Artfolio:
Im with Val on that one!!!
working out time savings with a cmc is as etherial as an accountants workings of self employed earnings- you can make the figures fit whatever you want them to mean! eg you can always justify a cmc, so the answer depends on the question
Id say get one, your back will love you for it.
In practice a slower CMC like the wizard does allow you to get on with other work while it does its thing. So in that regard its almost like having an extra pair of hands. You can make frames while it cuts an array of mounts, and just pop back every two or three minutes to feed another sheet of board in.
The time saving with accuracy (ie. get it right first time) helps.
Multi-cuts (multi-apertures) and arrays, double mounts etc are a doddle. No messing about drawing or marking for uneven borders is also a major timesaver.
Storing popular sizes and apertures makes life easier and saves time.
Overall, the CMC makes life easier, saves wear and tear on the back, thumb, arms and shoulders. Repetitive strain injury - I think I was a borderline case through mount cutting (mat cutting).
But I still reckon its worth it to save your back, if nothing else. You wont belive the aches and pains that you will have picked up over the years with repetitive use of a hand machine, that just melt away when you get a cmc.
I dont believe there is a minimum quantity to justify having one, imho the only justification is why not to have one if you can afford one? And if you cant afford one, then you can look at how to make one earn its keep.
My Wizard made me an
extra (approx) UK equivilent to 50,000 dollars last year, so I guess it pays for itself. (online sales and small to medium volume mount orders). Plus it made mincemeat of the day to day shop work. But if I was starting in business again, it would be right up there at the head of the list alongside an underpinner and a morso now.
If I had to be without my wizard now, I would look for another job. They would have to drag it from my cold dead grasp....
any help? Go on, you know you want one ..... you just need an excuse now
And remember, they cost us up to approx TWICE the US price in the UK, and we love 'em over here. So do our customers.