I’d Like to Buy a Photo Etching Machine, Please

KS:  Hi. My name is Kathy. How can I help you?

EE (Ethan the Etcher):  Ah, hi. I’m Ethan and I would like to buy an etching machine.

KS:  Sure…let me start an order sheet for you. Where is the etching machine to be delivered?

EE: I’d like to put it in my basement.

KS:  How big is your basement?

EE:  It’s pretty good size.

KS:  Has the other equipment been installed yet?

EE:  What other equipment?

KS:  Do you have a cleaning line?

EE:  Uh, no.

KS:  How about a laminator?

EE:  Nope.

KS:  Exposure unit?

EE:  No.

KS:  Developer?

EE:  No.

KS:  Stripping line?

EE:  No?

KS:  Water de-ionizing system?

EE:  Huh?

KS:  Waste treatment system?

EE:  Uh, no. What’s that for?

KS:  It’s okay, Ethan. We can fix you up.

EE:  Oh, good…

KS:  Okay, I’ve got you down for all the other equipment. Let’s talk about the etching machine itself. How many chambers do you need?

EE:  Chambers?

KS:  Your choices are 1, 2, or 3.

EE:  I don’t know what that means.

KS:  How much etching are you going to do, Ethan?

EE:  I don’t know yet.

KS:  If it’s fewer than 50 sheets per day, a single chamber should be plenty.

EE:  Okay, that sounds good.

KS:  Do you have your contractors lined up?

EE:  Contractors for what?

KS:  Electrician, Plumber, HVAC…

EE:  Not yet…

KS:  Okay, tell the electrician that you are going to need 600 amps of 440 3-phase.

EE:  I have 200 amp service.

KS:  I bet it’s not 440 3-phase. That’s how much electricity you are going to need.

EE:  That sounds like a lot.

KS:  It is. Tell the plumber it’s a PVC only installation.

EE:  Okay. Why?

KS:  Because the etching solution will eat the plumbing if it is metal.

EE:  Oh, yeah. I forgot.

KS:  Tell the HVAC guy that you are going to need 400 square feet of safe-light Class 1000 clean room for laminating, printing and developing. How big did you say your basement is?

EE:  How much room do you think I’m going to need?

KS:    Well, a 2-car garage is usually around 600 square feet, so 8, maybe 9 garages…

EE:  That’s way bigger than my basement. I’ll have to find another space.

KS:  What about your permits?  They probably won’t let you transfer them to another location.

EE:  What permits?

KS:  Planning and zoning, inland wetlands, department of environmental protection…And, who knows what else your state might require.

EE: Oh! How long does that take?

KS: Um, Ethan…There’s a reason why there are only 100 etching companies in the country. This process can take years and cost untold amounts of money.

EE: Oh, wow. I had no idea.

KS:  Ethan, there’s an easier way.

EE:  Boy, I hope so. I had no idea that buying an etching machine would be this big of a deal. So, what’s the easier way?

KS:  Let us do your photo etching. We already have all this stuff. We’ve been doing this for more than fifty years.

EE: So, you don’t think I should buy an etching machine…

KS: Ethan, as much fun as it would be for me personally to sell you nearly $500,000 in equipment…no, I don’t think you should buy this set up.

EE: Um…you may be right. So, if you do my photo etching, how much does it cost?

KS:  It’s usually less than $200 per sheet for 2 or more sheets at a time.

EE: Cool!  That’s really reasonable.