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Just got myself a new unit & printer
I’m about as chuffed as a pig in Palestine…
Our sign business has been going for only 11 months, yet we expanded so rapidly that we had to get bigger (and more practical) premises, employ a few additional staff, and get a second digital printer….
When we started up, I "wisely" decided on the Roland SP540V printer, since I knew the machine very well, and I did not anticipate to print more than 3 or 4 square metres per day. How wrong I was! The printer is currently running 12+ hours per day, and never seems to catch up with all the new work coming in. So I splashed out on a brand new Roland Versa Art RS-640. The Roland guys were here during a road show about 3 weeks ago, and they offered a special price I could not refuse. I arranged to have the machine delivered start of November once we completed the move to new premises. It arrived this morning, but I have to wait until tomorrow for the technician to install / commission the printer.
From what I saw at the show this printer is about 3 times faster than the SP. Another bonus is that is uses the same ink carts, simplifying stock control somewhat. Also, printing from the same RIP, with the same brand of printer, same inks etc, colour output should be the same (I hope)
The price was very keen! I paid only N$ 170 000 for the Versa Art – The SP 540 set me back N$ 211 000 (Ordered 1 year ago, but it was only delivered in February) At current exchange rates, N$ 170k is about GBP 13600.
No more working overtime, waiting for the printer to finish!!
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9 Replies
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Good on you Gert,
sounds great and nice to see someone is expanding in this global climate.
Martin
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I’m glad it’s all working out for you Gert.
Congratulations on the new unit. 😀
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well done Gert 😀
Lynn
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Hi Gert
Good choice of printer. We couldn’t be more pleased with ours it just works brilliantly – the best piece of kit we have bought. Well done with the growth and new unit
Cheers
Macky -
excellent gert, good for you mate… 😀
you can also run both machines from the same computer rip. versaworks runs up to 6 machines from the same computer if i am right.
so you can have one guy running both machines, taking various prepared files from a remote server and just sending each to each machine. i saw this in Rolands place in Bristol. was very impressed by it to the point im trying to do same with our Roland machines now. -
Is it a print cut machine?
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quote George Elsmore:Is it a print cut machine?
‘Versa Art’ is a print only G
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Congratulations Gert, looks like you have gone a long way in a very sort period of time.
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Just some feedback after running the first 30 or so metres through the VersaArt:
a) Print speed is practically 3 times faster than the SP540v. I sent the same job to both (About 2300 x 1200mm) SP: 59 minutes. VersaArt: 21 minutes.
b) Funnily, the VersaArt uses less ink than the SP! On the above job (running the same profile) the SP used 24ml, the VersaArt 19ml. Could this be because of the "intelligent pass control" on the VA ?
c) So far, the spot colours are identical, except yellow which comes out slightly lighter on the VersaArt – but the difference is very small. I have not tested it on photos, fades etc.
d) Print quality on the SP is slightly better, but you have to look closely to notice the difference. Black, for example, is more "solid"
PS. David, does your printer also make the funny "klonking" noise every time the head passes the docking position? I hate funny noises – if I liked them, I would buy a Land Rover !! The technician says it is normal. (How he would know is beyond me, since this is the first VersaArt in Namibia.)
Now, lemme get back to my new toy !!
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