SUMMA plotters have an excellent reputation...and the T1400 equipped with OPOS is a truly amazing machine. You simply won't find a better friction-fed plotter in terms of performance or reliability. We have also been very impressed with the SUMMA organization. All of this drove us to pursue (and reach) our recent agreement to distribute their products in Canada.
My advice: Go for it!
Jon Aston
Marketing Manager
ND GRAPHICS
Hi
we sell and service Summa, Mimaki, Roland...
we are in the business since 18 years.
The first "Summa" cutter we tried was a "Houston Instruments".
that company was bought by Summagraphics in Austin.
Some years later Calcomp bought Summagraphics.
That was when the Cutter stuff was transferred to
Gistel in Belgium.
Then when Calcomp blew up, a company Westcomp bought
the cutterpart and changed the name to Summa.
That's a little history lesson, but through all these changes
the cutters with whatever names they had were the best in the market.
Their main advantages are: heavy duty, superior mechanical design, very fast, servicefriendly(if they ever brake down), extremly precise feeding, 10m(33ft) is no problem.
I know them all, i'd always go for a Summa
Hi Jon,
I think it goes without saying that we (Summa) are honored to be represented by ND Graphics. Your organization has a tremendous depth of support, training and product -- and product knowledge -- to offer sign makers throughout Canada. It's no wonder you're #1 in your market, and it's a pleasure doing business with #1.
Best Regards,
Jim
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for your longstanding support of Summa -- and hey, go easy on the Mimaki and Roland :-)
Just kidding of course. I tip my hat to your tremendous knowledge about Summa (and it's precursors). No doubt Mimaki and Roland are equally pleased to have a supremely knowledgeable dealer such as yourself.
In point of fact, Summagraphics just built graphics tablets in Austin, as well as the SummaChrome printer. The cutters have always been built in Gistel, where we have folks that have being doing it for more than 25 years -- all the way back to 1985, with the introduction of the Houston Instrument DMP series cutters, which featured our own DM/PL cutter language. Before that, all cutters were based on pen-plotter technology, albeit, it was still pretty new at that point. I think the first computerized vinyl cutter ever offered was Gerber's SignMaker in about 1982 (my apologies if that's not accurate).
Can't say we've been there from the start, but pretty close :-)
Best Regards,
Jim
This is by far the most accurate plotter on the market, but.....
There is poor driver support for Omega. The HPGL drivers you’re expected to use reduce production speed. You can not send a plot file than setup up a second and send it to plotter until the fist stops and you reset the origin, the plotter returns to the start of your material and cuts over your first plot. It would also be nice for the software to get the current material size.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade my plotter for any another, including the Odyssey, but someone needs to correct the software that is available.
Yes,
I have dealt with Summa before with purchases and found their service excellent.
Companies like them that stay online, Jim Doggett, etc and keep up with voicing is what makes the company. Listen to what others say and be assured.
Hi Joe,
I hate to shift blame, since there's typically something we can do to correct problems, even when they're not of our making.
Unfortunately, that's not the case with Omega, or GA. While other software makers will make requested changes to their software, or provide us with SDKs so that we can, Gerber has yet to make any attempt to support anything other than their own equipment, or equipment they sell under their own label. I can't fault them for that. Given their same circumstances, I would do the same.
Unlike ScanVec-Amiable, CADlink, and other software makers, Gerber makes or OEMs equipment. Gerber software is designed to drive that equipment in the best way it can. But because Gerber cutters are based on the generic HP/GL plotter language, the cutter drivers in GA and Omega can drive other manufacturers' equipment. But the drivers are not optimized to take full advantage of other manufacturers' equipment, and Gerber has no motivating need to do so.
So our hands are tied; and Gerber's hands are busy doing what makes sense for them.
If you have a big job, where speed is an issue, you might want to export an EPS from Omega, then plot the file to your Summa using WinCut (downloadable for free at www.summausa.com). In many cases, the increased efficiency of your cutting could outweigh the hassle of an export-import routine.
Thanks for your time, and for your kind words about our cutter.
Best Regards,
Jim Doggett
VP
Summa, Inc.
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Hi-
We have one T1400 and a second one on it's way. Get the tangential head. Awesome, fantastic, incredible machine! OPOS saves me about 2-3 hours a day from when we used the bomb site technique on our Roland.That is what we do and the only thing we do- contour cutting- see our stuff- http://www.wallsofthewild.com
Plus- the company is a first class act- Ask for Drew-
Jeff