Conventional Fixtures Wybron vs. Apollo gelstrings

Hi All,

I'm in need of new custom scrolls for my Coloram IIs. I've gotten quotes from Wybron and Apollo for them and Apollo is significantly less expensive. Does anyone have a preference for reasons other than price? Thanks.

Eric
 
Hi All,

I'm in need of new custom scrolls for my Coloram IIs. I've gotten quotes from Wybron and Apollo for them and Apollo is significantly less expensive. Does anyone have a preference for reasons other than price? Thanks.

Eric

I can't actually speak to either... As I order my scrolls from Spectrum/A.C. Lighting...

HOWEVER

In general, all scroll strings are created (mostly) equal. Company X may use Proprietary Joining Method Y to achieve the end, but that's not to say that Company A's Method B is any better or worse... It's just different.
If I suddenly couldn't get my gel strings from my company of choice, I'd find another one... Likely based on price and/or my dealings with their sales staff...

This is such a specialized field, that 'You get what you pay for' really doesn't apply, in my opinion.
 
Go with Apollo, I have used their custom scrolls and they work just fine, never had one break. They will even give you non-Apollo colors if you want.
 
I would go with Apollo- nice people and my kids need food on the table. :oops:

heh heh heh

Sorry, I just couldn't resist-
 
Go with the Apollo. Nothing against Wybron, but the people at Apollo (like our friend Kelite above) are just great. They believe in their products and stand behind them... plus you save a few bucks.
 
Question for you--the scroll I'm ordering has no Apollo colors in it. You use the actual gel from the other manufacturers--you don't substitute your own, right?

That is correct, we will make the string with whichever brands of gel you choose. As with Apollo gel, certain polyesters work well with our thermal welding system, other brands are taped for longevity.
 
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I have had good experiences with ordering gel strings from both manufacturers. I did order from Wybron once and the strings came back with all the colors, just not in the correct order. They offered to re-build the entire order (something like 8 Gel-strings) at no cost, but we decided that we didn't have time to wait for that, and the strings would work for us as they were. So instead Wybron sent over some swag and a very generous amount of iTunes Gift Cards.

For all my other scroller needs I have gone to Apollo, mostly on account of the fact that I own mostly SmartColor scrollers. The construction on the Apollo strings is great and so is the price. The people at Apollo are great and easy to work with, so I have no complaints there. I don't think I have met an Apollo product that I was unhappy with.

So, I think that whichever way you go you will get a quality product and good service.
 
Hi Eric,

Below is a message from Keny Whitright, president of Wybron:

It is nice to hear you are using Coloram IIs. We appreciate that a lot. You are using the 3rd generation of the device we invented in 1979. They were built between 1992 and 2005. So the average age of your generation color changer is 13 years. The longevity of these units is part of our value offering.

We add similar value to our ColorExpress gel string service. Just one aspect is that we stock in-depth all the colors from Lee, GAM, and Rosco, as well as some of the colors from Apollo. And we have done that for 20 years.

I appreciate that times are tough and everyone must save where they can. I can only say that the extra money we charge goes to feed our kids too, and some of it goes to continuing to invent the future. If you choose to help with that, I would be grateful.

Keny Whitright
 
I've had great success with both Wybron and Apollo strings. Used Wybron for many many a year. Unfortunetly I haven't bought any strings lately because I don't own any scrollers anymore.
 
Hi Eric,

Below is a message from Keny Whitright, president of Wybron:

It is nice to hear you are using Coloram IIs. We appreciate that a lot. You are using the 3rd generation of the device we invented in 1979. They were built between 1992 and 2005. So the average age of your generation color changer is 13 years. The longevity of these units is part of our value offering.

We add similar value to our ColorExpress gel string service. Just one aspect is that we stock in-depth all the colors from Lee, GAM, and Rosco, as well as some of the colors from Apollo. And we have done that for 20 years.

I appreciate that times are tough and everyone must save where they can. I can only say that the extra money we charge goes to feed our kids too, and some of it goes to continuing to invent the future. If you choose to help with that, I would be grateful.

Keny Whitright

While I appreciate that someone from Wybron took the time to chime in, this doesn't really seem like a very good case for purchasing their products, unless I'm missing something. As Apollo has also said that they can make strings with other manufacturers' gels so it doesn't seem like Wybron is actually able to list a single advantage to purchasing their strings over Apollo's. While I would obviously like to keep Keny's children from starving, Apollo also employs parents soooo.... Maybe I'm missing something, but this just doesn't seem like a compelling argument to me.
 
Thanks for your opinion Metti, I'm sure the President of Wybron will appreciate knowing that a high school senior isn't impressed with his statement.
 
While I appreciate that someone from Wybron took the time to chime in, this doesn't really seem like a very good case for purchasing their products, unless I'm missing something. As Apollo has also said that they can make strings with other manufacturers' gels so it doesn't seem like Wybron is actually able to list a single advantage to purchasing their strings over Apollo's. While I would obviously like to keep Keny's children from starving, Apollo also employs parents soooo.... Maybe I'm missing something, but this just doesn't seem like a compelling argument to me.

Metti, the point is that Keny and Erin (and Keith from Apollo) all took the time to read at least parts of this thread. These are people who work at or run major companies in the business and they are not required to take the time to write personal messages to essentially anonymous end-users on the internet. The fact that these people make that time for us is a way for them to show that they have a vested interest in the people who use their products. Not just the people who are making large purchases and spending lots of money, but the people who make smaller orders every so often as well.

You have to remember, even though relatively this is a small industry, there are still a lot of people working in it. When an industry executive takes notice of an end user, that says a lot about the mentality of the company they manage. On the flip side, it still is a small industry, so you need to pay attention to the comments that you make about higher-ups in the industry. You don't want to burn any bridges if you can avoid it! Remember that there are people that you might run into on this site who could be your future employers and there are people here who might be able to help you out in a pinch, but if you leave a sour taste they might think twice about hiring or helping you.

That being said, WbronErinPrater thanks for your input and please tell Keny that we appreciate his interest in the matter.
 
Alex, you are correct. My comment was unecissary and came off much ruder than I intended when writing it. Please accept my apologies.
 
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