what should i buy a cadet or versacamm advise please?

[Joe McNamara]

😮
Uh oh – here we go again………….
This is a bit of a tricky one dermo…
Seems to be the cadet has better resistance without lamination, and as far as I know the cadet IS a versacamm that has its guts ripped out and replaced with better stuff ( That’s a technical explanation from a Galwayman living in Bristol !!!)
If it was my money I’d be on the cadet.
Good luck
Joe

[Dermo]

Hi Joe.
Thanks for that, at the moment i am of the same thought but a rep told me today the cadete is giving more trouble???

[David Rowland]

Sorry, I afraid it would be a Mimaki JV3SP-160 or JV3SP-75 with Shiraz for me!.. but depends on your needs and how you design you work now.

All solvents are trouble, you have to nurse them through the life of the machine as the ink damages the heads day by day. IF you look after the printer, the printer will look after you. These printers do require regular cleaning/tidying and must be left on 24hours a day in a warmish environment.

The guts however are very similar between machines, I think it boils down to handling and usability when deciding.

The cadet is print/cut solution in one machine, the JV3 has better grip and good take up and suited toward banners. The JV3 has very good resistance against lamination as we don’t laminate, but if you outgas the print for 24hours then you can apply-clear vinyl over the top to protect prints. However on vehicles, I would suggest lamination all the time.

[Phill Fenton]

Cadet – for the extra durability.

You could always switch to versacamm inks if you find long term that the Cadet is troubled by the inks it uses.

[Nicola McIntosh]

quote Phill:

Cadet – for the extra durability.

im with phil on this one, and cleaning is not a problem only takes five minutes.

quote :

You could always switch to versacamm inks if you find long term that the Cadet is troubled by the inks it uses.

out of interest has anyone on here ever done so? 😀

nik

[MARTY]

Go with the Versacamm Use the inks the machine was made for.
We have a 54″ inch Cadet and have had three new Heads in less than a year. I think the full solvent inks are too strong.
Roland inks are now very durable and I have always had an issue with scratch resistance and laminated everything anyway. There are people on other forums with Versacams and Soljets with a couple of years trouble free. We have never had more than five weeks trouble free!
We are thinking of changing our inks to Roland.

[John Singh]

I’ll tell you what!
The more I read these threads about the Versacamm v Cadet the more confused I’m left
The opinions are so diverse

If I had the money and they were both standing in front of me I’m sure it would be a clear three weeks before I made my mind up and then I would be left wondering ‘Did I make the right decision’

[Fred Caffrey]

Nik, When I got my Cadet at first I had eco sol inks fitted to it mainly because it’s not used every day and therefore less maintenance. I changed to citrosol inks which are solvent inks with less smell and had problems with heads blocking even with a regular run every day. I have now gone back to max inks and it took a flush to change over. I have been told my warranty might be affected on the ink processing parts of my machine so something to ask about if anyone is thinking of changing.

Cheers
Fred

[David Rowland]

makes you wonder why you pay for support, we dont anymore, learnt as much as we could and if we need repairs, we pay by the hour.

However saying that, the Two JV3s that I have access to, our one (the JV3-160) has had the black head replaced after about 15months, the other JV3-75 had its black head replaced after about 10months. Both of 440ml JV3 ink. Pumps however is a generic one on the JV3, (as i understand it is), this should be a consumable as should break every year.

[Dave Armstrong]

I have been looking into a print and cut machine.

Have so far contacted the cadet supplier twice, asked for info etc, only to get no follow up from my phone calls both times.

Just makes you think what there back up service is like?

[Dermo]

At the moment in the same boat with you John, Don’t know what to say or do , there is such a mix of opinion on both machines

[Alan Drury]

If you intend to laminate as part of your workflow, what is the point of a solvent machine machine anyway.
Alan

[George Elsmore]

(-) (-) i know i will invent the versadet!!! (-) (-)

[Robert Lambie]

before deciding what machine you want, its better to think about what you will actualy be using it for… and how often?
laminating prints is fine, but what about the stuff you dont lamiante?

[David Rowland]

solvent is good for printing banners, laminating banners possibly would be a bit too tricky.

[Steve Coyle]

We have our 54″ cadet for a few months now. I was the same when trying to decide which one, and eventually the cadet won out. If your putting prints on vehicles you still have to laminate them, unless its short term. The cadet prints are a little bit more durable. Added to that, the uniform agent in Ireland is only 12 miles from here,(printech technologies) which means back up and support are almost instant.

[steve geary]

A lot of people are in this same boat.
I’m really staring to believe that Dealer Service, support, knowledge and distance should play a huge part in the decision.
Robert and Dave’s comments are important as well. find out what you’d use it for the most, and research enough to know which machine would be better suited for your needs.