My little black rain cloud

I’d like to share one more black cloud moment, and then I promise, I promise that I’ll be all sunshiny and lollipops for the rest of the month.  I just need a moment to gripe.

About two and a half years ago, Flippy and I had a bit of extra money.  We wanted to invest it in our online business, which was rapidly tanking, so we were looking for something we could still do via the Internet in addition to running our websites.  We decided on dye sublimation.  That’s a method of printing which allows you to print images on almost any flat surface (for example, everything from mouse pads to t-shirts to floor tiles).  We’re both very good with Photoshop, so we didn’t have the design learning curve, and we figured we could market any number of customized products online.  With that in mind, we purchased a mid-range dye sublimation setup at a trade show.  The package included an Epson printer which could be modified to take special ink, a large heat press (it weighs about 250 lbs.), and a mug press.  In addition, we received a lot of special transfer paper, lots of samples, bulk sublimation ink, and some special design software.

When the shipment arrived, we didn’t exactly know what to do with it.  The press was so large it had to go into the garage, but there was no table for it so it had to sit on the floor.  We quickly realized that we’d need to do some cleaning and tidying just to create a space where we could easily use the equipment, and I didn’t want to set up the special printer in an area where it would get full of cat hair.  In short, we just weren’t prepared, so we set the equipment aside and chipped away at the problem as time passed (we got a great deal at the trade show, so it was hard to pass up, and that’s how we ended up prepared to purchase yet not really prepared).  Eventually, I had a proper mount for the press, a cat-free room with a desk for the printer, and most importantly, the time to sit down and start to make this investment into a part-time job as we’d planned.  The only bad thing was that over two years had passed since we’d bought the equipment, so we were running a bit behind schedule smile

The unpacking of the printer only happened about three weeks ago, and I did it in my new “office”—the cat-free room I was so proud of, until Greg and Spiderman moved into it rasberry As I assembled the printer and did some test runs, I was confused because I couldn’t find the special ink attachment system we’d been shown when we bought the system.  I checked the shipping box again but I hadn’t missed anything, and the photo of the printer didn’t show the special ink dispensing system (the printer uses bulk ink, and not regular cartridges, so the ink attaches to the printer with bottles and tubing).  I pulled out our order receipt and saw a specific mention of “Easy Flow Ink System”, so I wasn’t crazy—there was supposed to be another printer piece to control the ink.  Long story short, the item was never sent to us, even though it’s listed as delivered on our invoice.  I thought the item was part of the printer, and that it would be packed in the printer box, so it never occurred to me to look elsewhere for it.  I did unpack and check every item we received (except the printer!), and it was hard to know if anything was missing because all the materials were so unfamiliar to me. 

I wrote to the vendor who sold us the entire setup, and explained what had happened.  Her “helpful” response was that I should have checked for the missing part sooner, and that there was nothing they could do to help me except to sell me a new ink system for $850.  I don’t know what I expected them to do, but I feel like there must have been some way to check their past inventory, and to know that a problem might have occurred.  I also feel like their cost on the ink system must be substantially lower than the retail price, so it probably wouldn’t break them to just send a replacement, or to offer it at a big discount.  And finally, it’s annoying for them to blame me for the problem, when they’re the ones who didn’t send us what we’d paid for.  I just wanted a bit of sympathy from them, but instead, I got a lecture about how I was irresponsible and hence, out of luck.  That’s not the way to get on my good side.

Setting the bulk ink problem aside for a moment, the printer did ship with conventional ink cartridges, so I was playing with it, printing some test sheets, getting to know the features, etc.  I took out the cartridges and put in a newer set, and suddenly, the printer stopped working.  It had a “red light of death on it”.  I’ve spent the past week trying to diagnose the problem by buying head cleaning systems, service manuals, more new ink cartridges, etc., but nothing was working.  I’ve crawled every printer helpsite and forum looking for answers, and even learned how to run all the super-secret printer diagnostics, but I couldn’t get it to print.  Finally this evening I found the problem: the printhead is damaged.  One of the contacts which must meet the ink cartridge has broken off completely.  Cost to repair this is $100 for the printhead, plus an estimate of $120 for labour.  Despite the fact the printer hasn’t even been out of its box for more than three weeks, its warranty expired long ago.

In summary, two and a half years ago we spent almost $5000 with a company called Conde. In exchange, they sent us a defective printer, and didn’t send us a bulk ink system, so we now need to invest over $1000 to repair and/or replace these items if we want to use them.  I totally acknowledge that I am to blame for not using the setup immediately when it arrived, however, I think most of us expect that when we pay a lot of money and are promised “the best”, that we’ll get products which work (and we’ll get what we ordered).  I think we also expect that the company will go out of their way to help us when a problem arises, because hey, if we spent $5K once, maybe we’ll spend it again, or maybe we’ll recommend them to friends.  $5000 is a really small investment for starting an entire business, and I know the idea might appeal to some of you, but I can definitely tell you what company I don’t think you should buy from, and that’s just sad.

We had a lot more disposable income a few years ago, obviously smile That was before health and work problems caught up with us and surprised us, so now is when I could really put that past investment to good use.  I’ve been so excited about it as I’ve been setting it up, but surprise, my excitement is waning!  I’m now thinking about just selling the heat press before we take any more losses, although the thing is so heavy it would have to be sold locally.  I just don’t know what we’ll end up doing.  We have a lot of income problems now that we should be able to ease using stuff we have on-hand, but it’s not working out as planned.

Anyway, that was the last little black rain cloud I wanted to vent about.  The whole thing has been annoying, from the missing items to the broken items to the “I told you so’s”.  I’ve never tried to fire up the heat press but I guess I should, because odds are, I’ll turn it on and it will emit a dramatic puff of smoke before it passes to the great beyond.  Or wherever dead heat presses go.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/05 at 08:01 AM

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

  1. That’s very frustrating! Mom got upset last night because she simply wanted to charge her camera battery, and the base unit (Kodak) wasn’t working right. Two weeks of using it in hotels in Detroit, DC, and Boston, but at home, it wouldn’t work. She tried it in several different outlets because many are “loose” and she likes to think if she unplugs and plugs something, it might start working. No luck. Instead of 2 minutes, it took 30, and she was already tired.

    Posted by Victor Tabbycat  on  08/08  at  12:01 PM

  2. Victor, I’m very late in replying, but I hope your Mom eventually fixed her camera problem.  I was able to fix my printer myself, using a repair manual and a $20 part I bought online… I’ll write a post about it soon.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  09/03  at  04:12 AM
    3. Page 1 of 1 pages

Name:

Email (required, but will not be made public):

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

What is the sum of 5 and 6?

Next entry: Endless strays

Previous entry: Whole Foods to the rescue

<< Back to main