Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1451361
G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M 2 0 2 2 S U B L I M A T I O N R E P O R T 7 1 MAINTENANCE Your suppliers and manufacturers typical- ly always have techs to help you trouble- shoot equipment or a process with their equipment over the phone. ose techs help you stay up and running. en you have your techs that come on-site to your company to work on your equipment. ey can solely be there for xing ma- chines, or you can hire them for preven- tive maintenance. We have our screen-printing machine tech come in once a year to look over our automated press and dryers. We bring in our embroidery tech once every three months since that equipment has several treated. A sales rep can tell you a lot about a company as well. Most reps only sell and do not actually run the equipment, so they can never truly explain everything about the equipment you are buying. Some com- panies do have sales reps that also know about running the equipment. ose com- panies have seemed to be the better ones in the long run to work with since they teach all sta as much as possible. How fast a sales rep gets back to you is also huge. Will the rest of the company be the same way? Remember you are trust- ing them to not only have what you need, but to be there when you need them. So, it is highly important to not only work with the best but to have someone you can trust. Never be afraid to have more than one vendor for the same process. I learned this years ago when companies either went out of business or they merged, and the merge was not for the better. Have other vendors to fall back on and always work to improve your growth and relationships with your vendors. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT PRICE When looking for equipment. Many only look at what they can aord now or what they need the equipment for now. Learn to plan for ve and 10 years out. Always push to buy the best quality equipment for your needs now and the future. When people buy equipment the number one thing they look at is price up front. We all do. Look past that. Look at how long it can last, what is the maintenance cost on it, pow- er consumption, how many pieces can it average per hour, warranty, and does the manufacturer have their own techs? You also want to know what the average wait time is to speak to a tech on the phone. With most equipment you can simply talk to a tech over the phone and x 75% of the issues yourself with them. It is important to pick the right company and equipment for your company no matter the price – it is an investment.