ApolloDesign
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We'd love to hear your opinion.
@ApolloDesign @JohnChenaultSounds intriguing - but I have a number of questions.
1 - what are you selling? A machine that prints gel, sheets of material I can put in my epson printer, special inks I can put in my printer or what? If selling a machine whats the footprint?
2 - Whats the price point and cost per sheet?
3 - What is the anticipated time to print a sheet of 'pastel' color ( like R02) How about an intense color ( R80)
4 - What is the cost difference in an R80 vs a R02 ( ink costs).
For me I would have to know:
What is my cost per sheet using your product?
What is the upfront costs for setting things up .
How quickly does it print?
If the answers are favorable - yes I would be interested. If it costs $20000 for the machine - and a sheet of acetate is $8.00 and it takes 10 minutes - probably not.
( Assuming of course that the gel it produces is good color, does not quickly fade, etc);
John Chenault
This is an interesting twist on what I was thinking. What if there's no setup cost to me because my local dealer has the printer gear. I can email them a special color blend that I want and they print it our and sell it to me for like $3 or $4 per 6.25" cut, that's very interesting. Doesn't change the game for normal use, but is very intriguing for special color needs.I mean... its cheaper for them to ship ink, printers, and software to their vendors then color media. If the cost was right I'd probably consider it...
@gafftaper @ApolloDesign @JChenault What if it arrives with R59 or L153 already printed on it and possibly a small date code as well for keeping track of how many years ago you ordered / received it?I assume that there would be an initial price to buy the system. For example a special printer or a special ink that works in a certain brand of off the shelf printer. Then after that there is a special plastic and ink we have to keep buying from you.
To get me seriously interested in buying this I see three keys:
1) Initially the system cost needs to be not that much more than the cost of buying a printer and ink... So say about $400-$500.
2) Long term, the cost of plastic and ink needs to work to be not that more than the cost of buying gel. A sheet of 20x24 gel costs about $7-$8 depending on tax and shipping. You get nine 6.25" cuts per sheet at a cost of about $0.90 per cut. To keep me interested in these long term I think the cost needs to be less than $1.50 per 6.25" cut of gel. I've got 60 S4's in my rep plot. It currently costs around $50 to replace them all. If I suddenly have to pay $100, it gets really hard to justify the convenience being worth the extra $50. My time driving across town to the theater supply store is worth something. The convenience of being able to print something really cool is great, but to make it really worth it, it has to not break the budget for regular gel replacement.
3) Most importantly, it needs to be as durable as the real thing. If I have to change gel more often, the convenience of not having to order and stock gel is wiped out by the extra labor of replacing them more often.
This is an interesting twist on what I was thinking. What if there's no setup cost to me because my local dealer has the printer gear. I can email them a special color blend that I want and they print it our and sell it to me for like $3 or $4 per 6.25" cut, that's very interesting. Doesn't change the game for normal use, but is very intriguing for special color needs.
First and foremost, this isn't something the end user can do. We are talking professional large format printers. Not something you could have in your home.As well as what kind of printers are able to be used ink/laser/toner and brands cannon/hp.
Yes! We will have some available for you to hold and see! (But not take.) If you are at LDI, please stop by booth 1431 to check it out.@ApolloDesign will this be on display in your booth at LDI? I look forward to learning more about it.
We are selling gel, through our dealers, just as we have always done. Nothing will be changing in how you get your gel.1 - what are you selling? A machine that prints gel, sheets of material I can put in my epson printer, special inks I can put in my printer or what? If selling a machine whats the footprint?
We can get a small one that can only handle a 24" x 24" sheet of material that only costs that much (before the needed modifications). Our printer that can handle 4' x 4' material is around 3 times that and the one that can handle 8' x 4' material is 5 or 6 times that. These are very large printers.If the answers are favorable - yes I would be interested. If it costs $20000 for the machine - and a sheet of acetate is $8.00 and it takes 10 minutes - probably not.
( Assuming of course that the gel it produces is good color, does not quickly fade, etc);
Yes, that would be a possibility. You can see such a sheet in the video.can I print multiple cuts in multiple colors on one sheet in one pass;
Excellent question. I don't know why not. I will bring that up to be sure it is being thought about.Can I print a label on the gel while printing the gel?
Oh, come on man! You're killing me right now! We've been doing that for years!Could you print color gobos for LED fixtures?
It would be just as durable, possibly moreso, as what you already use.Most importantly, it needs to be as durable as the real thing.
To reiterate, you will still need to order and stock your gel. The goal here is to lower costs for everyone. As mentioned in the video, gel manufacturing cost has gone up, so your price has gone up some. Inventory. Inventory costs money. The more inventory we have, the more it costs us to store, maintain, count, etc., which drives the MSRP up. So, and this is the big idea here, if we can eliminate the need to stock a large inventory of gel, our costs drop and we can possibly offer you a lower price for your gel, or at least keep it the same. It would be printed when we get the order.the convenience of not having to order and stock gel is wiped out by the extra labor of replacing them more often.
This is why it would all be done in house and not even at dealers.if you want a solid product its going to REALLY cost you... and I'd really like to see something optically check each sheet to ensure that it hits the spec right.
Having watched this creative technology here at Apollo for the past several years, I'll re-emphasize the long range goals and advantages of this unique product. Backorders are zilch, obscure colors are very available, costs move in a downward direction.
We welcome you to stop and visit us at the Apollo booth @ LDI and have a look for yourself. This is a breakthrough in high def, high heat resistant printing- in a very large format!
One of the savings you could see is this exactly. You have a special that is one light and the only place that color will be used. You get get just a cut or two of that color at a fraction of the cost of a full sheet and you aren't stuck with extra unneeded or unwanted inventory.Multiple colors on a sheet. I don't see the utility.
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