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advice please -looking to buy another large format machine.
hi all,
we currently use a 4 / 5 year old grenadier which we got from b&p new.
while the machine has made us money we are all a bit disillusioned at:
a. b&p’s backup and support.
b. the consistancy of the machine. – when’s it’s good it’s great. when’s it’s not it’s a nightmare. some of the issues we have (banding, colours etc) have been there since early on. the machine and laminator are used in a fairly dust free room.so we are seriously thinking about saving up and purchasing a new machine early part of the new year – march time ideally.
We have had prices and info on the mimaki JV33 and also the epson pro GS6000.
what we need is a consistant machine.
any thoughts or comments on either any of the above, any others we should consider or in general would be great.
we use the machine for vehicle wraps, logos, canvases and posters etc..
thanks
Rick -
17 Replies
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we have used a sp540 versacamm for 2.5years with no aggro whatsoever and would in my opinion recommend the machine whole heartedly, maybe we have been lucky and others might have horror stories but for us it has been awesome!!
regards
Dan
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Consistency is our thing. A job we do today must look the same as one we did two years ago.
Can’t speak for anything else but we have been pleased with Mimaki.
Our JV3 was consistent over the two and a half years we used it, and although our JV33 is only three months old, it is looking to be just as good.
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I have a 74 inch Grenadier from B&P and it has been very consistant and i am more than happy with B&P as a company, however I know from comments on here you are not alone in your feelings about B&P.
Back to the original question I really like the look of the new Epson you are considering, i have spoken to a couple of people I know who have seen these machines and they tell me the results are fantastic and reckon i could use it for both the work my Grenadier does and my HP Designjet 5500PS. Considering that Rolands are well liked machines and they have Epson heads the printer should be reliable.
I am not looking to replace my equipment at the moment but if i was i would not overlook the Epson and would try to get a demo.
Regards
Russell.
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Like Russell, we run a grenadier but the 54inch print and cut.
we bought it new from B&P about 4.5years ago… i honestly cannot fault the machine for consistency. really is a great machine… at the end of the day you may just have had a bit of a rogue machine… personally, ide consider contacting roland for the conversion deal they are doing. they more or less renew your machine. new heads, dampers, pumps etc etc convert it to roland inks and make sure everything is top notch before leaving… best part is it doesnt cost much at all. dont want to give price incase im wrong but i think its under a grand??? anyone?
my point is, for under a grand you run a machine your familiar with and its now spik-and-span like new and you can get one with it… if your still having issues a few months down the line then trade it in against a new machine at signuk where you always get show offers.if that idea or a new roland is not on your wish list then i would give some serious thought on the mutoh blizzard running the 3M ink setup and i think media… 3M back the system with a (i think) a 5 year life on prints.
more info on that you would need to speak to WmSmiths…There is also the NEW HP machines appearing in the new year with Latex inks… ive heard a bit about this and it really will fire a spanner in the works for the print side of our industry i think.
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can you point me in the right direction for any info on those new HP machines Rob?
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best part is it doesnt cost much at all. dont want to give price incase im wrong but i think its under a grand??? anyone?
thats for a 2 head 4 cart machine rob they still do it for the grenadier but i think its 2 grad ish still a dam good deal though.
as you did not mention cut as well then the roland RS640 is a strong contender.
Chris
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quote Glenn Sharp:can you point me in the right direction for any info on those new HP machines Rob?
I think Artsystems would be the best folk to speak to regarding HP machines Glenn.
http://www.artsystems.co.uk/ -
thanks guys for the comments.
i had not considered playing with the grenadier.
certainly something to think about.
thanks again
Rick -
The new HP Latex machine will be launched early next year. However it is 2.5m wide and expect it to be 80,000 euros or thereabouts.
Mike
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Rick what are your requirements or budget?
You’ve got a few mid range of printers from a few manufacturers I considered before settling on the XJ640. My decision was based on our circumstances but the HP9000 Solvent and the Mimaki JV5 were in my final three.
I saw the Epson at our sign show and it has amazing quality also.
My personal favorite if I didn’t have any other machines was the JV5 from Mimaki. Big machine but a real workhorse.
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Hi,
In general it can depend on what you are looking to achieve but I really like the Roland RS640 VersaArt.
My brother has just bought one of these and it is really very very good. The printer is very well made and the price is great. I’ll note a couple of things that I think make this a good printer.1. Roland build quality was good and it looks like it’s only got better better.
2. Uses the Epson DX4 10000 head which is tried and tested and is readily available at reasonable prices. Also, if you have problems with missing nozzles etc… you only need change the printhead for that color, unlike a machine with the DX5 head (Valuejet, JV5) where it might be one head but the head is for all colors and much more expensive.
3. The print speed is very good compared to some other more expensive machines on the market. Roland quote about 10.5sqm/hr at 720×720 5pass and from what I have seen it’s pretty much correct.
4. The print quality is very very good.
5. The inkset is great, good adhesion and fantastic color gamut. I had no problems profiling it on Metamark SAV and obtaining an ISO Coated v2 pass when doing a verification with a FOGRA v3 media wedge.
Only difference is that we use ColorGATE ProductionServer 5 for the RIP.Hope this helps.
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HP are also resold by B&P, AIT and Sun Inks
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well budget is anywhere upto 30k depending on what we have to spend. if we can get another machine for say £15k then great.
we need a machine to be consistant which our current machine is not. most of our work is wraps, company logos etc so quality needs to be on par or better then the grenadier. Obviously machines have moved on so i would expect a new machine to be better in terms of print quality.
speed is also an issue in terms of we dont want a slow machine.
At the moment we dont laminate everything we print – depends on the project so we would like to not have to laminate everything.
thanks for all the posts and comments so far.
Rick
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I’ve got some sample prints from a Grenadier and they really do look poor next to the prints from our JV33.
I think they’ve updated it since but the newer generation of machines are obviously going to be better.
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We just got a 44" Epson 9600 (ex demo) from them.
Only rang them yesterday, and they installed it this morning!Great bit of kit, and very good price 🙂
We got our 65" Mutoh from them a while ago as well.
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Rick for your budget go see the VersaArt. You wont be disapointed at that price range.
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quote Joseph Helm:http://www.westec.co.uk/
We just got a 44″ Epson 9600 (ex demo) from them.
Only rang them yesterday, and they installed it this morning!Great bit of kit, and very good price 🙂
We got our 65″ Mutoh from them a while ago as well.
On the Mutoh, I am trying to find info on the Xerox 8265 (or the 8264e for that matter) in terms of users who have them and feedback and I heard they are basically rebadged Mutohs.
Can you help ? We are an ad agency with our own print shop and are not high volume, more low to mid volume.
We are in the Caribbean though and one key benefit is that we have a Xerox dealer on island.
Right now we can either go the 8265 – which has been pitched to us or go for a XC 540 or Mimaki CJV30-160 to allow us to do a bit more with the money.
WHats your experience like with the Mutoh ? Quality, reliability, cost to run. Please let us know.
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