Is it time to own our own printer?

[David Mitchell]

think only you will know yourself phil.

i bought my BN-20 for t-shirt transfers mainly, as i was buying them in, got to a stage i was buying more & more in, done a few sums and pretty much figured that i could print them myself, pay the monthly on the machine and was making profit.

And having the machine lets you increase volume as you can turn the jobs round quicker.

think its a pretty much the same for any new machine regardless of the price, if its gonna make you money its good business.

just my tuppence worth.

[Philip Gibbs]

thanks.
I feel we are in a similar situation that you were. Last year we spent more on prints with our trade printer than the HP printer would cost us and this year looks even more.
Having to wait a several days for a print to turn up isn’t usually a problem, the real issue is when the print comes back wrong.
It would be nice not to rely on other people.

[Pane Talev]

In 2008 I was advised not to buy a printer.
I was told "you don’t print enough quantity – outsource your prints"
I did purchased a printer and was a good decision.
I might not print enough, but I use my printer as a tool, every day.
Most of my jobs required to be printed and delivered same day, or next day.
I never regretted buying my Valujet 1204. Took 8 years out of it.
You might wanna look into leasing a printer.

[Tahsin Niyazi]

If the positives out weight the negatives then go for it. Only you will know if it’s worth the initial investment.

I find Roland is easier to get your head round. The versaworks RIP is easy to navigate and free with the printer so make sure you get that.

Also think about if the machine plays up and your running a large order through. Always have trade printers ready if you need to get job completed and not lose a client if you have not got a second machine 8).

Just have a really long thing but good luck with your decision.

[Kevin Flowers]

Don’t buy the FJ is way to old to be reliable if you have to run a lot of print, I would aim for a newer HP if you can the L25500 was the first HP latex and they have come on a long way since then if you are going 2nd hand then try to get the youngest machine you can afford and remember the ancillary equip you need with it Laminator, Opos cutter if you want print cut facility & RIP. If you go route of a latter Roland printer you could have all in one Print & Cut and they come with Versaworks complete with free updates from Roland

Kev

[Philip Gibbs]

thanks for your replies
So the FJ is out then.
we already have a graphtec to contour cut so I think a print and cut is not really needed.
I like the thought of a latex printer as it sounds easier to live with than a solvent printer.
Is the L26500 a lot better than the L25500?

[Kevin Busby]

I had the 26500 but not the 25500 there are a few differences for sure but depends on the price and how good your deal is.
Most of the 26500 profiles were built on the 25500 and it had similar media quirks but im sure once you get a good trialled media going it will serve you well.

If your stuck for a rip I still have my caldera dongle for a mac, comes with serial for 1 x lp printer, worked 26500 so should work 25500, even works my new 310. Its V9.20 so not the latest V10 but 1 before.

Personally I wouldn’t worry to much about which model more about how hard they worked.

Kev

[Philip Gibbs]

hi we have been offered a mutoh 1614 (a re-badged xerox version of it) for what we think is a good price.
Has any one used one of these and if so are they reliable?
also would the colorific lightbar be able to be fitted to this in the future?