Advice on buying a UV Flatbed printer

[javagod]

Hi all:

This is where I come to get advice on a wide range of wide format question. Most of the time I just browse. I am planning on buying a new flatbed to replace our aging HP FB500 which is around 9 years old.

I've looked at and got quotes for the: They all are CMYK+W except for the Epson which has LM. LC and red. The Ricoh has primer and varnish

Epson V7000 - Epson heads
Canon Arizona 135T - Toshiba heads?
Fluid Color R84F - Ricoh gen6 two rows
Ricoh TF6251 - Ricoh gen5
Vanguard VK600 - Konica Minolta heads

Quotes have been between $93,000.00 to $108,000.00 range

They are all belt driven except the Vanguard which has a electromagnetic drive.

The Canon is entry level because of our budget and lacks a number of features the others have and seems to have higher ink costs.

I did look at the DigiTech which is an owner fan favorite here but is way out of my cost league.

As of today I'm leaning toward the Fluid Color and the Vanguard.

What you all think?

Dan Purcell

Purcell Printing and Signs

 

[ProColorGraphics]

I have had my Epson V7000 for a little over 2 years now and really like it!

 

[Pauly]

If you've browsed enough, you would have seen comments like - Go get demos, get some samples printed and see the printer in action
Everyone is going to be bias to stuff they've used.

We love using the Arizona. it's because we own it and at the time, it was best in class.

Write down your needs and look for what fits.

 

[MarkSnelling]

I don't sell equipment into Iowa other than Canon, but I'm happy to give you my take on what I know, I've seen, and what I've heard. I can also confirm if your Canon or Fluid Color pricing is good. I will say that one of the best features of the Fluid Color as my customers say is that you can do 90% of the fixes quickly and easily on your own. No need for service contracts. Great support from the company and hopefully from the distributor you have been quoted by. The other great feature is how open the software is. I had a customer once say to me "I love this software (Top Jet) because I can do anything I want with it....whereas everyone else locks down features or the ability to try unique things...like buying a really fast car with a governor on it that won't let it drive more than 60mph". That line always stuck with me.

I may be spreading wild rumors, but I I've heard from a few people that Vanguard is getting away from the Konica heads....I'd also be a bit concerned about the head plate on the Vanguard with the Konica heads being a mylar instead of a stainless steel.

If you haven't spoken directly with some of the people at Fluid Color, you'd be doing yourself a big disservice. They are some of the best in the industry and they live up to their word. We've had some difficult situations and they didn't flinch to resolve the issue and do what was right.

Feel free to reach out if you want to talk live and I'll give you my opinion from my "no horse in this race" perspective.

 

[signheremd]

Hi all:

This is where I come to get advice on a wide range of wide format question. Most of the time I just browse. I am planning on buying a new flatbed to replace our aging HP FB500 which is around 9 years old.

I've looked at and got quotes for the: They all are CMYK+W except for the Epson which has LM. LC and red. The Ricoh has primer and varnish

Epson V7000 - Epson heads
Canon Arizona 135T - Toshiba heads?
Fluid Color R84F - Ricoh gen6 two rows
Ricoh TF6251 - Ricoh gen5
Vanguard VK600 - Konica Minolta heads

Quotes have been between $93,000.00 to $108,000.00 range

They are all belt driven except the Vanguard which has a electromagnetic drive.

The Canon is entry level because of our budget and lacks a number of features the others have and seems to have higher ink costs.

I did look at the DigiTech which is an owner fan favorite here but is way out of my cost league.

As of today I'm leaning toward the Fluid Color and the Vanguard.

What you all think?

Dan Purcell

Purcell Printing and Signs

We have the FluidColor R84F with one row of heads CMYKW and love it.

Looking at the Vanguard VKM600t-HS the biggest advantages are the 50x99" print area (for full bleeds on 4x8 materials) and adding up to three rows of heads for speed.

Both have LED lamps and anti-static bars (which you will use infrequently and never with magnetic), dual mufflers, air cushion and pins for placement/alignment, and electronic negative pressure control.

Fluidcolor has the Ricoh Gen 6 heads which are a great combination of durability, quality, and speed. Their support and training are excellent and the machine is easy to work on once you understand how it works. The Fluidcolor has a print area of 48.0625x98something as I recall. Admittedly, there are times when 48.5 would be nice (since some materials are a touch oversized - like ACM).

If we were making this decision again, we would have two factors weigh heavily on our choice, outside of price: 1. Local service support. 2. Seeing the machines in action. Create your own file and have it include small text, pastel colors like light pink, light blue, and light gray, and something with variable gradients - especially good to use something for a current frequent customer (even more so if it is a challenge for your current printer).

 

[greysquirrel]

Dan, have you looked at the HP r1000? IQ is better than anything UV cure except Swiss Q. Printheads are a 1/3 the cost and you would install them yourself as needed...I get about 18 months per head. It has the best white on the market, doesn't yellow or fade. And if you get the roll to roll you could run fleet on it if your business needed that as an option.

 

[javagod]

If you've browsed enough, you would have seen comments like - Go get demos, get some samples printed and see the printer in action
Everyone is going to be bias to stuff they've used.

We love using the Arizona. it's because we own it and at the time, it was best in class.

Write down your needs and look for what fits.

I meant most of the time I've just browse here at signs101.com. I've had sales reps in, received samples and have seen online demo's. All the reps obviously advocate for their machines and the heads they use and point out the shortcoming's of their competition. You folks use this equipment and I value your opinions.

 

[javagod]

Dan, have you looked at the HP r1000? IQ is better than anything UV cure except Swiss Q. Printheads are a 1/3 the cost and you would install them yourself as needed...I get about 18 months per head. It has the best white on the market, doesn't yellow or fade. And if you get the roll to roll you could run fleet on it if your business needed that as an option.

I love my HP machines. I've had two roll to roll Latex (currently the HP365) and my old FB500. The R serious is a bit out of my price range and have heard that folks are having to run them a bit slower than the advertised speeds in order to get a good cure. We also noticed a number of two and three year old machines showing up at Global Garage. Your having good experience?

 

[Pauly]

I meant most of the time I've just browse here at signs101.com. I've had sales reps in, received samples and have seen online demo's. All the reps obviously advocate for their machines and the heads they use and point out the shortcoming's of their competition. You folks use this equipment and I value your opinions.

As i said, We (most on here) have only used 1 or 2 brands. and will say their purchase was the best because (some reinforcing opinions)

Only way to find the machine you want, is live demos at a show room testing your own print files.
The one you like may not perform as you'd expect it to.

 

[CMYKENGINEERING]

Hi all:

This is where I come to get advice on a wide range of wide format question. Most of the time I just browse. I am planning on buying a new flatbed to replace our aging HP FB500 which is around 9 years old.

I've looked at and got quotes for the: They all are CMYK+W except for the Epson which has LM. LC and red. The Ricoh has primer and varnish

Epson V7000 - Epson heads
Canon Arizona 135T - Toshiba heads?
Fluid Color R84F - Ricoh gen6 two rows
Ricoh TF6251 - Ricoh gen5
Vanguard VK600 - Konica Minolta heads

Quotes have been between $93,000.00 to $108,000.00 range

They are all belt driven except the Vanguard which has a electromagnetic drive.

The Canon is entry level because of our budget and lacks a number of features the others have and seems to have higher ink costs.

I did look at the DigiTech which is an owner fan favorite here but is way out of my cost league.

As of today I'm leaning toward the Fluid Color and the Vanguard.

What you all think?

Dan Purcell

Purcell Printing and Signs

Hi Dan,
I see that you've already received a bunch of good advice and recommendations already. I humbly submit the Sova Glyph UV flatbed printer for your consideration. Boasting the best available technology, including Kyocera heads, LED curing lamps, and magnetic rails, we envisioned the Sova as a competitor to the big names without the big price tag.

Those who know us know that we are a small company with big heart. We are the direct sellers, installers, and supporters of this equipment. Based in LA, we travel all over the country to solve any type of problem that could arise, as well as offering free remote support to help get our customers up and running as fast as possible.

I know you're not right around the corner, but if you're able to come to LA, we're a few minutes from the airport and we're always excited to show off our machine.

If you're interested, you can reach out to us from our website or by DM here.

 

[greysquirrel]

I love my HP machines. I've had two roll to roll Latex (currently the HP365) and my old FB500. The R serious is a bit out of my price range and have heard that folks are having to run them a bit slower than the advertised speeds in order to get a good cure. We also noticed a number of two and three year old machines showing up at Global Garage. Your having good experience?

Not sure who you heard of having to run them slower...we are printing Coro and foam board in 3 pass mode all day long. You should talk to a reseller, not sure where you are located. they can be purchased without r2r and white if necessary. Im sure if you tell them you are looking at a competitive solution they would work with you. Unless you are printing on melamine board, the platform is fantastic.A demo cost you a little bit of time...the wrong purchase will cost you at least five years.

 

[mxbykr99]

They are all belt driven except the Vanguard which has a electromagnetic drive.

Once you go linear drive, you'll never go back to a belt driven machine again. We went from an Arizona 550GT, then to an R2000, THEN to a Digitech TruFire and haven't looked back (for the most part). Keep in mind that Vanguard cheapens out their drive system, they use one array of magnets that push outward instead of two arrays that float in the middle. Still, it seems like a solid machine and likely won't have issues unless you ignore the maintenance schedule.

I will say that the IQ and color gamut on the R1000 and R2000 is almost untouchable, and it can be a solid machine depending on your shops workload. Ours was an early model that had some issues from being HP's guinea pig, but rose to the occasion many times when we were put in a corner with rush jobs. Just don't ask the machine to do Styrene - head strike central.

 

[StratoJet]

Hi all:

This is where I come to get advice on a wide range of wide format question. Most of the time I just browse. I am planning on buying a new flatbed to replace our aging HP FB500 which is around 9 years old.

I've looked at and got quotes for the: They all are CMYK+W except for the Epson which has LM. LC and red. The Ricoh has primer and varnish

Epson V7000 - Epson heads
Canon Arizona 135T - Toshiba heads?
Fluid Color R84F - Ricoh gen6 two rows
Ricoh TF6251 - Ricoh gen5
Vanguard VK600 - Konica Minolta heads

Quotes have been between $93,000.00 to $108,000.00 range

They are all belt driven except the Vanguard which has a electromagnetic drive.

The Canon is entry level because of our budget and lacks a number of features the others have and seems to have higher ink costs.

I did look at the DigiTech which is an owner fan favorite here but is way out of my cost league.

As of today I'm leaning toward the Fluid Color and the Vanguard.

What you all think?

Dan Purcell

Purcell Printing and Signs

Take a look at the StratoJet USA line of printers as well, they’re in your price range and come with a ton of features not found on other flatbeds.

StratoJet USA website

Thanks

Dan

 

[nchachula]

Hi all:

This is where I come to get advice on a wide range of wide format question. Most of the time I just browse. I am planning on buying a new flatbed to replace our aging HP FB500 which is around 9 years old.

I've looked at and got quotes for the: They all are CMYK+W except for the Epson which has LM. LC and red. The Ricoh has primer and varnish

Epson V7000 - Epson heads
Canon Arizona 135T - Toshiba heads?
Fluid Color R84F - Ricoh gen6 two rows
Ricoh TF6251 - Ricoh gen5
Vanguard VK600 - Konica Minolta heads

Quotes have been between $93,000.00 to $108,000.00 range

They are all belt driven except the Vanguard which has a electromagnetic drive.

The Canon is entry level because of our budget and lacks a number of features the others have and seems to have higher ink costs.

I did look at the DigiTech which is an owner fan favorite here but is way out of my cost league.

As of today I'm leaning toward the Fluid Color and the Vanguard.

What you all think?

Dan Purcell

Purcell Printing and Signs

Stay away from Canon Arizona product. Very poor support and quality can't compete with new printers hitting the market.

 

[CMYKprnt]

We have R2000 and I don’t recommend it. You can find plenty for sale on global garage that didn’t pass muster. If your volume was fine on the FB and you don’t need anything more than I would suggest Epson or even mimaki flatbed. Not a fan of vanguard. Know a couple of people who had them - made in China and didn’t last long and had lots of service calls. We are fortunate that we have enough volume for Digitech. Had ours 10 months no service contract and no service calls. You might look at just outsourcing to Signs365 or similar partner. 24 hour turn/ cheap next day air puts you in competitive space nowadays.

 

[MelloImagingTechnologies]

Buy equipment from a local dealer who supports the product.
I have dozens of Vanguards I have sold here in the Northeast and don't have any customers who are unhappy with them.
If they were, I would have taken them back.
Some of them met me on Signs101.
Bruce

 

[Craig Keller]

Do they make small ones?

If you've browsed enough, you would have seen comments like - Go get demos, get some samples printed and see the printer in action
Everyone is going to be bias to stuff they've used.

We love using the Arizona. it's because we own it and at the time, it was best in class.

Write down your needs and look for what fits.

Do yhey

 

[Pauly]

Do they make small ones?
Do yhey

1200m x 2500mm is their smallest.