freshprints
New Member
Looking to add a new flatbed up printer to my shop. I only want to pay cash so my limit is $100,000. Any recommendations?
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Suggestions 4’ x 8’ UV Flatbed
- Thread starter freshprints
- Start date
FireSprint.com
Trade Only Screen & Digital Sign Printing
Vanguard. Pretty sure they have a machine right in that price point.
MelloImagingTechnologies
Many years in the Production Business
Vanguard VR5D-E starts at $70,000 and can be upgraded down the road to be faster with more heads.
Bruce
melloimaging.com
Bruce
melloimaging.com
StratoJet
Merchant Member
StratoJet 2512, starts at $63k, can add many heads now or later and up to 13 colors
Los Angeles headquarters 562.287.2841
https://StratoJetUSA.com/shark-2512
https://StratoJetUSA.com
Los Angeles headquarters 562.287.2841
https://StratoJetUSA.com/shark-2512
https://StratoJetUSA.com
Inks
New Member
Good Day Bruce,
That is the first I have seen of that printer, looks interesting and a good price point.
Cheers!
Rick
Inks
New Member
Looks like the same print heads as the Vanguard that Bruce recommended. May I ask where this printer is manufactured?
balstestrat
Problem Solver
Adam Vreeke
Knows just enough to get in a lot of trouble..
I really enjoy my Mimaki JFX200-2513. A little more expensive than some of the other suggestions starting at about $85k last I looked. I like it as it uses the LED lamps so you don't need to be replacing your lamps every 500 hours saving money on consumables. I also like how it fades in on printing which helps reduce heat banding (at least that's what I call it). Some downsides to it are it is a little slower printing than my Acuity Advanced that I used and the default RIP program is Rasterlink 6, which is a pretty basic RIP. I know you can use other RIP programs like Onyx I believe and possibly some others.
This is all coming from an operators perspective that knows Adobe Illustrator, I say this because if I need any changes done to a file I do not need to go back to the production designer like some operators might. Overall very satisfied with this machine and worth at least checking into it to see if it might be a fit for you.
EDIT: It has been about 2 years since I was last looking at printers so some of this may be outdated
This is all coming from an operators perspective that knows Adobe Illustrator, I say this because if I need any changes done to a file I do not need to go back to the production designer like some operators might. Overall very satisfied with this machine and worth at least checking into it to see if it might be a fit for you.
EDIT: It has been about 2 years since I was last looking at printers so some of this may be outdated
Inks
New Member
Most of them are now using UV LED lamps for curing.
Superior_Adam
New Member
We ran a Mimaki JFX-200 for about 4 years. We only switched to EFI as we needed more speed. The Mimaki is a great machine. We only had 1 tech visit in 4 years.
Adam Vreeke
Knows just enough to get in a lot of trouble..
Thank you for the correction, I edited my post. It has been a few years since I was last out shopping for printers. But I know when I was most other companies were ripping on the LED lights claiming ink drying strength wasn't as good. Has there been an advancement on the LED lamps or was that just the salesmen talk to talk their machine up?
ProColorGraphics
New Member
What are the 13 color options?
Inks
New Member
Most likely an update on the inks photoinitiators, move from cationic uv inks back to free radical uv and higher uv output of the LED lamps.
MelloImagingTechnologies
Many years in the Production Business
Good note from Inktech. He obviously knows ink.
Yes, there is a newer ink chemical that works well with the frequency of the LED lights.
Most manufacturers are switching to LED already because there will be a time when you can't buy a Mercury lamp in the US.
I know there are guys working on selling Mercury> LED change over kits.
The only real maintenance for LED is cleaning the glass below it.
Bruce
melloimaging.com
StratoJet
Merchant Member
CMYK, Lt C, Lt M, White, Clear, Red, Green, Orange, Violet a Black (gray tones)
StratoJet
Merchant Member
We manufacture the Super Structure in OUR factory in New Delhi and final assembly is done here in the US. We use an OEM Ricoh Gen 5 head, that's similar to that one, but with more head control features (individual purging, pressure and temp control as well a propelling the ink through the head at 3x the velocity for a tighter ink patters and better adhesion). On the 2512 model, you can add heads now or latter to get up to 3x CMYK or 47 8x4' (47 boards) and hour
Pauly
Printrade.com.au
Junk..
My Arizona in production mode prints at a better quality than a mutoh in a high quality mode.
Inks
New Member
Thanks for the feedback. I am not a guru, forgive me lol
10sacer
New Member
You cannot go wrong with a printer from Vanguard. Been at the top of the industry in unit sales and customer satisfaction for about three years running now.
Not an employee, just an advocate. I had unit 001 from CET years ago, and Dave Cich and his team at Vanguard migrated from CET and took their game to a different level in terms of printer features and support functionality.
I always encourage folks on forums like this to DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH when asking this question. Get recommendations from others on here who have different models and then do searches for those models on this site and see how many negative posts there or folks who are having issues. Then ask questions of the manufacturer(s) you narrow it down to.