I am feeling a little disappointed and let down. I was a very early crowdfund purchaser and one thing that we were promised was a degree of accuracy of cut that Glowforge has never really delivered. I thought that the Snapmark feature was a good idea and showed real promise but I wasn’t lucky enough to be included in the beta testing. It’s a shame because I had a lot of ideas that could really use the feature.
Now it’s being rolled out and a) It seems it might not be available on early machines like mine (please correct me if I have misunderstood that) but most disgusting is b) it is limited as a Premium feature. I have loved using my Glowforge and early on I bought into the “family feel” messaging but now I feel let down and ignored. I realise that my comments are probably “spitting into the wind” but I feel better for having aired my annoyance.
I can understand where your feelings are coming from, though I would point out that Snapmarks was originally the bandaid before the machines themselves would take care of the accuracy. I’m also an original owner, and my machine didn’t qualify for Snapmarks, but when maintained and after running the Camera Calibration I’m able to cut on pre-drawn lines accurately…I can only imagine the machines that qualified didn’t need the calibration to get there.
I believe they’re going to release Snapmarks to everybody, they won’t guarantee they’ll work for non-HD machines.
So my question would be, what are you attempting to do that you are not succeeding at?
& Have you done the calibration? Have you done it again if you moved your machine?
It would be amazing if my elderly laser could compete with the young ones, and it certainly holds it’s own, but I do have to take extra steps that the teenager doesn’t even have to think about!
I still have all my snapmark jigs and I very much want to use them again. They aren’t for every project, and I have developed workarounds. I am not a premium customer (I was an original purchase that waited more than a year to get my machine.) snapmarks worked on my dead Glowforge that’s in the attic. (Spare parts saved me at least twice) and I’m certainly hoping that I will get them on my current Glowforge despite refusing to pay a subscription.
I’m glad that the company has taken a new turn. I hope that it’s for the best. But if not, if the company folds, I would hope to be able to continue using my laser locally. Acknowledge that that’s probably not a hope founded in any reality.
I love my machine. I’ve been using it (4 different units) for 8.5 years. I use it often and regularly. It’s part of my lifestyle. Dan, thank you for buying Glowforge back. You have done right by me.
I’m really looking forward to the new path Dan and team have in front of them. I’m a big believer in small, scrappy, teams and I’m glad the company is getting back to basics.
I’m honestly not a big fan of generative AI in art but the box builder seems like a good use of it and worth checking out.
Snapmark!!! After all these years!!! I’ve had them all this time, but I’m SO HAPPY that now everybody gets to use them! IMO, this machine has 2 things that are essential… the laser tube, and Snapmark. Everything else is “just extra.”
I’ve had them since introduction, across two machines, but they have now been put behind a paywall for me. No, I’m not going to bother contacting support. I don’t know when I’ll have access to my machine again.
I have been a beta tester for the Snapmarks since late 2018 or early 2019 and have set up so many of my projects and processes to use them, and now I can’t continue using them if I don’t sign up for a $50/mo subscription fee!?! I feel like those of us who were used as beta testers to perfect the tool should be grandfathered in to continue using them without being forced to sign up for premium. There is really nothing else in premium that I need at this time.
@dan I am stoked that you and Mark have taken over control of the company again so decisions can be made with the customer in mind and not just the biggest payday for the VC’s. Perhaps this can be one of those decisions? Grandfather in the beta users for Snapmarks! Thanks!
As has been said up thread, you should reach out to support (preferably by phone) and see if you can be grandfathered. Almost every other service they have done that.
That being said, they regularly offer discounts on Premium, so $50/month is only if you’re desperate for it to start today.
Not everyone gets to use them. I’m one of the original founders and was very active in the forums during the long wait for delivery. My original machine is still working well, though I don’t use it as often. Always had snap marks and used the feature often. I’m sorry and quite upset that they’s taken this away from the Founders who don’t subscribe to premium (I don’t use it often enough for sale items to justify the subscription).
Not happy with adding a paywall for a software piece that was available to me at purchase experience and logs of my cuts were probably used to help finalize the development. I got no response from an e-mail to support asking about this right after it was announced. Guess they had nothing positive to say.
I asked if Founders who have had the feature would continue to be able to use this without the paywall. Sent the question right after the November announcement (direct e-mail to Support). Never heard a word. I used it a lot early on, now can’t justify the cost of the subscription for my periodic use. You’re taking it well, but I’m pretty pissed off they used my testing logs over the years and now cut me out.
Yeah. I JUST found out they took it away from me!!! That’s insane! I’ve been a Glowforge user and huge supporter since 2017! And now they want to TAKE A FEATURE AWAY FROM ME?! What the heck is THAT?!?!
I’m not paying $20/mo. for a feature that I’ve had for free for 7 YEARS! I’m actually a bit embarrassed for Glowforge that they’d even think to do that! What has happened to Glowforge leadership?!
Yeah. I JUST found out they took it away from me!!! That’s insane! I’ve been a Glowforge user and huge supporter since 2017! And now they want to TAKE A FEATURE AWAY FROM ME?! What the heck is THAT?!?! I… am not taking it well. Users support Glowforge, and Glowforge does the opposite to the users. BAD choice.
I’m not paying $20/mo. for a feature that I’ve had for free for 7 YEARS! I’m actually a bit embarrassed for Glowforge that they’d even think to do that! What has happened to Glowforge leadership?!
It presents an image that they are starving for breadcrumbs. Frankly I’m more concerned about the longevity of back-end support (i.e. the cloud software that allows the machines to function) now over all else.
