Is Print Mount still open?

Anne Scott

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Posts
11
Location
Lander, Wyoming
I have been trying to trouble shoot a problem with my Hot Shot and I can't get anything but disconnected or busy signals from the numbers listed on the website?
 
What's the problem with it?

I guess I should add that I used the Print Mount Hot Shot for many years. At one time I was even a registered dealer in them. I might be able to help you, I don't know, but I believe I've experienced every problem they might have. The Hot shot was one fine mounting press, I do know that for sure.
 
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I have been trying to trouble shoot a problem with my Hot Shot and I can't get anything but disconnected or busy signals from the numbers listed on the website?

I can drive by if you want. We live about 4 or 5 miles from there, and its also near our shop, one town away.
The website is working normally, but the phone numbers all give a fast busy signal (reorder error tone). (800#, main #, and fax #) It could be that they are using voice over IP and are experiencing equipment or internet issues.
 
What's the problem with it?

I guess I should add that I used the Print Mount Hot Shot for many years. At one time I was even a registered dealer in them. I might be able to help you, I don't know, but I believe I've experienced every problem they might have. The Hot shot was one fine mounting press, I do know that for sure.
Hello, thank you for offering your expertise. I also love my hot shot, and this is the first time it has given me s problem. It went from working perfectly, to not working. The heat element works perfectly, but the vacuum has stoped kicking in. I have checked and rechecked the seal, I have checked the hose connection from the pump. I left it open for 24 hours to see if it would improve the seal, but no luck. Do you have an idea of what I should try next? Thank you!!!
 
First check to see if the vacuum control lever on the front of the press, near or right beside the vacuum pressure gage is set properly. If that had been set properly, you have a leak somewhere. If you are a smoker, the next step will help. Or light a cigar or anything else that will make some smoke. Seal the lid down and turn the press on so it is trying to vacuum. Take the smoking thing and guide it around the seal until you see the smoke going into the machine, that is one of your leaks. Continue around the seal, then go under the machine and work back and forth or crosswise under the rubber pressure sheet. If you find the smoke going in, mark the spot. Be sure to cover the entire pressure sheet and mark anymore leaks you find.

Also check the plastic hoses and the connections going from the press to the vacuum motor.

OK, you should have found the leak.

If it is in the seal, check it carefully for damage or foreign objects stuck to it. Clean the entire seal with denatured alcohol. Test the machine again. If it continues to leak around the seal, the hinges that hold the lid to the bottom needs to be re-set.

Pull the press out from the wall so you can get to the back. The lid should be closed for this step. You are going to need two wrenches or socket sets that fit the bolts holding the hinges, one for the bolts you can see, and the other for the nuts that are found by reaching up under the inside of the base frame.. (or visa versa) On the bottom part of the hinge, or the hinge part that is attached to the bottom part of the press, loosen all of the nuts, make sure they are truly loose, wiggle them back and fourth a little. Do not take them completely out, just loose. With the lid closed, turn on the vacuum and let it grab and go to pressure. You might have to press down on the lid here and there until it grabs properly. Once the press is at full pressure, tighten all of the hinge bolts while the press is running and at pressure. After this has been done turn the press off, open the lid, close it and make sure it still is working right. If it is, you have successfully re-set your hinges. This has to be done with the hot shot every few years.

If the leak is in the rubber pressure sheet, you should have marked it (or them). This might be a project if you have to turn the press upside down to do it. Buy a bicycle inner tube patch kit, follow the directions on the kit and patch your rubber pressure sheet from the outside bottom of it, never inside the press.

Check the press again.

If the problem is the plastic hoses that go from the vacuum motor to the press your going to have to find a source for them or patch them The same holds true for the rubber seal running around the edge of the rubber pressure sheet.

I hope this was of some help. It's not as complicated as it looks but I have a tendency to over explain things.

Never trim anything while it is inside the press on top of the rubber pressure sheet, that is the best way to end up replacing the entire sheet. It will cost around five hundred dollars if you can't patch it.

-John
 
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I forgot to mention when your re-setting the hinges, DO NOT use the clamps to lock the lid down, it must be vacuum pressure only. It's been a while so forgive my old memory. You also have to disconnect the gas lid lifts on each side of the lid.
 
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John!
Thank you for all of the amazing advice. We needed to reset the hinges. We went through your instructions step by step, and found the problem. Thank you for you attention to detail and the time it took for you to write it all out for us. We are up and running perfectly thanks to you.
Many thanks from Fremont Frameworks!!
 
Ann, thank you for such nice words. The only other thing you will have to deal with is the vacuum motor. It must be drained of water frequently, once a week at least. The trouble with that is in a busy shop, it's hard to remember doing routine maintenance.

A good idea is to set up a maintenance schedule and check list for the entire shop. When I was flying, my airplane had a check list for most everything, and was run through, item by item before each flight, during flight, and approach to landing.

This concept is great for doing maintenance in a frame shop. Mat cutter, saws, air compressors, and vacuum motors. The check list should include what has to be done for each piece of equipment. You can have a maintenance day set aside, or just assign the project to one person, preferably on a rotating basis so everyone will become proficient on all the equipment.

When your vacuum motor fails, and they do, they can be pretty pricy from some sources, $800.00 or more. The expensive ones are as subject to rust, worn and broken brushes as the cheap ones are. I switched to a Robinair 15500 for around $200.00, it actually worked better than the one that came with the press.
http://www.tooltopia.com/robinair-1...tid=ROB15500&gclid=CP2uypTH2dQCFcZcfgodat8FrA


-John
 
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Another thought, at $170.00 you might consider buying one now since it is a sale price, you will eventually need it.

-John.
 
It is my understanding that they have closed up shop.

Yea that's pretty much for sure, because the phone numbers are still in trouble mode. (fast busy error signal like VOIP equipment was removed, or power is off) It has been more than a month.
 
If that is so, what about the Print Mount-Sure Mount glue that many of use for our wet mounts? Does anyone know if that will still be available? Thanks!
 
a lot of places are distributors and it keeps for a year. Someone probably has some gallons left.
 
What a shame, it was the best vacuum press on the market. Seal put one out that was pretty much junk back in those early days. Print mount heated up and was ready to go in around five minutes, Seal took around 45 minutes and suffered endless leaking problems and took way too long to come up to a full vacuum. A friend bought a Seal the same time I bought my Print Mount Hot Shot. Less than a year later he literally tossed his brand new, less than a year old Seal into the dumpster he was so frustrated with it, and bought a Print Mount Hot Shot.

That's one of the big problems with our industry, there is just not enough demand for any single product to sustain a business. Few companies can buck that trend. Wizard comes to mind as one of the few that did. Wizard has about a medium quality product, but the company itself is incredibly well managed with an excellent marketing strategy, they make it easy for a small shop to have a very expensive product along with great support. Seal was a large company with a whole lot of product and supplies to sell, they could get away with a failure or two. I'm sure by now, after all these years, their vacuum presses must be greatly improved, at least I would hope so.

It is still a shame Print Mount is gone, they did not deserve that at all.

-John
 
Ugh...so unfortunate. My Hot Shot stopped heating. I am about to disassemble the top and hunt down the heat sensor and attempt to replace it. Hopefully it is a part with a part number on it and some identification. Glad you guys are here.
Thanks again.
M
 
What a shame, it was the best vacuum press on the market. Seal put one out that was pretty much junk back in those early days. Print mount heated up and was ready to go in around five minutes, Seal took around 45 minutes and suffered endless leaking problems and took way too long to come up to a full vacuum. A friend bought a Seal the same time I bought my Print Mount Hot Shot. Less than a year later he literally tossed his brand new, less than a year old Seal into the dumpster he was so frustrated with it, and bought a Print Mount Hot Shot.

That's one of the big problems with our industry, there is just not enough demand for any single product to sustain a business. Few companies can buck that trend. Wizard comes to mind as one of the few that did. Wizard has about a medium quality product, but the company itself is incredibly well managed with an excellent marketing strategy, they make it easy for a small shop to have a very expensive product along with great support. Seal was a large company with a whole lot of product and supplies to sell, they could get away with a failure or two. I'm sure by now, after all these years, their vacuum presses must be greatly improved, at least I would hope so.

It is still a shame Print Mount is gone, they did not deserve that at all.

-John
Found the old distributors. They say he said that all the internals can be gotten through Grainger... so I'll be diagnosing, purchasing and replacing parts till it runs like new...wish me luck! (Now where is that multi-meter?!)
 
What's the problem with it?

I guess I should add that I used the Print Mount Hot Shot for many years. At one time I was even a registered dealer in them. I might be able to help you, I don't know, but I believe I've experienced every problem they might have. The Hot shot was one fine mounting press, I do know that for sure.

Hello,

I lam ooking for help with a 40x60 print mount hot shot vacuum press I believe it is the original version of this press. I purchased it used and the original owner removed the male plug that powers the heating element for his new press. The wiring on this machine seems to be 14/4 which is a little odd as the machine draws 18 amps and # 14 is rated for 15 amps! I did manage to contact the owner of the company about two years ago and he confirmed that was the correct factory wiring. That said I just need to confirm what the correct male plug is to go to the wall outlet. I'm having my new work space wired and need this information to wire the circuit for the machine correctly with the proper amperage wire and breaker and the correct plug. ( i dont have the manual for the machine. ) I have attached a photo of the unit I have if you or anyone knows this information or has a manual for this unit I would be grateful for any help getting this figured out so it can be wired correctly!

Thank you,
John Hurley
 

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Hello,

I lam ooking for help with a 40x60 print mount hot shot vacuum press I believe it is the original version of this press. I purchased it used and the original owner removed the male plug that powers the heating element for his new press. The wiring on this machine seems to be 14/4 which is a little odd as the machine draws 18 amps and # 14 is rated for 15 amps! I did manage to contact the owner of the company about two years ago and he confirmed that was the correct factory wiring. That said I just need to confirm what the correct male plug is to go to the wall outlet. I'm having my new work space wired and need this information to wire the circuit for the machine correctly with the proper amperage wire and breaker and the correct plug. ( i dont have the manual for the machine. ) I have attached a photo of the unit I have if you or anyone knows this information or has a manual for this unit I would be grateful for any help getting this figured out so it can be wired correctly!

Thank you,
John Hurley

Is this the manual that you need? It shows standard US 220v with black and red being the hot 110v legs. (not a single 220v leg, like some countries) Electrician will know what to do with the included docs, if they are for your model. The former company was only a few miles from our shop.


Best regards,
Mike
 
Is this the manual that you need? It shows standard US 220v with black and red being the hot 110v legs. (not a single 220v leg, like some countries) Electrician will know what to do with the included docs, if they are for your model. The former company was only a few miles from our shop.


Best regards,
Mike
Hello Mike,

Thank you for your quick reply! I posted in both places as I thought it is such and old press I would have trouble getting information on it! I think the PDF you linked to is for the newer style version of the unit. You wouldn't happen to have any additional information or resources available? Do you know of anyone still using one of these units that I could contact to ask about how they have it wired? You can't have a 14 gauge wired into a thirty amp circuit. The PDF manual you linked to shows it as a 30amp circuit. I'll check with my electrician and see what he has to say. It may be a double pole breaker for it so its only 15 amps to each hot leg.
Thank you,
John H
 
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