Advice on Roland Soljet Pro4 XR-640 vs Others

[prosigner]

Hey everyone,

So I'm looking to start up a business with an online presence selling prints on vinyl, canvas, decals, etc.

We have limited space, about 12 feet in length and half that in width.

We are looking at the Roland Soljet Pro4. We have been weighing the pros and cons versus some of the newer latex HP printers, but so far are decided on this.

Has anyone had any experience with the Roland XR-640, we can't seem to find much on it due to the fact that it is new.

We figure that it is a good option for us based on the improvements that the Pro4 has made upon its predecessor to compete with the newer latex technologies.

We aren't expecting huge volume at the beginning obviously, and we could eventually move into a separate printer/cutter set up later on.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated!

 

[SlightlyChilled]

Save your cash

 

[prosigner]

Thanks for the prompt response! Do you mind elaborating on why it would be a bad decision? Would you recommend to go with a newer HP latex printer and a separate cutter?

Thanks so much, it is really appreciated. :U Rock:

 

[Cyw]

I'd buy it in a heartbeat if I could afford to upgrade

ahhhh, that light black option alone, makes me drool

 

[Jack Knight1979]

I'd buy an older roland for pennies on the dollar for a start-up. The xr looks amazing, but a lot of coin for a new biz.

Although I bought a new roland myself when I started and I turned out it fine. What do I know? Ha-ha!

I can tell you that oem roland ink is crazy expensive.

 

[tomence]

Roland's Oem ink is not expensive at all if you work up a deal with your dealer. And when you buy ink buy 8 carts at a time and you will see that OEM is the way to go. If interested PM so can tell you how much i pay for 440 cc carts. And if i did not buy my RE-640 few months ago i would've bought the new XR in a heartbeat.

HP (what a joke) Ha

 

[SlightlyChilled]

What is your back round?

Or did you just wake -up one day and say wow I would like to drop a fat knot on whimm?

Not being rude just to the point

 

[CS-SignSupply-TT]

+1
have you given it the who what where how when and why?
AND,
can you sub production until your sales cash flow will justify the capital outlay?

 

[Gino]

Welcome from Pennsylvania........................

 

[prosigner]

Thanks Gino!

We would rather have our own setup and we are confident in our business model, however I appreciate the honest criticism.

 

[printpros_au]

I can tell you that oem roland ink is crazy expensive.

I would love to know how you came to this conclusion! Have you tried buying genuine Canon ink for the imagePROGRAF printers such as the iPF8100? Have a look at the price per cartridge then you can multiply that by 12 and it cost 1/3 of what the entire printer costs new!

 

[rydods]

Not sure the Pro 4 is going to fit in a space that small comfortably. Plus, although the cutter feature is convenient, I wish I would have bought one without and purchased a separate cutter unless you don't plan on laminating much. I laminate all the time and the cutter isn't the best feature. Pricing on the Pro 4, I think, is great and light black, white and the silver options are a main part of what sold me on this printer. Overall, I think Roland printers are the best but I can only make this comparison to a Mimaki JV 33 I once owned and how reliable my past Rolands have been.
Good Luck

Ryan

 

[hyperdrive]

We have the printer set up with white and mt. It is a large machine, measuring 10 ft long and requires almost 4 ft depth. That consumes most of your space there. lamination ,work table room for rolls of media.. Just not enough space imo. The machine itself is VERY impressive. The mt feature is a good selling point to potential customers! Show them both mt and a normal print, 9/10 times customer falls in LOVE with the mt ( for a 20-30%markup).

If it were me with the limited space, and being a start up, I would look for a good used machine, grow into the pro4. The vs series is really a great machine and you can find for less than half the cost

 

[Arcadia Graphics]

Hey everyone,

So I'm looking to start up a business with an online presence selling prints on vinyl, canvas, decals, etc.

We have limited space, about 12 feet in length and half that in width.

We are looking at the Roland Soljet Pro4. We have been weighing the pros and cons versus some of the newer latex HP printers, but so far are decided on this.

Has anyone had any experience with the Roland XR-640, we can't seem to find much on it due to the fact that it is new.

We figure that it is a good option for us based on the improvements that the Pro4 has made upon its predecessor to compete with the newer latex technologies.

We aren't expecting huge volume at the beginning obviously, and we could eventually move into a separate printer/cutter set up later on.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated!

Hi first of all welcome, and I wish you the best of luck with your business! The XR -640 is a very impressive machine but I would say not the best for a start-up! I have been working since 2007 and my first Roland printer was an SP-540V, two small printheads, very slow actually the slowest machine at the time, but also the cheapest, very easy to maintain and to run as well, only two DX4 printheads just 4 colours very simple and robust.
To be honest with you if any machine is operated by an inexperienced person a simple mistake could expensive but even more expensive on XR, also be sure about the running costs in your country, the XR has two big DX7 printheads that I wouldn't ever run with aftermarket inks... special colours like white and metallic are even more expensive a requires extra care!
I'm not telling you not to buy the XR maybe you have the market but if your first experience, you can explore other cheaper options like buying second hand, definitely, you will save a lot of money you might need it later or consider a New printer like the RF-640 it does not cut, and is very affordable, consider buying a separate cutting machine always is a good idea, print laminating and cutting will be a faster process. you can keep the Roland printing while producing vinyl cutouts
I would say if you can find a good and not as old XC-540 with DX4 printheads it is a 6 colour machine, very strong machine to start a business, simply to maintain each printhead will cost 400$, that means you can be confident to use after markets inks, you will see that in a couple of years when your business grows, you will have enough money to get any machine you want but the important thing you will understand better your market demands.
My first printer was a Mimaki JV3, after Sp-540v, XC-540 pro III and XR-640 pro IV and always with an extra cutter, Mimaki's and Rolands are great but Graphtec is a very good machine very reliable not as expensive.
bye