Pnematic Mat Cutter Question

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FramerRandy

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
Joined
Feb 9, 2002
Posts
320
Location
Montana
At the WCAF show I took a look at both CMCs & Fletcher's MatPro 120/150. The CMCs are quite pricey for a small one-man shop like mine, although I know that others on this forum have gone ahead and gotton one.
I'd be interested in comments by any out there that have gone the MatPro route, or equivalent.
I can see where it would be 5 to 8 times faster than cutting mats manually, so am curious how you folks like them? Do they really save you that much time?
Appreciate any comments, Thanks :cool:
 
The reason I'm particularly interested in feedback on the MatPro is that it is approx. 1/5th the cost of a CMC, seems to be as fast, or faster than the CMC. I realize that the CMC can cut non-rectangles, but as was stated in the WCAF Wizard class by the guru, 95% of the mats cut are rectangles. That means that the MatPro can do 95% of what a CMC can do for 1/5th the cost.
I can calculate a ROI of a couple of years with the MatPro, whereas the ROI on a CMC for my shop would be many years. I would probably wear out before I ever recovered the investmant. :confused:

BTW Judy, where in Montana are you located?
My Son in law is from Missoula and hopes to return there someday (with my daughter, of course
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This may not help, but here goes:

The MatPro is actually made by Valiani. When we were looking for a CMC, we found a Valiani pnuematic/manual mat cutter at Larson Juhl in Mississauga Ontario, near their new (at the time) CMC. This model, I assume, was (one of?) the precursor(s) to the present MatPro (as I recall, it looked fairly similar).

I spoke at length with one of the fellows who does most of Larson's mat cutting. He had nothing by wonderful things to say about their old pneumatic machine. He used it for many many years and, apparently, it was extremely reliable and well built. It was suggested that there was no way the CMC would last as long as its predecessor. At that time, the Valiani was still in use (and I assume, still is), although everybody preferred the CMC as it was faster, easier and "more fun". Prior to this, I had never heard the name "Valiani"; I was told that, prior to the CMC, this machine was the Rolls Royce of production matcutters - absolutely without parallel.

I'm sure the folks at Fletcher can help with specifics. Perhaps you could ask for a list of customers of the machine in your area. I suspect you'll find your fellow framers more than willing to speak to you about their equipment.

Hope this is of some help.

Best of luck!
 
Thanks Printmaker & Judy for your comments. I appreciate any input. I guess this is not a commonly used piece of equipment, but thought it might be a good alternative to the cost of a CMC.
I'll have to keep thinking about this. Again, Thanks
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I have had a " Valiani Mat Pro 150" since August 2004, and have found it to be a terrific assett to our business.
It has reduced wastage,increased efficiency,and eliminated overcuts totally.
I have been able to reproduce all the cuts I had experimented with and learnt to do with my keencut 60".
I would also recommend the purchase of the optional Edge Trimmer for ease of production work
 
Dodger,
Thanks for you feedback on this. I was hoping someone out there had one

Your comments coincide with what I was thinking. In fact, I've been keeping a running tab on the number of mats I cut (something I should have done long ago) & I find that the potential savings is more than I first thought. Again, everyone who responded, thanks
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