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Hello From down under, down under
Well, I’ve been a member here for a while (and lurked even longer) and I just realised that I haven’t said hello – hello to all and thanks for a great forum!
I’m a graphic designer and after working years in the graphics and sign business for other people, decided about 18 months ago to start up my own sign shop here in Tasmania – that little island under Australia.
I started out with a Roland GX-24 and doing what I know best – designing, supplying and installing cut vinyl signs, banners, etc.
About 6 months into my venture I decided to get into digital printing and, operating on a shoe-string budget, bought an old Encad Pro50 off eBay for 400 bucks. I found a local furniture removalists business who just happened to be passing through Sydney and were willing to pick up the beast and deliver it to my door cheap. I spent all my spare time for the next month learning how to use (and repair) the old monster and fitted it out with UV inks and new cartridges and set up a simple liquid laminating system for the prints. It worked well, but the novelty of being able to print wears off pretty quick at 300 dpi 🙄
About 6 months ago I bought a cheap HP 2500CP. Yep, eBay again 😀 When it arrived I quickly realised that it was damaged – like it had been dropped down a flight of stairs type of damaged. I contacted the seller and after a few legal threats (he knew it was buggered) he decided to refund most of my payment. Well, always up to a challenge, I stripped the machine down and set about repairing it – panel beating the roll cover and entry platen and rebuilding a bunch of other internal issues. Long story short, the machine now works perfectly and I have it running a new set of UV pigments.
The 2500CP is great machine for what it is, but obviously limited in what it will print onto. Too late now though, I’m addicted to printing! While researching my options for a solvent printer, an opportunity recently presented itself in the form of a second hand Mimaki JV3 160S. Knowing it is quite a step up from my pigment printers, and after reading everything I could on the machine (thanks Dave), I decided to jump in and make the owner an offer. The owner agreed and even threw in his old HP 3000CP for good measure (he recently upgraded).
The JV3 has recently been refurbished with new heads, pumps, capping stations, etc and it is fitted with a 6 colour bulk ink system running sericol BP. I’m currently refitting and extending the workshop in anticipation of it’s arrival in a couple of weeks. I’ll have a heap to learn (and probably some pain to go through) but the prospect of printing to such a broad range of materials, vinyl wraps, banners, etc., has me losing sleep with the excitement 😮 Can’t wait to get it all sorted so I can get out there and do some new business 😎
Speaking of business, I’m off to install some dog boarding kennel signs.
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9 Replies
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Hi Bill!
:welcome:
Marcella 😉
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Hi Bill and a warm welcome from Sunny Dry Queensland
Cheers MIke 😀 😀 -
Hi mate, welcome from me too..
Nice intro.
I cut my printing teeth on a HP3500cp. Great machine to do the learning curve on.
You’ll love the JV3, and your materials will be so much cheaper to buy/run now.
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Welcome aboard the solvent train.
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welcome to the boards bill 😀
nik
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Hi Bill
Good luck with your new machine, Hope it goes well for you.
from sunny Forster N.S.W AUST.
Graham -
Hi Bill, welcome to the boards. Nice introduction even if it has taken you a while to get round to :lol1:
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Hi Bill,
I live in Sydney now but born and raised in the North of Tassie – where are you located.
Ps – hey you never know we might be related 👿 – God I can see the similarities – both extremely unattractive (chat.) (chat.)
Rich
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Hi Bill,
Take a look at my photo – the reason I am behind the banner was to hide the other head I didn’t want to frighten everyone
Rich
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