CMC acquisition

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thedarkroom

True Grumbler
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Sep 19, 2007
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New Orleans
Not sure whether this of the business board is the right place for this question but we are wondering whether or not acquiring a CMC makes any sense in our conservation framing of original photographs niche market, in which matting consists almost exclusively in cutting one rectangular window.

On the one hand, there is all this talk about framers saving considerable time and materials with their CMC, but the cutting of a window takes very little time on our Valiani Astra hand cutter and it seems that, since we are a low-volume shop, we wouldn't gain much in terms of labor costs.

One possible application would be the cutting of mats thicker than 8-ply which the Valiani doesn't handle well (8-ply is already a stretch with these short blades), but I do not know of a CMC that handles thick mats.

I realize that this would allow us to offer embossing but I am not sure I see any market there. That being said, if there were a market for it, we wouldn't know since we don't offer it.

I would very much appreciate input on the following questions:
Are there CMCs that handle thick mats (>8-ply) ?
Would we really be saving time and materials with a CMC ?
What services, synergistic with what we do, could we offer that we don't offer already ?
 
All of the CMCs will cut 8 ply mats. If there is one out there that doesn't, I can't imagine any one wanting it. The whole idea is to do everything a hand cutter can do and WAY more.

You will always save time with a CMC. If you have a dozen different size mats that you typically cut, all of these can be saved and called up whenever you need to cut one of them. No need to reset the cutter each time. Just a couple of clicks and you are ready.
Anyone can cut the mats, not just the one who is trained and competent on the manual cutter.

You could offer more styles of openings besides the plain vanilla rectangle. You said it yourself, if you don't have it, you can't sell it.
Giving the customer a few more choices can make you more dollars.

Yes, they are expensive but you can rent one (I think Wizard still rents) for a while and see how it works for you.

When I first started out, I was selling my photos at art & craft shows and I had a manual Esterly wall mounted production cutter. Even tho it wasn't computer powered, it made the production of mats WAY easier and quicker than with a table cutter.
Think of it this way... even if it seems like overkill right now, you will grow into it.
 
Esterly

I got a b3240 speedmat from Esterly to start out from a fellow grumbler for $600 and never looked back. While I will upgrade to a CMC with in the next year or so, this cost less that a Fletcher and works like a charm. Once the blanks are cut a mat only takes like 45 seconds to cut. I have the pnuematic version and all I need to do is flip the switch 4 times and I'm done. Stick in the next mat, flip a couple levers on the stops and I have a perfect double mat. Get fancy with the stops and I have a notched corner mat. Multiple openings are only a matter of a little math.

That said I still lust for the shapes, roman mats, and other things that a CMC will do. There is this little thing called money that is in my way for now but the Esterly will provide that for me in time.

Look at your financial planning, you do have financial planning don't you, and let that be what decides wich way to go!

Tom
 
Hand Cut vs. CMC

I have to agree with Framah. You won't know what you have until you have it. It is hard to explain. But, if you do cut alot of mats from the same boards you can optimize your material usage and cost much more easily with a CMC. With each new introduction of a updated model of CMC the material optimization features get better.

Plus, with a CMC, your mat cutting will take much less time than it does now. Even if your volume isn't that great now, you can use the time you will save to grow other parts of your business and do those things you feel you aren't able to do justice to now.

Flexibility is gained by having a machine that anyone can be trained to operate in a few hours at the most(especially if you do basic cuts). And, as your business grows, you might be able to hold off adding additional staff due to the heightened productivity these machines offer.

We have had two CMC's over the last ten years and are looking to upgrade now. Can't imagine how we would be as efficient without one.

Hope this helps.

Rob
 
Simple Answer....YES

thedarkroom said:
Ok but is it still valuable if we are not in the market for decorative mats is what I am struggling with?
Click to expand...

Indeed....95% of what we cut in our shop today consists of: rectangles, double mats, triple mats, reverse bevels, multiple openings, and the periodical V-groove.

I would never run a storefront framing business today, regardless of size without owning a CMC.

John
 
Hey, thedarkroom. First let me say that I think your work/digital room is fantastic. I'd love to have a work space like that. I also would love to hear more about how you came to cater to photographers like you do.

I can't really answer your cmc question and I absolutely disagree with my friend John. Its not a given. I do work with a good number of photographers myself and they don't really need/want very creative framing. The framing in your workspace tells the story!!!! It’s clear that you’re probably as competitive as you need to be with the manual mat cutter you’re using.

Having said that there are certainly some benefits that you’re well aware of with a CMC. I can sense that you don't think you really need one but want one. In your case I can't see it being a super profitable purchase. However until recently I had dial up internet at the shop. I didn't need high speed and still don't need it today and dialup was free. About a year ago I decided that $60 a month was peanuts and my shop could "splurge" so I got DSL. I think some of the cheaper CMC rentals are in the $200 range. Maybe you could splurge even if you don't need the machine. I don't think you would regret the decision as long as that expense wouldn't pinch you. That’s my .02 anyway.
 
CMC

I recently purchased a Wizard 8500e. I didn't really need one, but I have decided that if I was going to continue custom framing I would need one to stay competitive. I found that it was a good choice for me. I am sharing it with a framer friend of mine and it is working out very well. You will be surprised what you will find yourself coming up with for your customers. Any way if it isn't a real hardship I agree with the others who suggest you rent one and give it a try.
 
You said your requirements are simple; that you normally cut rectangular, single-opening mats. You also said you have a low-volume shop.

Plenty of valid input here, but nobody has addressed a key question: How many mats do you want to cut?

If you want to cut 5 single-opening mats a day, a CMC probably would not save you money. As the most expensive piece of equipment in most small framing operations, it might be difficult -- OK, maybe impossible -- for you to justify the cost of a CMC on the basis of labor savings to cut 5 rectangular openings a day.

A CMC would, however, add considerably to the capabilities you could offer customers. If you would like to offer V-grooves, debossing, fancy corner cuts, text, and other such features, a CMC is undoubtedly the best and most efficient way to accomplish those cutting tasks. In my shop, we don't need a CMC to cut most of the mats we cut.

But like some others here, I would not care to eliminate the wonderful capabilities it adds to my business. For instance, Monday before lunch I will cut six 45-1/2" x 33-1/2" mats, each with 60 double-layer openings. If you get into that sort of mat-cutting once or twice a week, then justifying a CMC is easy. Very, very easy.
 
thedarkroom said:
I would very much appreciate input on the following questions:

Are there CMCs that handle thick mats (>8-ply) ?
Click to expand...

Some of the larger high-end productions CMCs do, but I'm not aware of any under $25k that cut 12-ply with a bevel. Just about all of them cut 8-ply just fine..

Would we really be saving time and materials with a CMC ?
Click to expand...

If all you're cutting are single-mat, single opening rectangles, then no. But just doing two complex multi-opening mat design is enough to justify the cost. And you can train anyone to use the machine and not have to worry about the quality of the cuts.

What services, synergistic with what we do, could we offer that we don't offer already ?
Click to expand...

Again, multi-opening design are a breeze. Many of the template (non-rectangular) styles are rather tasteful, especially the ones we have that were designed by Brian Wolf. Fillets are easier. Heck, cutting ovals in 8-ply are a breeze too..

Even if you're only cutting 15 mats a week, Wizard has a Quick Start program that gets you a CMC for only $145 a month. Just adding a couple bucks to each mat on average will cover the expense, and there's no obligation - just cancel the rental if it doesn't work out for you..
 
Hey darkroom
As someone of Wizard has given an answer, I don't want to miss out and tell you something. The cheapest GUNNAR goes on a lease to own programm for 85.-$/week (or costs much less than 20k $ delivered and installed!) in the US and cuts up to 3.5mm. And as far as I know this is more than 8ply. If a regular 4ply is something like 1.3mm, then 3.5mm would be between 10 and 12ply. For more details, have a look at the gunnar-international.com homepage.

But you're also wondering about what you can do with a CMC. I understand that you're thinking about getting more creativ and this is the main thing besides time-, board- and therefore moneysaving.

Jared Davis CPF, GCF (www.jared-davis.com) from Australia has written a fabulous book which is called "Getting the most value from your CMC". You can order it from his homepage and I can tell you that there are many good ideas which don't need a GUNNAR CMC, but which can also be used for any other brand. Ok, all the photos of framed art with mats have been done by a framer owning a GUNNAR, but I think this if fair.
The book is even worth while if you don't own a CMC (yet).

Good luck, and make the right decision. Whatever brand it will be, you're never be the same framer again. I promise.

Regards
Roland
 
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