesting article you are working on.
Once completed could you post onto the Valiani Users group please, together with the .FU2 file into the Designs section for others to use.

[span2iels]

No problems John.

MalR

[span2iels]

John - As an update the article will not be finished for several months, it will belong to the Fine Art Trade Guild and presumably be published on the new web-site and consequently I do not have control of where it is published. However, when the project is complete I will post the FU2 file on the new Valiani section.
Well done the Valiani users section is an ''Great Idea''

MalR