What are the benefits and drawbacks of each welder

I'm not much of a welder myself but I need a shop welder for a small machining and fabricating business. I want to buy a welder that will handle most kinds of work and have been asked to weld most common metals from mild steel to aluminum and copper. Assuming I hire a welder that can actually use the machine to it's capacity, what are the benefits and drawback of the 200DX-D and the 255EXT, why would you pick one over the other if cost isn't a major consideration? Is there enough of an advantage in the EXT to justifies the extra $1000?

LaVerne

Depending on the thickness of material the extra 50 amps can be nice. You can add helium to get more out of smaller machines, but it adds a level of complexity and cost. The current price of helium will give you sticker shock, and I hear it is only going to go up for at least the next few years. The biggest factor is the skill of the person using the equipment. A good welder will use all the tools at their disposal, while others will just ignore all the bells and whistles and go with the same baseline settings for every job. I've worked with both kinds. Learned a lot from the former and learned to ignore the later. ;)

If your only tool is a hammer, all problems look like nails.

Rambozo
You forgot the most important nail (Thumb nail) hammers like them.

If you are doing fabricating and doing it as a business, the heavier duty 255 is the way to go as it allows for almost all possible scenarios you may come across. The 200 is also an excellent machine but it is often said..."It is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." The other alternative is an Everlast 250 EX which is the one I have. Not digital but works fantastic and mine has more than paid for itself in the last few years. It has never come into anything that I could not weld with it. I am a big Everlast fan and their machines are really well made. The 5 year warranty is excellent.