My First Orders from US Cutter

[duplexemotions 0]

Well, I figured I should tell this story, and this was the best place to say it. Keep in mind as you read this that I do not wish any ill-will to the company and will definitely order from US Cutter again.

I ordered a Copam CP-2500 plotter, and as a separate order later in the day I ordered two rolls of thermal vinyl and a three pack of replacement blades. It was all shipped the next day and made it here in under a week.

The first thing I opened was the thermal vinyl / plotter blades. I was surprised to find that the case for the plotter blades was both open and empty. Scrambling around the box I eventually found all of them, though one had managed to get wedged on the side of the vinyl, scratching it up a bit. As it wasn't on the visible side, I didn't much mind it. Still, it's something that could easily be fixed by putting a short bit of masking tape along the edge of the blade box (Some of the things I sell at my job have the same type of container, and that is what I do to stop them from opening in customers' bags).

Next came the Copam itself. I was quite excited about it, as it is my first plotter that I own and don't need to rent or what not. The plotter stand assembled fairly easily at first, until I found that one of the bolt holes had not been tapped properly. It isn't possible to thread a bolt in the hole, and unfortunately it's on one of the few sections that don't have redundant bolts. It isn't much of a deal, since I don't plan to use the plotter stand as a street luge rig, but it's still something notable.

Another problem with the stand was that the paint had flaked off on the edge of one of the main vertical pieces, and the piece itself had rusted pretty badly where it was exposed to air. This happened after it was packed (as evidenced by the rust having migrated along the bubble wrap that surrounded the piece, and made me worry that perhaps my plotter was stored at a place with high moisture. It may also have happened when the plotter was shipped from overseas, as the salt-laden sea air can make uncoated metal oxidize very quickly.

Once I had the plotter assembled, I worked to hook it up to my computer. The driver CD was missing from the box, and the downloaded drivers provided on the USCutter website didn't work. I ended up banking on some random 32-bit USB-Serial drivers I found online, which happened to work properly. Of course, this wasn't a problem initially because the plotter wouldn't power on. The IEC cable (PC-style power cable) it came with was faulty; I have a load of spares, so it wasn't an issue.

All in all, US Cutter provided good services for a product that works well, though there were more than a few setbacks. I feel that US Cutter should know the problems that their customers may have with their products. I was able to solve mine in an hour or two, but less technical people would have become frustrated far more quickly. That said, I simply assume that the all the quality in the Copam went to the plotter itself, with the stand and cords being outsourced to different manufacturers with lower standards of quality control. I am pleased with the purchase, and am (as of this writing) actually looking at more vinyl to purchase for a few jobs I have coming up.

Thanks for reading!

John

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Johh sorry to hear about the problems with the copam - they are a great machine but I would not be happy with the problems with the paint and rust.  I had a slightly used  copam and it was immaculate after being disassembled and reassembled a couple of times.  the power cord and improperly tapped holes can be attributed tot he chinese construction but again this is not typical of the copam.  Have you contacted usc to discuss the problems so they can get you the cd and replacement cord?  submit a ticket so they can get the ball rolling (this is really a user forum that they drop in on once in a blue moon)

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I plan to submit a ticket, as I want a copy of the disc itself, but really none of the problems bother me all too much. The machine itself (stand nonwithstanding) is very solid and performs to expectations. The rust on the stand can easily be solved with some sandpaper and spray primer, and I'll make due with only one bolt on that leg assembly. It was just important to me that USC at least knows about the issues, even if it takes a blue moon.

I'm glad to hear that you're satisfied with your copam. I'll be spending all of today just messing with mine so I'll submit my ticket in the evening after I'm sure that no other flaws come out of the woodwork.

[duplexemotions 0]

Well, I submitted my ticket a week ago, explaining my problem and at least requesting a replacement power cord. Still haven't heard anything. This is certainly causing me to have mixed feelings about US Cutter. I mean, the issues I've had with the cutter have had nothing to do with them, and giving us a forum and the continuous updates is certainly great, but not hearing a response after over 168 hours is a bit depressing. I'll probably keep ordering from USC and hope that my ticket got lost at the epost office.

[Guest kenya]

It's really sad to know that SOMEONE couldn't respond to your submitted ticket.

I would hold off on buying anything else from them until I was satisfied with a reply from them.

Right is right & wrong is wrong..... never 'reward' bad behavior. 

BTW.... Welcome to the forum John.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

seems like all you ever hear from USC is 'submit a ticket' and in fact I was told today that this is the best way to get a response.

The head ofb tech support has said on these very forums something like 'we always answer all tickets,usually in the same day'

I would like to say yours is an isolated incident but other posts would prove me wrong.

Submit another one,and keep submitting them until you get a response.

By my count they have at least 5 people working in Tech support,not counting the head of tech support whom as far as I can tell doesn't really do much tech support anymore.(His last post on the forums was May 4). With that many people working, you would thing it wouldn't be a problem,wouldn't you?

Like I said,persist until you are satisfied. For what you spent, you deserve some attention.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Hmmm seems like when tech support was a one man show a little over a year ago things got taken care of a lot faster :-