With the upcoming summer season, many salon owners are developing their business plans regarding upgrades, new equipment additions and/or expansion for the coming year.  Many are preparing for their journeys to the various tanning industry trade shows, where they can finalize their decisions.  puretan^Ò has assembled some guidelines to assist buyers in evaluating what equipment will ensure pure success.  In a continuing effort to inform the tanning industry, following is an educational article on how to purchase tanning equipment.

Ability to Tan

Two basic components comprise a tanning system’s capabilities.  An electrical system powers an array of lamps, which in turn generate ultraviolet rays in specific wavelengths.  These rays optimize the generation of melanin in the skin, and the oxidation of that melanin shows color.

 Electrical System

The design of the electrical system has had few innovations in recent years.  The desired result is a system that drives the lamps in an efficient manner and operates within limits that allow components to be reliable and long lasting.  It is important to survey the need for extra electrical devices, such as a “buck booster” transformer, when installing in your locale.  Excessive heat is the enemy of any electrical component.  Inefficient (low or high operating voltage) will cause frequent down times due to component failure.  A well-designed cooling system that operates effectively will tend to have a high reliability factor.

 Tanning Lamps

The type of lamp that is assessed for a tanning system is the second most important component, second only to how it is powered.  “Philips” of Einhoven, Holland is credited with the development of the lamp that incorporates both ultraviolet “B” rays (UVB), and ultraviolet “A” rays (UVA) in a single lamp.  Some equipment manufacturers designate “Wolff” on their tanning systems.  This refers to the lamp/reflector, not the bed design.  There are lamps that emit mostly ultraviolet “A” rays.  These lamps are better known as “facial” lamps.  In these lamps, all of the UVC, and most of the UVB, light is filtered out.  The combination of these two types of lamps is varied in today’s tanning systems.  Your selection of lamp combinations is based on the preference of tanners in your area.

 Warranty

No company manufactures a tanning system that does not require service from time to time.  The investment in a tanning system is considerable, and warranties say little but tell you volumes about how a manufacturer feels about their system.  Different components will have different warranties.  You will find different coverage for different construction, electrical components, lamps and acrylics.  These warranties will vary from lifetime, which is highly favorable, to a 30-day limited warranty.

 Service

Knowing what your warranty covers and the service you receive may vary from company to company.  It may be more important to check references and consider how the manufacturer responds to a warranty problem than why the problem occurred in the first place.  However, chronic problems will only cause you expensive down time and a loss of revenue.  The question of service when the system is out of warranty is important.  Ask questions about prices of parts and their availability from more than one source.  It is important to also find out if the equipment is foreign or domestic when purchasing. 

Maintenance

Check on the ease of maintenance tasks such as changing lamps, installing acrylics and cleaning.  The degree of difficulty and strength needed relates to the ability of your employees to perform them on a periodic basis.  If a task is too difficult, it will generally be avoided.  The system must be maintained at peak performance at all times to insure customer satisfaction. 

Aesthetics

How does the bed look?  Is it attractive?  Remember, when the client is deciding which salon is right for them, their first influence is the impression made by the tanning system.  Every facet of the system will be part of the decision.  Besides the tanning function, a tanning system is your primary sales tool.  In today’s market, your equipment will cause a prospect to become a client.

 Construction

This is a basic part of any buying decision.  As a purchaser of a tanning system, your goal is to buy a unit that is built like a battleship but does not look as such.  The materials are important.  Plastic discolors and does not have the strength of aluminum and steel.  Welded units tend to be more stable than structures that are bolted together.  A well-built piece of equipment with proper maintenance should last for years.  This eliminates costly overhead and loss of income since it does not have to be constantly replaced.

 Dimensions

All salons have a limited amount of space to work with.  Important details include room design, layout and system size.  System dimensions are important, but overall space allocation needed must be considered, too.  Clients need space to move about a room freely and comfortably.  If you are going to have accessories available, you must allocate space for them.  Some manufacturers have space-saver designs.  Vertical systems (booths) are an option to consider when maximizing the available area is a necessity.

 References

Checking references is the most important thing you can do.  All of the aforementioned information is to educate you as a future buyer.  Further, consider the following common sense points. 

·        Asking a manufacturer for a reference will not always get you an unbiased response.

·        Salons in your area may view you as competition and will not always tell you what you need to know.

·        Web sites are a wealth of good, solid information, and email is inexpensive.

Know what information you need, and go to a good source for that information.