J.noise 1 Posted July 20, 2013 I hate to make my first forum contribution a complaint but i am gonna do just that. Just a quick preface before a long rant. My family Has a gift shop and we make everything ourselves from candles to concrete benches and recently expanded into t-shirts and sign making. UScutter has been verry Verry helpfull in their tech support and learning my machine. With my Cutter (laserpoint 2) I ordered some zenquick banner material shipped 5/1/13 when i recieved my order the banner material had torn seams and grease marks from the grommits some that would not clean off with alchohol. when i called to inquire about the quality ifelt like i was being doubted so i sent in an email with the photo and was assured that is not typical quality and was sent replacements on 5/29/13. The long time frame was my fault because of all the new equipment it took me that long to try and make a banner.I was assured that notes were placed on the order to personaly inspect the banner before shipping. what i recieved was in worse condition than the original banner material i was complaining about.I called again had to send photos again and was assured they would put more notes to the warehouse and would replace the banner again this was friday 6/28/13. Monday i get a response to my support ticket saying that it was just irregular gromits and the website clearly states that so i rederected them to the photo with the torn seams and was apologised to and asured that managers all saw the photo and it was indeed bad material and they would ship it out asap witch was supposed to happen the previous friday. Fast forward to 7/11/13 still no banner so i call and am told it has been siting in the warehouse since my last call and no one knows why it has not shipped they offer to overnight it witch i decline since i was new i had no customers on the line yet i explained this was my 3rd replacement and i would rather not rush things and get the bad banner again i would rather they take a little time and get me the right stuff. Well today7/19/13 i recieved another batch of bad banner material and now i have 2 customers on the line both wanting 6 foot yellow banner and i have torn seams evrey 1-2 feet.I am being refunded but first i have to return the bad banner and wait for acounting to recieve it and was basicly told they just can't get it right. So now i need to research a reputable banner suply co. with decent shipping prices to rural montana and will probibly have to offer the bad banner to my first customers at a discounted rate. Us cutter realy dropped the ball on this one witch was suprising cause their tech support has been great. lesson for everyone stay away from the zenquick banner for now. Enough ranting i love these forums for the tips so i will leave a jewel that was picked up by me in another forum but might be common scense to the vets. Did you know you can weed jet pro soft stretch inkjet transfers like vinyl after you contour cut? well i didn't till recently sorry no sign making tips I am to new. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted July 20, 2013 they have had some banner issues lately . . . .try one of the major suppliers banners on your next order. between the cracking banners and the flattened or torn - it has been a bad couple of months. hopefully it is sorted out now as your previous problem was when all the other stuff happened also. on the torn banner to your customer - once torn it will tear much much easier Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xpaperman 719 Posted July 20, 2013 I too had an issue with banners and experienced the same "dropped the ball" issues as you. I won't go into details cause I will get pissed all over again. I will say this tho, they will not get another banner order from me for sure. And since my "incident" all my orders in general have gone elsewhere. I hate it had to be that way but they at times flat out lied to me on the phone. I even called one of the guys on it over the phone and pointed out he had just told me two different things.... all he could do was stutter and make things worse. I stayed on top of the issue and I think it was 3-4 weeks to make it right, it also took 3 shipments. When you are used to getting things from them next day, 3 weeks was an eye opener. I hope you have better luck from here on out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted July 20, 2013 all us old timers remember better days when Ken was in charge - I am sure there are just some growing pains this year with the ownership changes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.noise 1 Posted July 20, 2013 Thanks for the response I did get some good white banner this time so i will give them a choice of switching colors or a discounted yellow its a 50th high school reunion so its a 1 time thing. I also got to keep a roll witch i can use at my store for my own advertising i guess but evryone keeps seing the yellow i use and thats what they want and i just cant stand behind it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.noise 1 Posted July 20, 2013 xpaperman i read your thread about that if i remember right you had customers waiting im sure it was stressfull. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted July 20, 2013 this person used a 10oz outdoors but the cracks in that short of a time frame was not right either http://forum.uscutter.com/index.php?/topic/39516-how-long-should-you-expect-a-banner-to-last/?hl=%2Bgreenstar+%2Bbanner Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted July 20, 2013 when you figure the price of the finished product it is usually pennies to use better products. bad products will sink you faster than being a little more expensive and having the items last also if it is in the clearence area ask yourself why is it clearenced Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.noise 1 Posted July 20, 2013 yeah im thinking after this i am gonna upgrade on my next banner order. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xpaperman 719 Posted July 20, 2013 Yes it was a bit stressful. I got it all done in the nick of time. The night before their big inspection. I did explain the hold up and the situation to them but assured them I would do whatever it took to get it done on time. I would not let them down. I kept my word and they seemed more than pleased with the final product so maybe they will call me again. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted July 20, 2013 just for future reference..the grease marks from the grommets can be cleaned off with any petroleum based cleaner...not alcohol. I use Goo-Gone but charcoal lighter fluid will work. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted July 20, 2013 Oh..US Cutter also carries US Banner brand and you won't find much better than that. You get what you pay for. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted July 20, 2013 tried goo gone on some adhesive on a new tv tonight that alcohol didn't clean - was very impressed - first time using it and will keep it on hand from now on! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice&dice 2,450 Posted July 20, 2013 GooGone is one product that every user of cut-vinyl should have a bottle of. I love that citrus smell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.noise 1 Posted July 20, 2013 Goo gone it is. I think i read somewhere that you then need to clean off the goo gone with rubbing alchohol when your done is that what you guys do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.noise 1 Posted July 20, 2013 Is it pretty common to recieve dirty banner material? Honestly if it was just the grease spots i could make it work. Any other tips on what kind of outdoor sign material i should use? Im in Montana where we get harsh winters and 100 degree summers. The comunity i live in has a verry high unemployment rate so i think i would like to have the option of the cheaper materials also. And if anything is made in America even if it is a little more im all about supporting that and all my t-shirts are made in usa along with everything else in our store. well except some bags we ordered from a company we thought was all made in usa but found out we accidently bought some imports on some tote bags but they will be discounted and fully disclosed as imports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OWJones 1,981 Posted July 20, 2013 Goo gone it is. I think i read somewhere that you then need to clean off the goo gone with rubbing alchohol when your done is that what you guys do? You definitely need to clean it off before applying vinyl as Goo Gone remnants will dissolve the adhesive over time. The people that make Goo Gone make another product called "Oops!" that I use to help remove vinyl and adhesive residue - it's a little less oily than Goo Gone and is colorless, like water. You can use alcohol or any window cleaner that doesn't include ammonia to remove the residue that is left behind. I personally use RapidPrep for most of my cleanup work because I know for sure it doesn't interfere with adhesive vinyl and it cleans up just about everything. I bought a jug off of ebay for around $30 shipped - prices seem to be hovering around $38 per gallon shipped now. I've been working on this same gallon for nearly a year and still have 1/3 of it to go, so although it's more expensive than Windex, it last a long time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sleeveofwizzard 104 Posted July 20, 2013 That is very strange or maybe Goof Off is different then Goo Gone? I had to remove a little bit of vinyl that I didn't install correctly on my last banner. After I removed the small piece of vinyl there was some adhesive residue left that I used Goof Off to remove. It seemed to eat away at the banner material a bit. I cleaned the spot with alcohol repeatedly but there was still a gummy spot on the banner. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OWJones 1,981 Posted July 21, 2013 Weird... I've never had Goo Gone dissolve anything that it wasn't supposed to... it contains petroleum distillates, but is primarily citrus based... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted July 21, 2013 goof off is a different product than goo gone. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_goo-gone_and_goof_off Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted July 21, 2013 found this also "Goof Off is industrial strength; it is the super solvent, BUT, is so strong it will dissolve a great number of plastic items. Most clear, polished plastic services will become frosted from just a damp wiping with Goof off. Where Goo Gone is more of an oily solvent. It does not dissolve as many things, but is effective on most glues. If you have say some paint, grease or glue on a metal service, it would just go straight to Goof Off," Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sleeveofwizzard 104 Posted July 21, 2013 Well I can confirm this! Good info to keep the two products straight though. I previously looked at the two as the basically the same thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OWJones 1,981 Posted July 21, 2013 Goo Gone is also available at your local Dollar Tree store in 3 oz. bottles. That way you can try it out cheaply before you commit to buying bigger bottles. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mabscotthandyman 1,410 Posted July 21, 2013 Goof off and opps are made to clean dried paint and adhesevies off. They are very strong and prolonged contact with your skin provides an unwelcome outcome. The instructions calls to test in a inconspicious area befors using. I have used tbem multiable times clea.ing up behind sloppy workers to remove paint etc . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.noise 1 Posted July 22, 2013 Not sure of the forum rules but could anyone point me in the direction of a decent banner blank suplier. I am aware of the endless variables that will effect cost such as my location and amount of banner needed but who are the reputable supliers? I am not finding what i need threw google. Some places only carry 10oz others only white. I would just upgrade my banner material and go threw uscutter but i can't go threw another 3 month ordeal with my limited funds being tied up in bad product. Oh by the way I did keep one customer by selling the banner at a discount and the goo gone worked on all but one grommit mark but that one mark looked like a truck drove over the banner and dug the grommit in so deep it left an impression. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites