ATOMOTIV

MK721-MK2 Does far right pinch roller move or not?

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I just got my 721 (after trying & returning 2 refurbished 871 that did not work).  My 721 far right pinch roller is not adjustable, as in it can't not slide side to side, it's in a fixed position about 2.5" away from the right wall.  Where in the 871, all 3 rollers were movable.  I don't know if that's the way the 721 is or not, but I rather it does move because all my rolls are 24" wide and I would like to be able to slide the material as far to the left as possible because where that 3rd roller is stationary now, it is about a full inch or so right of where the blade can reach and I'm wasting a bit material.  Doesn't sound like much but when most my jobs are small decals, it adds up.  Can anyone confirm whether that roller is supposed to be stationary or is mine defective?  Thanks.

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1 hour ago, slice&dice said:

All 3 roller assemblies should be able to slide on the rear rail.

so essentially i got another defective unit.  this is the 3rd one i ordered (first 2 were refurb 34") and now this....I mean I understand they are value units, but how do they even stay in business?

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3 hours ago, ATOMOTIV said:

so essentially i got another defective unit.  this is the 3rd one i ordered (first 2 were refurb 34") and now this....I mean I understand they are value units, but how do they even stay in business?

Can't beat the refurb price, you can definitely do better getting an SC. The MH series is not just a starter cutter, but a very starter machine. I would recommend saving up a little more money and springing for an SC. The MH can offer some unique challenges that some of the other machines don't run into - like limited memory, which depending on job/file size, make impact the cut. On a 24" - 34", 3 pinch rollers are nice, but not necessary. I operated my original LP for 12+ years with just 2 pinch rollers. Plus, you're really going to want that stand.

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27 minutes ago, haumana said:

Can't beat the refurb price, you can definitely do better getting an SC. The MH series is not just a starter cutter, but a very starter machine. I would recommend saving up a little more money and springing for an SC. The MH can offer some unique challenges that some of the other machines don't run into - like limited memory, which depending on job/file size, make impact the cut. On a 24" - 34", 3 pinch rollers are nice, but not necessary. I operated my original LP for 12+ years with just 2 pinch rollers. Plus, you're really going to want that stand.

yes that's why i went with the refurb originally because i've rarely had bad experiences in refurb electronics and i've done that with phones and cameras in the past.  the 1st refurb came DOA, the head was jammed and just grinded and vibrated.  then the 2nd one was a little better but the feed roller must've been out of calibration and everything was cut squished in that axis, the test star/square was inconsistent, cut different everytime.  both unit were dented and scratched even beyond what i thought a refurb should be.  so both were returned and decided to go with a new 28" since all vinyl i'm using are 24" wide.

anyhow, i took a hammer and lightly tapped the stuck roller assembly and it came unstuck as it was hung up over the machine screw on the rail.  these units (MHs) are definitely entry level.  i just wanted to get my feet wet on starting my decal/vinyl "business" (more like a hobby), but didn't want to invest in too much from the get go.  but i already got 1 job done and a couple more lined up so i might wind up upgrading in the future shall the need presents itself.

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Glad to hear you managed to work it free. Welcome to your new addiction. You're going to be cutting like crazy in the beginning and will probably be fielding all kinds of requests from friends and family.

I started as a hobbyist, and am still a hobbyist, but have done enough word of mouth business to pay for my LP within a short amount of time, and finally upgraded to a Graphtec when I thought I needed a "back-up" for my LP. Save you pennies, and as long as you don't break the bank, upgrade to a Graphtec as soon as you can. I can only say that I regret not pulling the trigger on it sooner. It's soooo much smoother, quieter, and accurate.

Come back to the forum with your questions and concerns, because we will always try to help and hope that others can learn from your experience. Happy cutting!!

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20 minutes ago, ATOMOTIV said:

yes that's why i went with the refurb originally because i've rarely had bad experiences in refurb electronics and i've done that with phones and cameras in the past.  the 1st refurb came DOA, the head was jammed and just grinded and vibrated.  then the 2nd one was a little better but the feed roller must've been out of calibration and everything was cut squished in that axis, the test star/square was inconsistent, cut different everytime.  both unit were dented and scratched even beyond what i thought a refurb should be.  so both were returned and decided to go with a new 28" since all vinyl i'm using are 24" wide.

anyhow, i took a hammer and lightly tapped the stuck roller assembly and it came unstuck as it was hung up over the machine screw on the rail.  these units (MHs) are definitely entry level.  i just wanted to get my feet wet on starting my decal/vinyl "business" (more like a hobby), but didn't want to invest in too much from the get go.  but i already got 1 job done and a couple more lined up so i might wind up upgrading in the future shall the need presents itself.

Many of us started with an entry level plotter.  I put some money aside from each job and updated every year or two until I reached the graphtec ce series and had several of those.  This last month after 12 years I updated to a graphtec fc series.  Each machine paid for the one that. Updated to along with some pocket money thru the years.   On advantage of starting with the my is you will become proficient at troubleshooting. ;)  we all started somewhere and then the vinyl bug got us.

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11 hours ago, ATOMOTIV said:

yes that's why i went with the refurb originally because i've rarely had bad experiences in refurb electronics and i've done that with phones and cameras in the past.

You're forgetting though a plotter in not just electronics, it has motors, rollers, belts, guide rails, etc. Lot of things that have to work right for the thing to work as a whole. Electronics such as phone have a lot of parts yes, but typically they either work or they don't.

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