About to purchase HP360 - got some questions

[Acho]

Hi,

I am abot to purchase HP360.

First question is if it is going to work good with Graphtec FC8600 for contour cutting with laminate over the print

Second question si about the RIP - the seller is pushing me to Onix. As far as I understand it is Windows only software. I am a MAC type of person but no problem to get Windows machine if this is the right soft.

Please share your thoughts on the questions above

thanks

 

[nate]

Hi,

I am abot to purchase HP360.

First question is if it is going to work good with Graphtec FC8600 for contour cutting with laminate over the print

Second question si about the RIP - the seller is pushing me to Onix. As far as I understand it is Windows only software. I am a MAC type of person but no problem to get Windows machine if this is the right soft.

Please share your thoughts on the questions above

thanks

It'll work with your cutter--- that's more up to your RIP or your cutter's software, but it will work.

Caldera is a great RIP for Linux or Mac. If you want to stick with the Mac look in to Caldera. www.caldera.com

Enjoy your printer. It's a great one.

 

[rjssigns]

Get something other than Onyx for a RIP. Cumbersome, overly complicated, non-intuitive interface. I want to make prints not pilot a 747. I'll leave it at that.

For a plotter get a Summa. Once and done.

 

[Ditchmiester]

Go with Caldera. We made the switch over a year ago from Onyx Thrive to Caldera V10 and it has been a godsend. It works so much more intuitively. I can train someone to load and print files in a matter of minutes. We run it on a Mac Mini its the 500 dollar version and it runs great. I imagine it might rip a little faster if we had a more horsepower Mac running it but still its not slow by any means. If you want Onyx you are going to need a serious PC to run it.

 

[BALLPARK]

Switched to Caldera at the start of the year. I've been very impressed with the features and I'm only scratching the surface of software. If it's possible to find a used copy or buy a new one, then I would suggest it 10 out of 10 times at this point. I was worried about learning the new software and the new software in the flatbed, but it was not nearly as tough as I feared.

There is a member on here selling a 360 for around 12k or 13k. I'm not sure if he still has the unit, but I saw it on another site.

A friend purchased a used 360 from a member here and the prints looked really crisp and vibrant. I would like to add one, but it's down on the list of a million things that I need for the shop. My friend also bought a Graphtec to use with it and he already had some really nice cutters (now for sale). Look on the classifieds here and you will see some nice Summa cutters he put up for sale.

Might want to look into the used equipment as you could pick-up the printer and cutter for less than the printer price as a new unit. Just have to look into the units enough to find one that's in good shape with lower miles.

Congrats on getting new equipment as it's exciting testing, learning, and expanding your in-house options. Good luck...

 

[myront]

Hi,

....I am about to purchase HP360.

Sorry to hear that.

 

[klmjff]

Sorry to hear that.

Coming from a Roland person obviously.

Our 360 is the best purchase we have ever made. Who wants to wait a day before laminating?

Solvent(eco, what a joke) is old technology.

You will love the HP.

Congrats!

 

[AaronSSsignsKC]

We got our 360 just around a year ago. It is a great machine I came from a shop that ran all Roland and Mutoh and the speed and quickness of the latex is amazing. I do think the machines are a little over engineered the auto load can be a bit of a pain and learning how the machine handles certain materials takes time. The up keep is a lot less than most printers and changing consumables is easy, if you can work a touch screen. 360's work great with the fc800 that is what we run and we use onxy as Rip. Onxy is a bit interesting at first but can be nice once you learn all the ins and outs of all the programs.But i can understand not wanting to make the switch from Mac. All in all they are probably the best printer I have operated its fast its clean and easy to operate. Just learn the machine learn the profiles learn you're materials well and you will have great success with! good luck!!

 

[dale911]

I am running an l25500 with Onyx and also just acquired an Acuity 1600 led I've printer. I almost purchased a Mimaki cjv3-130 recently but didn't want to add solvent printing to the lineup when I currently have the capability to print everything except fabric now. I am probably going to pick up an l370 in the next month or so. The newer HP inks are amazing. Even with my 25500, I have only found one material I couldn't print on (some type of low melt poly film that warped badly). Latex is awesome. Onyx isn't bad to work with. It takes me about 45 seconds to open a file, change the profile to the material I loaded, size it, set how many copies and hit print. You can set up presets as well to do all of that automatically when you open the files as well. I will be staying with latex and UV and possibly adding dye sublimation as time goes on. You really can't go wrong with the latex. It was also interesting when I heard a bunch of guys from a wrap company who are running epson sure colors marvel at the speed of the l360.

 

[Brandon708]

I just bought a 360 too. Which made me have to buy a new computer, upgrade flexi, and buy a newer vinyl cutter. It was worth it and everything really needed to be upgraded anyway. Happy so far with the printer. I just wish I could afford a bunch of extra media holders so I didn't have to fool with them everytime I want to change media.