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Thanks to all who responded. Here is the original request with comments following: Your comments would be very helpful. I have some teachers interested in purchasing a poster printer. I got the general machine cost and paper cost information, but they are also asking about comparative models and whether others were satisfied with this equipment. They also were curious about how to handle use such as who monitors the use and who decides what can be made into a poster. Thanks for any info and I'll post a HIT is anyone requests it. Our curriculum director purchased two poster machines and two cold laminators last year to be housed in 2 of our 4 buildings. Guess who gets to make the posters? The library staff! But we do have the best places to secure these machines and their materials and keep track of who can use and who can't. I created a request form and gave it to all the building principals for their teachers and then those forms come to me or the other library staff to fulfill. We have restrictions on these posters as they were purchased by some Title money and must be proven to have positive impact on classroom instruction. So far, the load has been within our means to handle. We had a company come to our school recently and we are looking into it. The only thing is that it doesn't make the image into many colors. It will make the image into blue tone, red tone, grey tone,etc. We have a Varitronics ProImage Image Plus Poster maker. We have had it probably about 5 yrs. The machines themselves don't have many problems at all. You can purchase a computer interface with them so you can use Print Shop and then make long banners. The poster paper comes in 2 types. One that can be "hot" laminated - $79.95 per roll and one that can be "cold" laminated (another machine to purchase) - $119.95 per roll. Remember you have to purchase 2. This is the expensive part. We tell teachers that the cold laminator is only to be used with the poster maker, not anything they want to laminate just be cause it is fast. We don't limit it or decide what gets made into a poster. A number of teachers use it for rules, schedules, etc.. Things that are displayed`all year. I wish there was another company (3M) who would make the cold laminating film. Who ever makes it seems to have a monopoly on this item. Hence the high price. The paper is available in a variety of colors, some that are a color with white, and some that is a color with black. Pretty neat. The poster maker is 30 1/2" wide. The cold laminator is a little less, but has a feed tray which sticks out, and the whole thing is HEAVY. They will take up space in a workroom. The paper and laminating film come out of the school general budget. Our high school makes the various department purchase the rolls of poster paper out of their individual budgets and each box is labeled in the library, or they bring it with them. In my middle school library we have a ProImage Plus 3000 by Varitronics. Only 2 people are allowed to use it - me and the library assistant. It would be our call if we thought something was inappropriate use of school property. I ask teachers to submit what they want a poster of on an eight and a half by eleven sheet of paper. We haven't even tried using the designing software. We are looking in to purchasing a poster printer for our high school and middle school too (we're in Hanover County near Richmond). Anyway, the rep came out last week and met with us -- he says that they're sole source. No comparable machines! Also, he suggested that departments purchase their own paper and bring it with them when they come to run posters. Apparently, it's REALLY simply to switch out the paper. That way the usage can be monitored by departments and shared equitably among the staff. We bought our s from a company called presentation systems. They will give you information on at least comparable prices for buying the supplies. Their phone number is 18002446381 or 1-201-847-8831 or 1-201-445-7835. They did not have a state contract so we needed three quotes the first time which they supplied. Brenda - Posters don't have to be laminated. It just makes them easier to hang. The cold lamination is a thicker film than hot, and a number of people use it simply because they will be using that poster for a long while. About 99% of our posters are laminated, Maybe because we do have the laminator and that is how it was demonstrated. Both our machines were purchased at the same time. You do have to purchase the more expensive film - Transfer thermal Plus if you want to run it through the hot laminator. I just opened a new pkg. of film and on the end was a web-address: www.varitronicsytems.com which goes directly to their site: however, I mistakenly made the company name plural www.varitronicssytems.com and was given a lot of different sites that sell these products at a cheaper price. You can purchase larger machines and use wider paper and have a larger poster. Ours uses 23" paper. Yeah!!! I'm learning something all the time. Between the two you should get a lot of information. We purchased a Pro Image Plus 3000 poster printer from Signature Presentation Products in Bethesda, Md. last spring for $3,495. We are happy with it. If you are going to VEMA in Williamsburg, they may be there. A rep was present last year in Roanoke. It only makes one color at a time on a poster. There are several models, this is the least expensive. Brenda Stafford, Media Specialist Deep Creek High School Chesapeake, VA staffbha@cox.net -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html --------------------------------------------------------------------