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Best value, small format digital vinyl printer
Hey all. I’ve been using various vinyl cutters for the last three years, and have been doing a lot of very intricate work for racing bikes etc, so I can see where having a Digital Printer would increase productivity, and quality. I don’t have a huge budget, as this is my hobby on the side more than anything, but has anyone got any tips as to which brand/model small format digital printer would be best to start with? Ideally it would cut the outline of the design afterwards, print onto regular vinyl (3M or whatever). I hear Ecosol inks are the way to go these days too. thanks and regards,
Owen -
3 Replies
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The smallest (=cheapest) ECO-solvent cutting printer I know of is Roland SP300. Perhaps this is not your ideal solution, as the price tag is pretty scary for a private person. And if you are just doing this for a hobby, I’d recommend another way about:
Buy an OKI laserprinter. These excel in being able to print banner size (1200mm) and there are various laser printable vinyl around. Hence buy yourself a Graphtec Craft ROBO cutting plotter. This machine has an optical eye that reads your print, so that it cuts very pricisely where it’s supposed to.
This setup costs a fraction of an Eco-solvent print’n’cut solution, and laser toner has a very good durability. I would think it exceeds even ECO-sol.
Best regards
Peter -
Hi, Owen
There’s no way around it – Digital printing remains (for the time being) the preserve of full time operators. If you can get a lot of printing commisions, e.g. supply other signwriters in the area, it can very easily become worth the expense of buying a printer, tho. Where I live, I supply 3 local sign companies with their prints – they forward artwork, I simply load & print. I give them a good price to make it financially more viable for them to use me rather than buying their own equipment, and stuff up the market. Also consider screenprinting. Cheap equipment, right down to "hobby use" kits, cheap consumables, durable prints. And you can do all sorts of things no digi printer can, like printing clear ink on a matt background, printing metallics, hell, you can even print glue with screenprinting!
P.S. We also use a Roland SP300 & EcoSol MAX ink. If you buy, rather go for the SP540. The price diff is not that big, but it prints appx 1,2m wide, vs the 300’s 0,7m. You’ll soon wish for the extra size! (So, size does matter!)
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Thank you Gert and Rackbox for your contributions. The laser printer is a great idea, and I guess the colour being fused to the media would hold up pretty well. I’ll do some more homework though, as I need to find the suitable media to use with it. Not a lot around here in Lil Ol’ New Zealand.
Screen printing is a novel though too, and of course cheap-as to start up. I screenprint glass at my workplace, and never thought about applying the techniques to making decals. Thank you both for your time.
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