posted
Yup, folks, I use a used 4-B! (Linked to a regular computer...are you kidding?) It's a dinosaur; it's loud, slow, and likes to eat vinyl (preferably expen$ive stuff). While using mine today, I noticed that the third button from the right on the top row looks just like my face! Just thought I'd share that! Love-Jill
------------------ Jill M. Welsh
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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I would use my 4B if I could find a darn stepper motor for it...
------------------ Pat Neve, Jr. Sign Man, Inc. 4580 N. US 1 Melbourne, FL 32935 321-259-1703 signman@signmaninc.com Capt. Sign Letterville Constituent constituent: "One of the individual entities contributing to a whole"
Posts: 2284 | From: Melbourne, FL, USA | Registered: Jan 1999
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Mark Fair how in the world did you come up with that and post it in just 13 minutes? Your demented mind never ceases to amaze. BTW, kin I borry that thur pea sheller come June?
------------------ Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454 PH. (504)386-3313 casey@i-55.com
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist.
Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Mark, now that I see that photo of Goober, maybe I do look more like him! After all, I do live in Butler County! (I'd much rather look like him than "Ain't Bea" anyway.She always gave me the creeps) Nevman, didja try contacting Advantage Sign Supply? I think they have an 800# somewhere. That's where I purchased my refurbished 4B, and I'm sure they'd love to schmooze ya into buying something off of them! Love- Jill
------------------ Jill M. Welsh
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Bought a IV -B in around 1989. Cost me around $22,000 Cnd..on a lease contract for 3 years....After the fact I sold the old blue horse for $5000.00 Made some money with it but still put out to much for a pounce and lettering machine... Wish todays machines would pounce! But that really isn't an option with most friction feeds..... Hang on to the old hammer as you never know when you need a backup...or an Anchor...
LOL Raven/2001
------------------ Raven/2000 Airbrushed by Raven Lower sackville N.S. deveausdiscovery@sprint.ca
Posts: 4327 | From: Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000
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Hey Jill, Yup, I use a 4b hooked up to my PC. The way i see it is if ain't broke don't fix it! works fine for me! ( would like a bigger plotter also) Raychel Lexington Signs
------------------
Posts: 13 | From: Arlington, Ma USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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We're still workin' the 'ol horse as we speak! Been pluggin' away fer us for nearly a decade or so, and we bought it used! ($5,000) It was only a year ago that we hooked the babe up to the PC. Can't imagine going back to the old way of plotting, if the PC goes down, hope I can remember those X and Y movements again.
Sometime this year, we're looking forward to bringing in a companion for the Gerber, then I guess we'll really be 'uptown'! Then it'll collect dust as a back up and if all else fails, it'll be an anchor.
Cher.
------------------ Cheryl Lucas a/k/a "Shag" on MIRC Vital Signs & Graphics, Etc. Cape Coral, Florida VSignsNgraphics@aol.com
Posts: 987 | From: Cape Coral, FL USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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Yep, got my IVB in 1984 and it is still running today - has never been repaired or needed anything other than blades. Original cost was $10,000 and the supplier threw in a bunch of fonts and some vinyl. There is no telling how many miles of vinyl that old workhorse has spit out.
In '84 it was amazing to just sit and watch it run. Now it seems like it is dragging its tail. My, how times change.
------------------ Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas rchapman@vvm.com
Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I ran my first shop in 1990 with a used 4b with 6 fonts installed! my old partner has been using it to make signs in his spare time ever since, he just linked it to a pc last month, probably about 15 years old now, damn that plotter has to be the best ever made, never been serviced! Anybody got any friction feed plotter that old?
------------------ -------------------------------------------------- "A wise man once said that, or was it a wise guy?"
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Yes, I admit it. I Bought it used for $5500 in '87. It's only broke down once, that was in '88. Since I print most real small or complex stuff on the Edge now, its taken a load off the 4b. Whenever I think of getting a faster cutter, I think of something else I'd rather spend the money on, like a vacation.
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Admit to it? or BRAG to it? BEST dang pattern pouncer ever made!With as much wall lettering as I do,the better the pattern,the better the job looks.As far as speed is concerned:I can only weed so fast! Hope this helps.
------------------ PKing is Pat King of King Sign Design in McCalla,Alabama The Professor of SIGNOLOGY
Posts: 3113 | From: Pompano Beach, FL. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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There oughta be a HEART Icon on this Bullboard! I bought my 4B in 1994 about 2 months after opening my shop....it was my first and only plotter--paid $2100.00 for that baby, plus the freight. I hooked it to my comp for the first time in 96 or 97 and man did it change my world!!!
I have been through 4 comps since then....
Barry
------------------ Master's Touch Signs & Screenprinting Clinton AR 5017456246 ICQ 17430008 "Imagine the Possibilities..."
Posts: 2500 | From: Clinton, AR USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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They have a IVB out at the Air Force base where I used to work. Just imagine 100's of users over the past 12 years. The thing has never quit. It looks like HELL. No-one gives a dam, just cut what I need dammit! I was looking for a IVB, (because it is such a tank), before I bought my Ioline last summer. I just can't believe how much abuse that think can take, but, NOTHING, is G.I. proof. hehehe.
------------------ Steve Barba is the proud owner, president, & sole employee of Sturgis Sign Works. 209 Oak Drive Sturgis SD 57785 sbarba2616@dtgnet.com 605-720-7667
Posts: 768 | From: Sturgis South Dakota | Registered: Nov 1998
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Yes, I still have my 4B. It still cuts the contours on the Edge printed stickers we make.
I Also have a Gerber Odyssey 52" plotter....which cuts 27 times faster than the Singmaker 4B in PEN MODE!
Think of that...the 4B running constantly for 27 hours would only take Odyssey 1 hour to cut the same amount of vinyl!
So how comes I aint getten rich and the days are still 12 hours long?
WOW...TIMES SURE HAVE CHANGED!
------------------ Draper The Signmaker Bloomington Illinois USA Stop in and visit a while! 309-828-7110 signman@davesworld.net Raptorman or Draper_Dave on mIRC chat
[This message has been edited by Dave Draper (edited February 21, 2001).]
Posts: 2883 | From: Bloomington Illinois USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I still have two and one works everyday including Edge prints. The only plotter we use and reliable, speed is not an issue as I try to work smarter and not faster for volume.
------------------ Kent Smith Smith Sign Studio Greeley, Colorado, USA kent@smithsignstudio.com
Posts: 1025 | From: Estes Park, CO | Registered: Nov 1998
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I got to agree it was a real work horse of a machine. With the graphtec I have now is much better, but does not do patterns. I wish I did'nt give that 4b away (1,000) to a friend who finally wanted to go high tech. This was just last year. I could have used a real reliable pattern maker for wall jobs I painted over the past year. I'm looking at Ioline's latest plotter that does pouncing as well as other things, making it more for the buck. Got to admit, Gerber's inovative invention pretty much changed the way signs are done these days.
I can remember 20 years ago, while bing an apprentice, a seasoned sign painter suggested to us novice learners of the trade, to seriousely reconcider looking into another career besides sign painting. Though he may seemed to have been a prophet, what little did he know was that the machine he mentioned became an essential tool to the sign industry.
Glenn Dezion signs alaloa st. m5 kaneohe, hi. 96744
------------------ de signs
Posts: 84 | From: Kaneohe, Hawaii | Registered: Dec 2000
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Well I have a 4A with the sliding bar counterweight! I don't use it at present, I bought a Summa three years ago but the old Gerber went faithfully for 15 years. I paid $16000 Aus. for it, which was a fortune at the time but it paid for itself many times over. I hooked it up to a PC too, which meant no more paying a fortune for fonts, it certainly did change things.
------------------ Gray Hodge Cam River Signs Somerset, Tasmania.
Yes, Jill it is the first and last plotter I have ever used, the first time in 1981 when they came out, I think it ran about 10 or 15K. I got mine in 1992 or thereabouts for 3900. It was refurbished, great machine and all they say about them is true. I do however,need to buy a different brand to run other software than gerber, but I probably won't ever give mine up. Good when the computers go down for the few fonts I use, it gets me by! And then, there's the brush, If anyone ever wants to sell them, I think it best to sell them for cash, because a trade-in may not seem to give you your value. Sell it to a letterhead, if you do! I know shops that still have them even though they have the top of the line equipment also. Nickname,"my workhorse!" It has NEVER let me down in nine years, no repairs! signed, Deb ps. it's kind of a personal thing to know other 4B owners!
------------------ Deb Creative Signs
Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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Add me to the list. But, like Gray, mine's a 4A. We put in a board to interface with our Mac about 9-10 years ago and used it regularly until about 1-1/2 years ago. We still have it, and it gets dragged into operation every once in a while...last time was just a few months ago. Like the others said, no downtime, no repairs needed. Great machine. Ours will be 17 years old next week.
------------------ Diane Crowther, Metaline Graphics Ltd., Nova Scotia, Canada, ID #285
posted
I had a 4b for 10years, traded it for a sprint, which is just about the same thing, except instead of the window in the machine you got a monitor, I still use it, though with a lmk module and a signlab fast board, it works a lot quicker than the 4b, but the basic plotter is the same old workhorse. I keep it polished with silicone spray, and wd 40 for the glue buildup. I hope it keeps on working another ten years. It now cuts my edge cuts. Bill
------------------ Bill & Barbara Biggs Art's Sign Service, Inc. Clute, Texas, USA Home of The Great Texas Mosquito Festival Proud Third year Supporter of the Letterheads Website MailTo:twobeesusa@netscape.net
Posts: 1020 | From: Lake Jackson,Tx | Registered: Nov 1998
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Jill.. I'll admit to it! I used a Gerber 4B. I bought it used from local sign company for $3150 in 1994. Used it for a little over a year...and then bought SignLab,PC,fastboard(to make 4B work as my plotter),and all the works. Sold the 4B to a neon manufacturer for $3000 in 1996 then bought my present 24" Mimaki plotter. Judy
------------------ Judy Pate Signs By Judy 110 LuMac Road Albany,Ga 31701 229-435-6824 Letterville is my HOME! Life is like a canvas...you do the painting.
posted
Hell ya, I own one, admit to using it and won't part with it either.
The good ole 4B was my first plotter in 95, Bought a s750 in 97 for 30" cutting, In 99 bought a high speed graphtec. Nothing beets the reliability and precision of the ole Gerber.
Now it cuts edge prints, and second colors on jobs, along with masking and pounce patterns.
Friction plotter companies missied the boat on pounce patterns. My wife could make one faster on her singer sewing machine faster than my graphtec, ( funny the graphtec pounces just like the singer sews )
I love my blue bomb & I'm saving mine for the smithsonian.
------------------ Bob Rochon Creative Signworks Millbury, MA bob@creativesignworks.com
"Some people's kids"
Posts: 5149 | From: Millbury, Mass. U.S. | Registered: Nov 1998
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Did anyone of you ever notice, (you may think I am losing my mind but....
when making large curves on the Gerber 4B, there is a sound that is a musical tune. It is really something! Have you ever heard that? It is really a beautiful melody! Deb
------------------ Deb Creative Signs
Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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i am a one-man shop and i don't need a "mochine" that can spit out more than i can weed. (and no... i don't operate my signshop from a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!!!!!
i use my "4 aunt B" as a vinyl cutter and a pattern and mask maker. regardless of technology, one must have a sense of good design.
i am a "Gerber Baby"
(makes a lotta racket, but it sounds like money to me!)
posted
I have a 4A that I would love to "be" a 4B. Does anybody have info on if that is possible? I put a new cadlink card in it for some speed upgrade, but still not as fast and accurate I dont think as the 4b.
Just bought a graphtec, and am considering selling this unit. Do you all keep your old blue beast really? as backup? because it is not really gonna bring any cash? This was my first machine, and paid for itself rather quickly. I love this business and love this group! I am hoping to make the OKla City letterhead meet coming up. Thanks again...
------------------ Toby Terry Xtreme GraphiX 9011 E. 94Th Street Tulsa, OK 74133 Xtreme@XtgraphiX.Com 918-461-2322
"If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all." - Michelangelo
Posts: 58 | From: Bixby, OK | Registered: Dec 1999
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Yup, I'm still using my 4B purchased new in '85, has a million miles on it - sure wish I knew how many! Have hooked up to PC along with my Graphtec 4100 30" and run both at same time. Still run 4B couple times a week. Only have had to replace fan and a gear which we did over phone with Gerber people in Conn. Wouldn't get rid of it for anything. Mike Meyer shamed me into Graphtec after using his 4A for a step at Mazeppa Letterheads. (I couldn't step on it for the life of me)
------------------ Colleen Henderson Signs Now, Thunder Bay, ON signsnow@tbaytel.net
Posts: 140 | From: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada | Registered: Jun 1999
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I bought mine in 1995, after seven years in business hand-lettering damn near everything, and I don't know why I waited that long! Now it's tied into the PC on Gerber GA software. Unlike most of them though, mine DID break down; I had to replace a motherboard two years ago.
I think I heard that Gerber is not making any more 4b's. Does anyone know how many were produced over its lifespan?
------------------ "A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson)
Cam Finest Kind Signs 256 S. Broad St. Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379 "Award winning Signs since 1988"
Posts: 3051 | From: Pawcatuck,Connecticut USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Now that you all have reminded me, my mothballed machine is a IVa and the one in use is a IVb. The LMK won't work in the A so I keep it for parts as Gerber may give it up someday. I have talked to them recently though and they have all the parts and can still upgrade an A to a B I think for around $450. Also have to admit that I got a new fan last month as the old one was not singing in tune with the Theta belt and smoetimes would stop altogether. Not bad for 16 years.
------------------ Kent Smith Smith Sign Studio Greeley, Colorado, USA kent@smithsignstudio.com
Posts: 1025 | From: Estes Park, CO | Registered: Nov 1998
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While looking for the post of the time and place of the fire hall meet in Indiana, I found this post and it triggered some questions. I use 2 4B's everyday (along with my Roland)and was wondering if I can make changes so tha tI don't have to use Omega. Also how do you guys get your 4B's to cut Edge graphics? (can you tell I don't know anything about Edge's?)
------------------ Laura Butler Vision Graphics and Sign 560 Oak St. Lapeer, Mi 48446 810-664-3812 visiongraphics@tir.com
"Anything thats comes from my shop, comes from the right brain."
Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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I just sent an Edge job to the IVb. Because it has stepper motors, it is real easy to align the target by lightly tapping the arrow keys.I haven't had a problem or miscut yet and I have one of the very first Edge printers.
------------------ Kent Smith Smith Sign Studio Greeley, Colorado, USA kent@smithsignstudio.com
Posts: 1025 | From: Estes Park, CO | Registered: Nov 1998
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I'm pointing the monitor at my 4b so you can see for yourself what a little money-maker it is! Bought used in '87...hooked up the cadlink fastboard in'93. Got the racer blade a few years back. Had to replace the wiring harnass to the plotter a couple years ago and the little plastic chain that turns the blade holder but that's been it. If it ever dies I'll buy another one and use this one for a step like Mike Meyer has at his place!
------------------ John Byrd Ball Ground Georgia
so happy I gotta sit on both my hands to keep from wavin' at everybody!
[This message has been edited by John Byrd (edited March 18, 2001).]
Posts: 741 | From: Ball Ground, Georgia, USA | Registered: May 1999
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