Canon Large Format Printer

[Jon Aston]

Hail Norman.

Fogive the question…do you mean “BJ W9000”?

What sorts of applications did you have in mind?

This is a nice printer for indoor applications, but I wouldn’t recommend it for outdoor signage. If you’re looking for a machine that offers outdoor durable printing and really fantastic “indoor” (ie. close in viewing) print quality, I would suggest getting a demo on the Spandex Jetster.

[NTC]

Hi Jon

Thanks for the info yes your right it is B.J.W. 9000

I had the rep out to see me i am going to use it mainly for printing banners. In all fairness the rep has taken some samples of the pvc vinyl away with him to try and see how it prints on this material as he was not sure himself. clearly this is not the right machine for the job if it is only suitable for indoor work.
So i will ring for details of the machine you have recommended.
thanks again for your help Jon

regards
Norman
NTC

[popcornpro]

Hi,

I have been researching this area for a while now and plan on being able to offer design, print and wrapping services. Wide format is a flammin’ minefield. I have the details on Tiara Opal and it sounds the biz. I have posted a question about this machine but no response yet. Victory Design and Granthams are supplying it in the uk but I would rather speak to someone that has the machine!

It will do indoor/outdoor, uses eco solvents, reasonable speeds, prints to uncoated (yes, uncoated) media… so sound like a great machine! I had some samples sent on banner material and they looked great, whereas I have heard you are very restricted with the Jetster and that there are media issues that are being attended to by Spandex.

Hope this helps,

Richard

[Jon Aston]

Richard (and all):

You’re right to practice “due diligence”…and especially to try to speak with existing owners of the equipment in question. Your “Tiara” dealer ought to be able to direct you to some, if you don’t find any here. Their willingness to direct you to existing owners of their equipment should speak volumes.

I’m willing to bet that my friends at Spandex can direct you to satisfied Jetster owners.

Even then, it is always good to qualify the opinions you’ll be given by asking questions such as “How long have you had the system?”, “Beyond ink and media, what are the other costs of ownership?”, “How was the training and how good is tech support?”, and “What other digital printing equipment have you owned prior to this and how does this compare?”.

Beyond that, take the time to have the supplier in question thoroughly demonstrate the machine…your files, long prints of very large files, that sort of thing.

There is alot of “snake oil” being sold with wide-format digital printers these days…caveat emptor!

[Rodney Gold]

Jon – you hit the nail on the head with due dilligence – too many snake oil large format salesmen out there and the ads promise the earth.

IMHO with a large format printer a laminator is essential if ANY graphic is going to be washed , touched or at any stage handled or subjected to movement or abraison. (Then it will have a decent lifetime)

One thing to add is to look at the market around you as to who has machines , some markets are so overtraded that the competitors are charging cost of materal + mickey mouse % just to keep their machines running and pay the finahnce charges – one cant make money in the face of that.
Its a huge step from a desktop bubble jet to a 63″ wide format.