Resurfacing and repair machines

[Brenner-Bladek, Suellen]

Hi Everyone,

 

We are planning to purchase a new resurfacing machine here at BPL and would like some collective feedback prior to doing so. What brand/type of Resurfacing / Disc Repair machine do you currently have and are you happy with the results?

 

Please copy Cheri on your reply, she’s helping me to compile the results.

 

Thanks very much!

 

Suellen

 

Suellen Brenner-Bladek

Boulder Public Library

303-441-4112

 

[Hien Nguyen]

Hello Everyone,

 

I'm going to refer this inquiry to DPL's Collection Development Dept., specifically to Jeff Christoffersen who is very knowledgeable in the area and handles disc resurfacing for us.  His contact is: jch...@denverlibrary.org / 720-865-1107.

 

Hien Nguyen

Senior Supervisor

DPL, Books and Borrowing

>>> "Brenner-Bladek, Suellen" <Brenner...@boulderlibrary.org> 3/25/2013 5:26 PM >>>

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[Challis, Phillip]

Suellen and Cheri,

 

I spoke with the System Support staff here at the Aurora Public Library and Christine Tomlinson tells me that we’ve currently got two Venmills – a VMI 3500 (purchased about 2006) and a VMI 3500a (just purchased in February 2013).   The Venmill has been extremely reliable for us.  We purchased the VMI 3500a for approx $1500.  A set of pads cost approx. $150 and generally need changed once a year (depends on usage).  We buff approx. 100 discs a week.  The buffing machines are very easy to use – no distilled water, no hoses, no mess.  The most difficult thing about it is changing the pads because it takes a bit of effort to tighten them, but that’s about it.  We also vacuum them out every 2 -3 months or so (again, depends on usage). We have a local sales/service person that we call to come out if we need assistance – Ron Gavito (303-426-8567 or email:  r...@bestdiscrepair-mvt.com).  We haven’t had to have any repairs in recent memory – at most Christine has called Ron out on occasion to have him help her with the buffing pads.

 

When researching and comparing disc repair units, Christine visited the Jeffco Public Library Branch in Parker for a demo of their RTI Eco Disc Repair Unit.  She took along various scratched discs (DVDs/CDs) for comparison purposes.  

 

Christine also says that she would be more than happy to extend an invitation to anyone in the group who would like to come and see a demo of the Venmill machines we have.

 

Just let me know.

 

Thanks,

 

 

Phillip Challis, Circulation/Courier Supervisor – Central Library

City of Aurora, Department of Library & Cultural Services

14949 E. Alameda Pkwy. Aurora, CO 80012

www.auroralibrary.org; www.auroragov.org; pcha...@auroragov.org; facebook.com/auroralibrary; twitter.com/APLReadingRocks

office: 303-739-6631; fax 303-739-6569

 

[Hien Nguyen]

Hi Everyone,

 

Wanted to pass along Jeff Christoffersen's info. below in case anyone other than Boulder might be interested.  Thanks, Hien

 

****************************************

 

Hi folks, glad to help with any questions about disc refinishing.

 

In 2004 we bought a refinishing machine from RTI ( Research Technology International, www.rtico.com ), the leading manufacturer in disc related equipment. It was an Eco-Master, that can load up to 50 discs at a time. Each disc takes about 4-5 minutes to polish, so in essence the machine can refinish approximately 60-100 discs per day (100 being optimum, but impossible to obtain without a dedicated team). RTI has a couple of other models to choose from, but they are one-disc-at-a-time polishers and not applicable to large libraries or high volume collections. They do make an industrial sized machine (500 discs per day), but it is priced at nearly forty thousand dollars.

 

We bought another Eco-Master in 2009 (2nd generation), and between the two machines we are averaging about 18,000 discs polished per year.

 

Library Journal and Recorded Books rated the Eco-Master as the best refinishing machine (although there are only a couple of other companies competing in this niche area). I've tested a couple of other machines and they were decidedly inferior.

 

Here's the good: 

 

Eco-Master's are relatively easy to operate, and discs are polished very smooth and with very little soap residue (there is no hand wiping necessary. They also sell sanding pads specifically for double-sided discs, so you can polish both sides with only minor rubbing on the donut label.  Standard dvd's and cd's can be polished up to 7 times before data is disrupted. 

 

The 2nd generation machine does polish blu-ray's, but in reality it merely buffs the playing side with a soft cotton pad, and does not actually sand the polycarbonite layer at all (thankfully blu-ray discs are much more resistant to scratches because of their "hardcoat" finish, and in the long run may actually be better for library usage than standard discs).

 

Here's the bad:

 

Eco-Masters are expensive. They sell for about 18 grand.  Each pad, and there are 4 pads that are in constant use, have to be replaced every other day, and each pad costs about $3.50-5.00 each. There's also specific soap and liquids that are used, and the consumable costs on those add up. Parts are also expensive, and your machine will need some new parts after a few years of constant use (NOTE*, our 2nd generation machine has been performing flawlessly for more than 3 years now without a major breakdown-- which is considerably better than the 1st generation machine which had every major part on it replaced by the third year of use). We spend about 2-4 thousand dollars each year on consumables and parts, but we did polish 18,000 discs within that cost factor. That is several thousand titles that were saved from deletion.

 

About twice a week, or every other day, maintenance must be performed, ie., pad changing, water tank refilling, general wipe-down and excessive soap-residue cleanup. A gallon of distilled water must be used to fill tank per each maintenance, so stock up on gallon jugs (water is cheap, less than a dollar per gallon).

 

Replacing parts is not too difficult. The technicians at RTI will assist over the phone, and most parts can be snapped into place with little fuss, including motors and other moving parts. Almost anybody can learn how to do this, especially with the technicians help over the phone. 

 

Final analysis:

 

I haven't really done a cost analysis on what we are spending versus what we are gaining, but without the disc machine we would have had to discard literally thousands of items (or titles) from our media collection.

 

I hope this information can help you with your decision making. Please feel free to call me if you require more specifics. 

 

Have a great rest of the week!

 

 

 

Jeff Christoffersen

Collection Development

Denver Public Library

720-865-1107  

720-865-1581 - Fax

jch...@denverlibrary.org

 

 

>>> "Brenner-Bladek, Suellen" <Brenner...@boulderlibrary.org> 3/25/2013 5:26 PM >>>

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[Marianne Aldrich]

Hi Suellen, Cheri, and all,

 

Here at Colorado College, the campus AV dept does all the repairing (my officemate has a little cheapo cleaner for things that are just supersmudged).    The machine they use, an Azuradisc 1600 model, really does *repair* scratches - it can handle large amounts of scratching to the bottom (playing) side of the disk -  but it isn't really good for damage to the top side of the disk.  (See http://azuradisc.com/) The resurfacer they use costs between $1200-1500 depending on the model, they have had it for several years and have not needed to replace anything, but they do need to buy the "goop" which it uses on a consumable basis - our AV guy said this goop costs about $40 for enough to resurface about 200 disks.  There are other models that work in different ways (eg with "consumables kits" or whatever) and the Azuradisc people also have an outsourced disk repair service - since we work on a block plan, quick return is at a premium, and that wasn't an option for us.  Our AV guy says that while there is a bit of a learning curve, it's not all that hard to use - their student workers are often the ones running the machine.  They think it's great, and by charging a couple of bucks a disc to the library, departments, and individual members of the college, they recoup their consumable costs.

 

From the library's perspective: we agree that it is great!  We pay them 2 dollars a disc, and the discs undergoing heavy or near constant use (100s of circs in some cases) get replaced about 1/4 or less as often as they used to.  We do watch every film when it comes back (well, "watch" while doing other things), and so I can confidently say that 90 percent of the time or so, the 2 dollar repair works, and the rest of the time, well, we repurchase the disc at a tiny extra cost of $2 more than we would’ve paid anyway.  We have been especially grateful when this machine has saved some veerrrrry expensive documentaries in the $100-200 dollar range :) 

 

I would definitely recommend it.

 

Thanks, and if you have more specific questions, let me know - the AV person I spoke to would be happy to answer 'em.


Hope this helps!
Marianne Aldrich
Tutt Library

[Jane Martel]

From our Library Material Services Manager:

“We have the Fully Automatic Eco Auto Smart (three of them):

 

http://www.discchek.com/

 

The results are great, and the machine is easy to use once you learn how it works. We have had staff and volunteers using the machines for several years, and the only complaint I would have is that the supplies are fairly expensive and that this particular machine only repairs one disc at a time, so it is a pretty time consuming process. Otherwise we really like it!”

 

 

Jane Martel
Customer Service Coordinator
Arapahoe Library District
303-792-8922

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[Erin Pepmeyer]

Hi, Suellen –

 

This  information is from Brandi Bales, who does most of the work with our machines:

We buy the Ecomaster disc cleaning machine.  Our rep is Jeff Kao 1-800-323-7520 ext 348.  They are about  $16,0000 each.  We are very happy with our disc cleaning machines.  They are real work horses.  You will need to have someone mechanically oriented to keep the machines in good working order.  I repair and maintain our 3 disc cleaning machines.

 

 

It does 50 discs at a time, and we keep them running 8hrs/day, 5 days/wk.

Erin Pepmeyer
Head of Circulation - Arvada Library
Jefferson County Public Library
7525 W 57th Ave
Arvada CO 80002
phone: 303.403.5388
fax: 303.403.5395
email: Erin.P...@jeffcolibrary.org

Find us on the Web at: www.jeffcolibrary.org

 

 

From: cl...@googlegroups.com [mailto:cl...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Jane Martel
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2013 8:02 AM
To: 'cl...@googlegroups.com'
Cc: 'Aasmun...@boulderlibrary.org'
Subject: RE: Resurfacing and repair machines

 

From our Library Material Services Manager:

[Gayle Yeo]

Hi Suellen and Cheri,

At Broomfield, we use the same Venmill that Aurora has. We've had it for about four years, and it's pretty amazing how well it works. All of the circulation clerks are trained to use this machine when needed, and I even have one volunteer who comes in once a week for a couple of hours who goes through what's out on the shelves.

It has the option for a simple clean versus a deep buff for heavier scratches. If you'd like to take a look at it yourself, stop by and I'll show you!

Gayle

Gayle Yeo
Manager of Circulation Services
Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public Library
City and County of Broomfield
720-887-2306
________________________________________
From: cl...@googlegroups.com [cl...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Challis, Phillip [pcha...@auroragov.org]
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 12:22 PM

To: 'cl...@googlegroups.com'
Cc: 'Aasmun...@boulderlibrary.org'
Subject: RE: Resurfacing and repair machines

Suellen and Cheri,

I spoke with the System Support staff here at the Aurora Public Library and Christine Tomlinson tells me that we’ve currently got two Venmills – a VMI 3500 (purchased about 2006) and a VMI 3500a (just purchased in February 2013). The Venmill has been extremely reliable for us. We purchased the VMI 3500a for approx $1500. A set of pads cost approx. $150 and generally need changed once a year (depends on usage). We buff approx. 100 discs a week. The buffing machines are very easy to use – no distilled water, no hoses, no mess. The most difficult thing about it is changing the pads because it takes a bit of effort to tighten them, but that’s about it. We also vacuum them out every 2 -3 months or so (again, depends on usage). We have a local sales/service person that we call to come out if we need assistance – Ron Gavito (303-426-8567 or email: r...@bestdiscrepair-mvt.com<mailto:r...@bestdiscrepair-mvt.com>). We haven’t had to have any repairs in recent memory – at most Christine has called Ron out on occasion to have him help her with the buffing pads.

When researching and comparing disc repair units, Christine visited the Jeffco Public Library Branch in Parker for a demo of their RTI Eco Disc Repair Unit. She took along various scratched discs (DVDs/CDs) for comparison purposes.

Christine also says that she would be more than happy to extend an invitation to anyone in the group who would like to come and see a demo of the Venmill machines we have.

Just let me know.

Thanks,


Phillip Challis, Circulation/Courier Supervisor – Central Library
City of Aurora, Department of Library & Cultural Services
14949 E. Alameda Pkwy. Aurora, CO 80012
www.auroralibrary.org; www.auroragov.org; pcha...@auroragov.org; facebook.com/auroralibrary; twitter.com/APLReadingRocks
office: 303-739-6631; fax 303-739-6569

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