Another VersaCAMM thread

[Rodney Gold]

Mike , we have the soljet originally using sol-ink (required specialised coated media) and soon after did the official eco-sol ink upgrade.
The only real problem we have is the price of the inks – but then the full soilvent guys have it too. I have never had a durability issue and my stuff has been out there for ages in the SA sun. the upside is the fact that we run in a small enclosed area with no hassles , the machine requires no specialised maintenance , prints beautifully , vibrant , great colour matching and I have had only one vinyl that didnt print well (a yellow from Avery – we were also advised it wouldnt print well but didnt listen)
The durability issue is a bit of a red herring as it’s a matter of degree not total failure vs permanence. As a matter of course we lam anything that is going to be used in a harsh environment and is subject to user abuse (like car graphics , some cosmetic lables (the ingredients can affect the print) , till carpets etc etc. I would do that anyway with any print for those conditions , including my thermals.
Tons of profiles avaialble with a great Wasatch RIP , lots of ppl using eco-sol so a vast pool of knowledge avialable , support from the mnfgr for the machine , reduced wear and tear on heads (supposedly).
We could easily have changed to solvent inks and a bulk system , in fact I use eco-sol inks in a bulk system flatbed based on the epson 1290 printer. Thing is , the soljet is fast and we use ours sporadically , IE one day can be printing all day , the next for 2 hrs , the next not etc and the costs associated with the conversion are not worthwhile unless you are running continually cos the extra maintenance in running a solvent system on a sporadic basis is significant and the cleaning cycles eat ink.
One of the primary reasons to use solvent (the much lower cost of generic inks) is NOT obtained on some converted machines as their ink carts are more or less in line with the OEM ones. Im pretty sure that in the future eco-sol inks will have a generic and they will be significantly cheaper. That leaves only the durability issue to consider. Durability is not only a function of the inks , but the media. What we have found is that small savings on media are fast eaten up by the poor quality of print and we are often forced to run these at higher resolution and or slower speed just to get the same quality print as we get on premium media. So we use good stuff generally which gives us the max durability and the best quality print. albeit I might get jumped on for this , Im a firm beleiver in not using modded machines and rather having the mnfgrs support than a 3rd party’s. IMHO support is a big deal breaker , in other words I would buy the machine from whomever has the best support in your area , so if a Roland tech was 500 miles away and the convertors guy was round the corner , I would buy the converted machine in that case.

[Fredrik]

The only 2 complaints i have is that the red covers poorly and that i cant print the full width of the paper.

But in all I’m very satisfied with it.

[James kelly]

quote Fredrik:

the red covers poorly

Don’t mess around changing rip settings for spot reds. Instead, create new red swatches in your design program. Worked great for me.

[Gordon Forbes]

Out of interset to me Who are the suppliers and what type of deals do you get on these machines?

Feel free to PM

Gordon

[Fredrik]

JSK, i don’t dare touch that stuff, but creating new swatches sounds like an idea.