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What’s an Agfa Jet Sherpa like?
A friend of mine has a couple of large format Agfa Jet Sherpa’s surplus to their requirements as they’ve recently upgraded to 8 colour ones. Not sure exactly what models they are right now, my guess is it’s a 43 but it could be a 54? I know they’re 4 colour, but he’s getting me the specs, taking some pics and popping in later.
He’s asking £1,200 + VAT each, is this a reasonable price?
So what are these Sherpa’s like guys? Consumables cheap? Maintainance high?
Also, what do I need to look out for on a second hand one? Are the heads likely to need replacing?
Any help is appreciated.
Steve
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13 Replies
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Hi Yowzer
Agfa Sherpa – if you’re lucky will be a re-badged Mutoh – unless it’s very old! Same consummables as other Re-Badged Mutho’s – quite reasonable. capable of taking certain 3rd Party inks – cartridges and Bulk Feed.Regards Dave Standen
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It just sounds a nice cheap option to be able to offer print right now. As long as we can get some use out of it, then sell it on in a few months time when we can justify a newer, more capable machine.
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This might be a silly question but… you know that this is an indoor printer running dye inks and as such is not suitable for outdoor work? And that you will require lamination on most of your prints?
Rob
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I understand that I’m going to have to laminate for external work, and some internal, when using most printers out there, except for a few like an Edge etc.
I was told by a rep at the sign show that a full solvent printer like the Cadet wouldn’t need laminating unless it was going to be there for many years, but a few people have dissagreed with that 🙁
It looks like I’m just going to have to get a laminator whatever route I go down…
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quote RobGF:you know that this is an indoor printer running dye inks and as such is not suitable for outdoor work?
NOT SUITABLE FOR OUTDOOR WORK AT ALL???
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its more of a poster printer… I know the litho industry around here use them for tuning the press with a proof. But I thought it was something like Epson 7000 the Sherpa’s.. I am bit out of my league here.
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The Sherpa 43 is not an outdoor printer. As it’s really a mutoh you can probably get a pigmented based ink-set to run through it. Couple this with some specialty coated media and lamination you maybe able to get a few months outdoors.
If you’re looking for a printer to to stickers, adhesives, banners, etc. then this probably won’t meet many of your expectations.
If you’re looking at getting into trade show graphics such as pop-up displays and roll-up displays this would be a nice little entry level machine with good resolution and colour.
IIRC correctly, Agfa was originally pushing this system with their own RIP and colourmanagement solution as a digital proofing system to compete with the ever so flaky IRIS by Scitex (Creo, now Kodak). The colourmanagement with the RIP system and included spectrophotometre was suprisingly good. I went for a demo a few years back and I thought it was a great little rig. But the purpose of the machine even then was never to be an outdoor printer.
Rob
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so is an Sherpa a Mutoh Falcon or another Mutoh?
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quote Dave Rowland:so is an Sherpa a Mutoh Falcon or another Mutoh?
Mutoh made the printer. AGFA claimed that it was built to their specs but that’s probably bull. Whichever model it is based upson, the hardware certainly predated the Falcon II Indoor.
All of the details on the printer can be found on AGFA’s website. There are lots of different Sherpa printers now and they all look like Mutoh’s.
Rob
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Oh dear, I don’t think I’ll be going for this then if it’s for internal use only 😳
My mate popped over at lunchtime, but he only had the photos on his digital camera and we couldn’t get them off there and then so he’s emailing them over to me.
Now there was also a HP Designjet looking thing in the photos he took and he’s getting back to me on what model it is and a price for that…
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quote Yowzer:…Now there was also a HP Designjet looking thing in the photos he took and he’s getting back to me on what model it is and a price for that…
Same story. Different vendor. The HP 2000/3000 series and the 5000/5500 series printers will give you an option of running dye or pigmented inks. Like the Sherpa 43 they are aquious systems which are not appropriate for any type of long term outdoor work even with the pigmented inks.
If you want outdoor you need eco-solvent, mild-solvent, true-solvent, thermal resin, or UV curable. Chances are you won’t find any of this stuff at fire-sale prices. Sorry.
You may be able to find a used Roland 500 series eco-solvent for about 4500 of your pounds somewhere… Might not be a bad entry level system.
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Oh dear, never mind then, thought it all sounded too good to be true…thanks again guys, you’ve been very helpful
I’m off to sulk 😥
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You can use pigmented inks outdoors, you just need the right media and a good laminate with UV blockers in.
I’ve got a set of signs on a pub with images printed with my HP3000 on, they’ve been up for more than 2 years and are still looking the same.
You have to make your laminate come off the side of the print to seal it in though.Don’t get me wrong, they are nothing like as good as a solvent printer and you will only be able to do flat or single curve stuff as the coated material doesn’t like being stretched.
My HP can print much sharper text etc than my solvent Cadet, I think it’s to do with the media being coated.
Steve
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