i have been debating this same question for the last month. this would be my first auto, i am more interested in it because of the space size and because im the printer as well designer. i have not ordered yet but i included in my quote that step back. bad thing is they tell me it takes up 12 weeks till i get the machine so the longer i take the longer it takes to get. im very interested in seeing one live and not just on you tube.

 

yes, the size issue was important to me as well, in fact was the initial reason I was looking into this particular press. I didn't realize it would take 3 months to get though! How did you find that out?

 

I called and got the quote. I was informed that it would take 8-12 weeks to make the press. But it would be made to ur specifics. My quote is based in a 5 color 6 station. Which will be a 4 color with the flash. But he did mention u r able to upgrade extra Colors when ur ready

 

The only problem Im having is finding a chiller and compressor.

 

The color limitation would prevent you from doing any serious jobs. Some jobs require should have a base white then a highlight white. If you talk to most owners they would advise to go bigger than what you currently need.

 

It seems like you would need some cooling time in there somewhere. With print/flash/immediately print, it would seem like your ink would still be hot and tacky when you "step back" and print the second coat.

 

I think you need a slow dwell time to allow the print to cool enough so the ink doesn't gel in the screen. And the 3rd head will definitely need to be used for a cool down if your printing on top of the p/f/p/f base. So personally, I think at best a 5 color machine will be able to print 3 colors on darks and 4-5 on lights. Which might be fine for some shops. I think I'd spring for the 7/8, which is still smaller then I'd like to go, but most of our work doesn't exceed 3 colors anyway, so it seems pretty ideal, especially because of the small footprint.. The main reason I'm iffy is because it doesn't have a registration system compatible with it yet. The VRS might work, but I'm hoping the bulls eye system going into production next year since it looks like it can work with any press.

 

I dont know much about the titan, but we have a 2005 Proteus 14/16 and we also have a workhorse/progressive 12/10 & 20/22. I have to tell you the Anatol Proteus prints and amazing quality print for being air heads. I was pessimistic at first cause all the other machines we have are cervo driven. Anatol makes good machines. Go for it, the new interface i heard is amazing!

 

Hey, I just wanted to check and see if anyone ended up purchasing an Anatol machine. We've had a Titan for about 3-4 months and unfortunately we've had quite a few issues with it. The first couple times it shut down it was an electrical problem. Then recently it sprung an air leak from one of the valves. We've lost probably 10 days of work with the machine down. The guy who Anatol contracted to help us install it has been very helpful but the company itself hasn't. They seem unwilling to acknowledge that our machine hasn't performed the way they said it would. The sales rep who sold us the machine has taken the all-to-familiar "I just sold it to you, it's out of my hands now" approach so we've been less than thrilled with their service and support. When the machine is up and working it works great. It's possible that there are just a bunch of small snags that have to get worked out or that we just got a problematic machine. Either way, it would be nice if we could just run for even a month without an issue. If anyone else has any experience with Anatol I'd be very curious to hear what they thought. Thanks!

 

Our exact story as the above post. Machine is JUNK! Anatol sucks with customer service after you purchase your machine. Haven't heard from or seen our salesman since we purchased the machine in November! Have spoken to just about everyone at that company with no satisfaction. Now threatening legal action. Machine has not worked for a consecutive 2 weeks since we got it! Not to mention it sat on our loading dock for 3 weeks before my local rep. contacted someone he knew to install it. Absolutely no training as was promised and tech spent 5 days here after it was set up trying to get it to work properly! Save yourself and buy something else!

 

I have the same situation. Have not received a straight answer from anatol since the day I committed to it. Delivery was about 2 months later then planned. Machine has never ran like it was supposed to and has continually gotten worse to the point of not even worth it to turn it on anymore. Finally got a service rep to come and he couldn't fix it. Engineer was supposed to be here today, but now that is delayed also. Couldn't be more frustrated with my purchase at this point....

 

Well, we have one being delivered today so fingers are crossed here. So far our interactions with Anatol have been very positive.

 

Sorry, I totally forgot to follow up here. After quite a bit of frustration as mentioned earlier, the technician did come out and fix the problem. It was a loose wire that was causing alot of the problems. Since then it has run great for us. Using it daily and production is smooth again!!

 

I am SOOOO glad to hear that! The truck should be pulling up any minute now and I'm getting anxious

 

Hi Kristen

At your convenience, I'd love to hear what your experience has been since the press arrived.

Happy trails!

 

Installation was not what we were hoping for. Although the machine is installed and running mostly smoothly, the installer took some of the wind out of our sails -- he was not a great communicator. I equate it with thinking you're going to Disney only to find out you're going to the traveling carnival in the mall parking lot We were very happy that we'd taken the opportunity to travel to Chicago and meet several folks at Anatol - if it weren't for that, installation would have left us with a very different impression of the company!

Since installation, we've only had one glitch with a proximity sensor error but Matt at Anatol walked me through what to do (very simple) and explained they whys and why-fors which was nice. He also called back later in the day to make sure we were still good. We had another head doing the same thing yesterday but now I know what to do.

We've been testing all our inks on different shirt materials to get the hang of it. Overall we are very pleased with our purchase and would recommend the Titan. Someone earlier had mentioned that choosing this press would prevent one from landing any "serious jobs" but I think that's just one person's idea of what "serious" means. For us a run of 500 is serious and 1000 would be huge

 

I want to chime in with my experience. I bought our Titan 8/7 in Nov 2011 and had it delivered and running the end of Feb 2012. I have had a few issues with the machine - only 1 resulted in a total failure. Turned out to be a sensor that was easily to replace. I was down for a total of 1 day. I have also experienced a few minor issues like air leaks in toggle switches and a leaking piston on one of the print heads. All were resolved by a simple call to tech support - they were happy to send me replacement parts for anything that seemed "suspect" and talk me through replacing them. They also followed up a few days later to make sure that I was still up and running. Although having mechanical problems with a new machine is frustrating, I am satisfied with the company's response to my issues.

Would I buy the Titan again? Absolutely. It's a great press at the right size and price for me. Mine runs all day, 5 days a week. Have I been frustrated with Anatol? Absolutely. I think they have a few things to learn in how they communicate and deal with their customers. It seems to me that they are improving in this area???

Don't misunderstand my post, I'm not arguing for or against the Titan or Anatol. I'm simply sharing my experience. I'm a self-taught screen printer and value the information on this forum so any chance I can share some usable info I try to do so.

 

Kristen and Merc

I appreciate the time you both took to reply, and fully agree that Anatol makes very good equipment for a reasonable cost and that their support network is much improved after recent bumps in the road.
We saw all manufacturers go through some tough times over the last few recessionary years.
Just like the automobile industry, dealership and distribution is a key link in customer satisfaction after purchase.
Anatol is in the process of refining its distribution network to better serve the needs of all their current and future customers.

Happy trails!

 

I have an anatol titan 6/5 rather print by hand then use this.
First never really trained properly, 2ND Clean up and set up is twice as long.
3RD Print is never as good as i can do by hand. 4TH Went direct thru anatol
and bought machine and now service won't respond because we didn't go thru them. If anyone has a good reponse with using titan please let me know.
i would pay to have a little knowledge.

 

Sorry to hear that! We didn't get a ton of training but just kept plugging away at it. Now we just love it. I don't feel like the clean up takes longer now that we have it down to a science. And as far as print quality, we've learned how to adjust everything and get consistent solid printing. Feel free to PM me with your phone and I'll give you a call.

 

I would like to add a comment on this is issue. I just purchased a titan 8 7 from these guys and my sales man Mike has done nothing but helpful I went Friday to their place up by Chicago and picked it up, I gave mike my budget and he made it happen and I had my press, dryer and flash in 2 weeks it don't matter where you buy from their will be something you don't like about a company or a person but I would 100% recommend Anatol. If you have any issues with your sales person or warranty contact mike T at the lake bluff office.

 

I have a couple questions can you please help me with squeegee pressure and angle I printed hoodies today and cant it to come out right it had holes in the design the more I hit it the worse it was I do a lot of race designs with half tones can you help me here thanks In advance

 

I know this is a old thread, But. Whenever I print Hoodies or sweatshirts. I run them down the dryer first to "pre-shrink" them.
Hope this helps.

 

Also, Are you still happy with the Anitol press & service.
We have 3 M&R 6/8 Sportsman's and 2 Lawson Trooper 1 color autos.
Anitol has quoted us on a 12/10 all servo driven press W/4 Quarts Flashes and a Gas Dryer.
A BIG saving over the M&R's
Any Thoughts?
Thanks.