Perfect Laser Technologies Newsletter August 2022

9 Tips, Policies, Procedures and getting the most out of your Perfect Laser Machine. 

1. Formation of our ATS (Advanced Technical Services)

We have made major changes to the location of our senior support staff. Up until now - our specialist support staff were spread over various locations in Johannesburg. This has now changed, and all our senior technicians and product specialists are in one location. We call it Advanced Technical Services or ATS. The advantage to our clients is that our staff have many different skills, and it is now easier for us resolve support issues. To have such a competent senior support team in one location has speeded up resolution of service queries dramatically. The areas of competence in our ATS are Colour machines, CO2 lasers, Fiber Engravers and Cutters, and CNC machines.

Our team consists of Larry and Reece (Colour), Handsome (C02 lasers), Juju (CNC), Warren and Michiel (Fiber engravers and Fiber cutters)

2. Our after hours support has been improved & restructured

As from the 1st of August, selected branches will operate until 6pm, and then from 6pm to 8pm selected staff will be on duty. Having a staff member in a branch surrounded by machines will provide a better solution with the 6pm to 8pm slot mainly focusing on software and over the phone guidance. Please note that a high speed internet connection with Ultraviewer installed is essential to make use of this support.

3. Taking control of power issues

We urge you to install adequate protection on your Distribution Board. We have imported high-quality surge protectors for this purpose. Single phase and 3-phase are available.

Installing Surge Protection

The first thing you should do is have a surge protector installed by an electrician to cover the circuits at your premises. We have done the research, and we have imported high-quality single phase and 3-phase modular surge protectors. We have them on sale at a massively reduced price to enable our clients to protect their valuable investments. These can be bought online on our website, or at your nearest Perfect Laser branch.

Online UPS

An online UPS will also go a long way to protecting your equipment from loadshedding and power fluctuation issues. You can purchase your online ups with inline voltage level displays from RTC Zone.

Please go and visit their website on www,rctzone.co.za or contact them on
087 237 6890 to purchase yours today

Why you need to Protect Your Equipment

Surges and spikes from loadshedding affect all electrical items. A spike can increase the voltage above any machine’s normal operating voltage, which will damage the electronic circuit boards and other electrical components - and you can't sue Eskom for this.

In the context of what's happening in South Africa with respect to the electricity supply - you need to protect all of your sensitive electronic equipment. 

Here at Perfect Laser, we have witnessed a massive spike in machine issues due to loadshedding, and we need to make sure you have all the knowledge and tools to reduce the risks of machine failure dramatically.

Large-format printers are much more susceptible to power fluctuations. Repeated power surges could be the reason your printer heads mysteriously stop working. These surges can slowly cause internal micro-electronics damage, so your equipment may continue to function for a while, until the electronic components finally fail. 

Surges shorten the life span of printer heads and other electronics on your machine. Damage as a result of power surges can be incremental and accumulate over time. A major surge can cause more permanent damage instantly, but smaller disruptions typically tend to shorten the "lifespan" of a particular device or part over time - for example, printer heads, carriage boards, mainboards etc.

Consider insuring your equipment

Please check your insurance policy - does it fully cover damage due to loadshedding?

Our Terms and Conditions
 Please note that our Terms and Conditions have stated for some time the specifics about warranties, with regards to power, moving machines, self installs, power outages, etc.

4. New requirements and info for colour machine owners. 

1. Colour machines are more sensitive to power (Voltage) fluctuations. You will need to install a Voltage regulator to prevent this type of problem. Most decent UPS devices can do this by ensuring that the output is stable at 230 Volts. Your print heads are extremely sensitive to flushing duration and pressure, Voltage changes, power surges etc.

2. If your machine operator is changed, it is essential that you advise us (and that we train – for a small fee, the new operator).

3) Installing both a surge protector on your Distribution Board and an online UPS will reduce colour print head failures dramatically – as well as protecting all machines on that circuit.
 

4. IMPORTANT NOTE

Print head warranties
Once again, we must stress that there is absolutely NO warranty on a print head - under any circumstances. Daily maintenance, operator training, voltage stabilization, and surge protection will reduce failures dramatically.

5. Planning for machine replacement

Perfect Laser makes every attempt to keep 100% of spares available. However, like a lot of digital and technical machinery, end-of-life is reached when some or all of the following occur:

• Where original part manufacturers discontinue parts that our manufacturers use. For example, in our colour machines the Epson TX 800 head. Our manufacturers also outsource parts such as carriage boards and mainboards. Over time these are updated/upgraded and in most cases the new boards operate with newer firmware, which does not always work well with the older boards.
• Where our manufacturers replace various subassemblies with more advanced systems - which will at the very least require a rebuild and compromise system accuracy.
• Where a chassis gets bent due to the machine being moved in a negligent fashion or if it gets dropped.
• Where damage occurs to the machine that would necessitate a rebuild costing more than the value of the machine.
• Fire or water damage.
• Electrical surges or lightning damage.
• Where the underlying technology of the machine becomes obsolete and spares are not available anymore.

For colour machines, end of life is generally after 4-5 years but could be less or more.
For laser machines, end of life is generally after 6-8 years but could be less or more.

6. Our policies supporting non-genuine CorelDraw software

Please note that we are unable to support any copied or cracked versions of CorelDraw. We supply an educational (yet FULL) version of CorelDraw Graphics Suite For R3995 (excl VAT).

Daily, we help out with software issues relating to Windows, design software, anti-virus conflicts - and using original, legal software just makes sense. 

7. Levelling Your Laser

More Bull's Eye spirit levels (free for all PLT laser clients) have arrived. Please contact your local Perfect Laser branch to arrange collection.

You can Find our Branch Locator on our website.

Do you know why you need a Bull's Eye Spirit Level? Do you want to know how to use it?

Click the image to the right to read about it on our website.

Bull's Eye Spirit Level

8. On a lighter note 

Our CNC staff came up with this world beating solution to a uniquely South African problem. How to stash your cash so the domestic does not find it.

This CNC custom-made Queen-size bed frame comes with 4 drawers and 4 secret Rama-Phala $tash-cash-boxes.

9. Our support system

We are proud of our client support systems. For general technical support, you may email us on [email protected].

Colour and fiber cutter support issues are dealt with by specialist staff and you may refer colour issues to  [email protected], and fiber cutter issues to [email protected].

Even though we have hundreds of 5-star reviews, there is the occasion when something goes wrong.
For this reason, we have set up a CUSTOMER SUPPORT IMPROVEMENT HOTLINE. 
Simply dial 010 157 0112, and select the 4th option – ‘Service Improvement’.

Join and Like our various support Facebook pages