What printer?

[Sign Age]

Maybe you would like to share with us, what kind of job would you be doing with your printer. eg. Backlit film, decals, exhibition graphics, vehicle wraps, etc etc..

Every printer has its good and bad and ultimately the decision to buy a machine will need to be balance on a range of criteria such the price, print quality, speed, maintaince, etc.

If you know what kind of job you will be doing, then i think it would be easier for you to decide on the printer.

regards.

Jeff

[Shane Drew]

good advice Jeff.

I run a roland sc500ex converted to full solvent. Works well for me, but I’m not sure I’d advise you on the same setup until I know what you intend using it for. Eco inks may be a better option if you are working in a confined space for instance

Cheers

[Karl Williams]

Hello Jon,
From the feedback I’ve had, the Mimaki jv3 seems the best option for me.
My machine is arriving Wednesday and installed Thursday, I hope!

Karl.

[Gary Jones]

Hi,

Sorry about the lack of information, I tried being as brief as I could.
The work in general will initially be for window graphics and then eventually expanding into other area’s of print.

Our current workspace that is used for cutting graphics hasn’t got too much ventilation so I suppose solvents could be an issue. In terms of print & cut in 1 or standalone printer and cutter; it shouldn’t be a problem with space, we’re mainly looking to get something that will do it’s job well.

I’m not sure which prints at the better quality, eco or full solvent but the majority of our work is not exposed to the elements. So the better quality process would be in our favor.

Thanks,

Jon

[autosign]

They all seem to have good and bad points. Also consider back-up which is the main gripe you seem to read about with printers.

How much is the Mutoh?

[Neill Hague]

Hi Jon

don’t know if this helps you but I had an email today from Spandex offering the following package

Mutoh Value jet 1204
Gerber P2C1200 cutter
Easymount 1380 Cold laminator
Poster print version 12 RIP software
Clipart CD
Delivery, installation & training

All this is for £14,990

cheers

Neill

[Gary Jones]

Thanks for the feedback.
Neil, we’ve been offered a similar deal for the valuejet. I like the fact it’s eliminated banding with it’s interweaving method but I just haven’t heard much history about the machine from anyone.

Going for the versacamm; we’d have 2 machines in our unit, a cutter and a printer & cutter in 1.
Opting for the valuejet; we’d have 4 machines? 2x cutters, a printer and a laminator.
I don’t know what would serve the better advantage!

The samples we have from both machines look very nice. I’m very marginally in favor of the versacamm at the moment soley because it has more feedback from people but then again the valuejet does have it’s advantages…..dam I’m confused.
I think it will go to a coin toss!

[Marcella Ross]

Jon,

I’m in a similar situation………….. I had a Spandex rep in yesterday and I too was impressed by the Mutoh Valuejet. I like the idea of the wave technology printing.
I can only think of it this way ………… the valuejet is the newest technology, the versacamm has been around for a few years.

I’d be interested to know what you end up going with and why ……….
I’ll watch this space because I can’t decide which way to go 😀

[autosign]

Shame the Mutoh doesn’t cut too.

[autosign]

Shame the Mutoh doesn’t cut too.

[Marcella Ross]

quote autosign:

Shame the Mutoh doesn’t cut too.

isn’t it just!

[Peter Shaw]

Sign UK is coming up so why not wait and see all the printers in action. You can then shortlist machines and suppliers and start to drive the reps mad!

Get some prints off the machines and take them home. You can then do rub/solvent etc tests to satisfy yourself on durability.

Consider the media you will use and make sure you can get ICC profiles for the media/RIP/Printer combination you choose.

Ask questions about support and maintenance, particularly where engineering support is actually coming from. Ask about response times (and then double that figure, at least!)

Find out about what training you will get. Totally ignore any suggestion that any printer will work straight from the box – they all have a learning curve.

You may notice that I have not mentioned running costs. Although this must be considered, in general printers are becoming cheaper to run and some of the items listed above, particularly engineering support, can burn up more of your profits than ink costs ever will.

Anyone else agree?

[Peter Normington]

Peter, I agree in theory with what you say, but sales reps never tell the whole truth, and as far as waiting for sign uk, fine, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will get the best deal.
This is when they sell most, better deals are to be had when the sales curve is at its lowest, like around Christmas, for example.
Samples from the exhibition, may be a bit misleading, as they are inevitably printed on the BEST media, BEST profile, BEST resolution , and BEST artwork, so is not always wysiwyg.

The mimaki dosnt cut, but the print quality, and 2year warranty more than make up for it,

I am a print virgin, only had a small affair with an edge, but I did consider the options before parting with my hard earned, but if you can do a bit of home work, it should not be to hard to decide what is right for you.

Peter

[John Childs]

Yeah, ignore the printer salesmen. I took my advice from a vinyl rep. 😀

He had no axe to grind, but spends all his time driving from print shop to print shop and naturally hears all the positives and negatives from his customers, who actually use the machines on a day to day basis.

That’s how I ended up with a Mimaki.

[George Elsmore]

quote Peter Shaw:

Sign UK is coming up so why not wait and see all the printers in action. You can then shortlist machines and suppliers and start to drive the reps mad!

Get some prints off the machines and take them home. You can then do rub/solvent etc tests to satisfy yourself on durability.

Consider the media you will use and make sure you can get ICC profiles for the media/RIP/Printer combination you choose.

Ask questions about support and maintenance, particularly where engineering support is actually coming from. Ask about response times (and then double that figure, at least!)

Find out about what training you will get. Totally ignore any suggestion that any printer will work straight from the box – they all have a learning curve.

You may notice that I have not mentioned running costs. Although this must be considered, in general printers are becoming cheaper to run and some of the items listed above, particularly engineering support, can burn up more of your profits than ink costs ever will.

Anyone else agree?

Is that before or after Marcella gets sheded :lol1:

[Karl Williams]

John,
Spot on. I got my advice from many of the chaps on the boards by phone, and the vinyl rep. I think at this point I can safely say I have bought the right machine for the job! Thanks guys for all your help, I owe you a beer at sign uk.
By the way, I am sat here waiting for the kit to turn up. Can’t wait to get it booted up!

Karl.

[Gary Jones]

The support here has been super! It’s great getting advice from members as it gives us a lot more to consider before jumping in.

Even though we will be attending Sign UK, we’d of probably made up our minds on which printer to go for by then. We were initially going to wait until the event so we could have a broader view on what’s available but we’ve been putting off getting the machine for too long already.

More than likely we will be going eco-sol due to the lack of ventilation in our workspace. I recon it would be too difficult to install a decent system in around our offices as well.

It’s a pity no-one has a mutoh, it would be great to get some input from them about the machine…..does anyone on the boards even have one?!

[Marcella Ross]

quote George Elsmore:

Is that before or after Marcella gets sheded :lol1:

cheers George! :drink4:

Getting as much info before you go to SignUK and narrowing it down then having a look at your preferred choices there, perhaps you can get them to do a deal ……..
On the other hand the Spandex rep did say that there are no SignUK ‘deals’ on the Mutoh (or any other printer for that matter) he said their deals are available now and won’t change. If for any reason they do, they will refund the difference.
Or maybe they’re saying that to try and up there figures before the financial year end!!!! 😕

[Karl Williams]

Jon,
I have a mutoh rockhopper 38. I have got to say I have not had 1 problem free day since install nearly 2 years ago. I would not buy anything from mutoh again. As they say, once bitten, twice shy.
Sure there will be alot of people out there who have a mutoh and had no issues, but this is just my experience.

[Warren Beard]

quote KARL WILLIAMS:

Jon,
I have a mutoh rockhopper 38. I have got to say I have not had 1 problem free day since install nearly 2 years ago. I would not buy anything from mutoh again. As they say, once bitten, twice shy.
Sure there will be alot of people out there who have a mutoh and had no issues, but this is just my experience.

That’s why the JV3 is due in today 😉

Has it arrived yet or are you still jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas :lol1:

Warren

[Karl Williams]

Between 11 and 12.
And yes, I am jumping up & down which is no good for the floor cos I’m 19 stone! 😀 😀

[Peter Normington]

Hope you have big muscles Karl, Its a heavy lift to put it on its stand.

Peter

[Nigel Pugh]

Pound for pound the VersaCamm is the best buy, the JV3 is a lovely machine and a proven workhorse, but you do need a vinyl cutter to go with it, you also need to purchase a RIP if you don’t currently have one.

Valuejet, a good machine, not entirely proven yet, give that another 12 months, still need a vinyl cutter to go with it though and RIP software, probably will become a serious threat to the 54" VersaCamm over time.

We deal with around 6 different printer manufacturers so don’t think I’m been biased on what I say, but at the moment it is hard to find a package that can compete with the VersaCamm on price and the quality of the machine.

[Shane Drew]

I almost purchased a JV3 (in fact I’d verbally acknowledged that I’d buy one) until the tech guy referred to my HP3500cp I was using at the time as a bucket of bolts. Thing is, he was the guy that sold it to me in the first place, and in 3 years could never get it to work on my network.

I figured if he was now to be the JV3 tech, then I wouldn’t buy one. So I purchased the Roland from a company with an impeccable record in after sales service.

I think the support aspects of the machine retailer is as important as the machine itself.

Now, my Roland supplier has started selling the Mutoh too. I’m interested how they go in the next 12 months, my next purchase is a flat bed, so I’ll be looking at the new Chinese machines being imported into oz too.

I’ve been more than happy with the roland though, and the Techink conversion has been a bonus. The Mutoh has a techink option here, as does the JV3’s, so I’ll be able to compare 1 for 1 at the sydney show this year. The chinese flat beds may be running techink too, I’m not sure on that one yet.

[Karl Williams]

It’s here at last! I’m gonna have fun with this! Great service too.
Better than the last supplier. 😀 😀
Peter, you are correct, It is a heavy lump!

[Joe McNamara]

I can only say good things about my versacamm.
I had an email today about a versacamm / ezytaper package deal for a really good price.
I’ll post the details if it’s ok with Rob as it could save people quite a few bob (well thousands!), but I’ll have to check to see if I can release the details before the signshow.
Cheers
Joe

[Graeme Speirs]

i went to sign uk last year for the first time, I was at a stage where I wasnt sure whether to take the plunge and buy a print /cut machine I had heard great stories of discounts from suppliers and expected maybe £500 off etc. I was amazed to get £2k off the price of my cadet (which I would proably have bought full price 2 weeks later anyway). I had shopped around prior to the event and was quoted the same price everywhere. So my £60 flight ended up saving me £2k….well worth it.

Go to sign UK on the last day and pick the salesman who’s sweating most 🙂

cheers
graeme

[Gary Jones]

Joe,

I’d love it if you could let me know the package deal you were offered. Maybe a pm or possibly Rob could forward it on to me. Would be much appreciated.

I still think it will probably be the Versacamm. A lot of people have positive views on it and we’d have 2 cutters and a printer for the space of 2 machines.

I’m still in doubt about the lack of numbers using the mutoh. I’m sure it’s a great machine but I’d hate to move into this area of the industry with a troublesome start.

The way I see it at the moment is:

Mutoh VJ
Pro’s: Newer technology, newer parts, good history with the supplier.
Con’s: Print and cut on separate machines, more unit space, still pretty unknown.

Versacamm
Pro’s: Positive feedback from users, Print & cut in 1, less unit space than mutoh
Con’s: Maybe technology is 2nd best to mutoh’s?

[Karen O Hagan]

Hi Jon I have a couple of sp540v versacamms with Ezy Tapers that you maybe interested in.If you are interested pm me or contact me through the Ezy Taper website
Thanks

[Nicholas Janko]

We are using a HP9000s solvent printer and Roland Soljet …compared, the HP, after my opinion, is a better printer

1.HP print at High speed and have a very good print quality – 16sq meter/hour without noticeable banding – the print quality at this speed is the same as Roland print quality at 8 sq meter/hour
2. HP Ink color is bright and powerful – the Roland ink has a little grayish color compared with HP ink
3. HP9000 printer DID NOT CUT…so Roland is better in this case
4. prices are at the same level: 25-29000 euro
5. ink cost is almost the same -2.5 -3 euro/sq meter …there are rumours about a cheaper Triangle inks for HP9000
6. printhead longevity – Roland has a proved printhead longevity – HP9000 is a relative new printer and nobody can predict, yet, the printhead life
7. HP9000 is a very clean printer …ve are using it from 5 months and I never see a drop of ink somewhere, except the print of course. With Roland we have ink escape problems but maybe it was our fault

[Lorraine Clinch]

quote :

Getting as much info before you go to SignUK and narrowing it down then having a look at your preferred choices there, perhaps you can get them to do a deal ……..
On the other hand the Spandex rep did say that there are no SignUK ‘deals’ on the Mutoh (or any other printer for that matter) he said their deals are available now and won’t change. If for any reason they do, they will refund the difference.
Or maybe they’re saying that to try and up there figures before the financial year end!!!! 😕

I have had long discussions with a Spandex rep about the Valujet, got a package deal price from him (similsr to the one on the front page) then went elsewhere for comparison quotes. I was shocked to be quoted £2K less than Spandex, and to make it worse the rep then said he would beat the new quote – if I bought by the end of the month, blah blah.
Of course I realise they work on commission, and need to make a living, but not at my expense, I’m afraid.

[Henry Barker]

I have been through the same thoughts, as we have just bought a new printer, I have had a Gerber Edge a number of years.

We looked first at the Versacam SP540 , and Mutoh valuejet, then the VP 540 the new version of the SP540, then we were told that the Sp,s were bad for printing banners, and that lots of people here had traded them in for alternatives.

I liked the VP540, was then told the media rollup system was extra, and started looking at the Roland Soljet XC 540 Pro 3, which I thought was a better buy. we opted for that machine, and in standard mode it prints 5 times faster than an SP540, I think if memory serves me the SP prints at 2.9m an hour at standard, the XC prints over 14m, and on high speed banners it prints 41m an hour, its a totally different machine with 6 print heads, and prints 6 colours x 2.

I guess you have to see what your market is how fast you want to print and at what quality.

You like us have another cutter, but another thing to think about is that you can’t print while contour cutting, if you have 2 machines you can print all day and contour cut elsewhere, for us this was not an issue.

It seems to be a huge jungle out there in printerworld 🙂