Anyone have the JV330-160 yet?

[InkHead]

Curious if anyone has purchased the JV330-160/CJV330-160 or received sample prints? Would love to hear your thoughts on it as far as colors, accuracy, anything really...

 

[signs_welly]

We bought the CJV330-160 and from what I understand we received the first one in the US to run anything other than dual CMYK. We opted for the set up that included orange ink so we could really hit those vibrant colors. We went directly from a Roland 540 to this Mimaki so it was quite an upgrade.

It prints beautifully - the colors are fantastic and it's crisp. The ID cut feature is fantastic and cuts precisely. That's all when the printer runs. We received it in June and have had almost constant problems with it. The orange was leaking all over our prints at first. Techs came out and replaced pumps and wipers with upgraded versions. It kept leaking so we had techs out again replacing all the usual stuff (captops, dampers, etc). Then the new pumps failed and cyan and magenta were dumped inside the pump housing. This caused all kinds of issues with air in the lines, etc. In the meantime we had other issues like media jam errors when no media was in the way and a lot of caking around captops. It has to be cleaned twice a day to keep the gunk at bay and get a good test print. We also had an issue with the sheet cutter not retracting properly and dragging over the print. Right now we're still getting leaking and the media jam issue which will abort a print in the middle - driving us crazy.

On top of all that Rasterlink is a clunky program that is frustrating to use - maybe that's just because we've used VersaWorks for years.

I'm not the one who really uses the printer - my husband and son use it more often. Husband is still optimistic that this is going to be a great printer once all the kinks are worked out. I'm over it and ready to send it back and get another Roland.

 

[InkHead]

Wow that is crazy! I know there are typically issues with new release models but that sounds like a headache especially for the cost of the machine. We have a Mimaki UCJV300 and we were really considering JV330 because of the familiarity with Mimakis as well as Rasterlink even though we don't use Rasterlink because of what you described. Plus we didn't want to deal with any issues from being a 1st year model.

In the end we deciding to go with the Epson S80600L. Still waiting for it to be delivered but I'm hopeful everything will be fine since it's tried and true and been out for a really long time.

Hope they get your issues figured out

 

[signs_welly]

Thanks - yep, we were idiots and didn't do our research. We went to ISA this year looking to replace our dinosaur printers. We've been running our shop with the 540 and a LEJ640 Hybrid. Back in April the Hybrid effectively died and we had been toying around the idea of replacing it with a full flatbed anyway so the timing of the ISA show was perfect. We researched the flatbed and knew what we were looking for there. I went to the show thinking TruVis to replace the 540 but when we got there the CJV330 was set up (running dual CMYK) several places at the show and with stars in our eyes we decided to purchase it instead of another Roland.

Aside from the fantastic color and vibrance to the prints, I was impressed with the media changer that can hold 3 rolls and save my back from loading different rolls. And it does print beautifully and the media changer IS fantastic.

My husband was sold by the xy slitter. We've never once even tried to use it. Not even sure if it works.

We knew it was new - but not that it was so new that we'd be the FIRST to get one. Or that so much of the technology had completely changed from the 300. We were snowed by the beautiful prints we saw coming off fully functioning machines set up at the show.

Hopefully they will get the kinks worked out and we can officially retire the 540 soon. That old girl is a champion - she keeps chugging along - not perfect but she gets the job done and I can take her apart myself and fix her up whenever she needs help.

Best of luck with your Epson! I sincerely hope y'all have a seamless experience getting started with it.

 

[InkHead]

I think its par for the course with new technology and for first year model machinery and electronics. We looked at the Mimaki UCJV when it first came out and decided to hold off. I think there were some on this forum that got the 1st year release and had some growing pains but most of it got worked out and fixed. We ended up waiting and buying it like 2 years after its initial release so that all the bugs/issues could be worked out. Its been solid for us for the most part.

The media changer and the xy slitter really caught our eyes too but we weren't sure we would use that functionality all that much. The media changer would be nice though.

We will see about the Epson. From everything I hear and seen, its looks to be a great machine. One of the most/if not the most recommended eco-solvent printer on this forum. My only concern was that as soon as I buy it, they would probably release a new model in the next week or two lol.

I'm sure they will figure it out your issues. I've spoken to a few owners of the JV330 and they are extremely happy with it and say the prints are amazing. Good luck!

 

[Solventinkjet]

As a tech when I heard there was an XY slitter on that model I thought, "Cool! That's going to be a nightmare."

 

[JamesLam]

I hope Mimaki reads these posts and realizes the potential damage. They should be all over this regardless of what their cost is to resolve this.

 

[Solventinkjet]

We just installed our first unit and my first impressions is the prints look amazing with the new Epson I3200 heads. The XY slitter actually works! But it's very slow. The customer made the comment that he could have probably just cut it by hand faster.

 

[FrankW]

To be honest: I work at a Mimaki dealer, but for a roll printer with orange in the 330-class I would prefer an Epson 80600. But havent seen a 330 until now live.

 

[InkHead]

We ended up with the Epson S800600L. We have had it a couple weeks now and the prints are amazing. Love it so far!

 

[signs_welly]

Mimaki actually sent out a tech from Japan and did some significant upgrades/repairs to the printer. That was just after Christmas and *fingers crossed* so far, so good. The prints are beautiful when it's working.

 

[petepaz]

we got one in December and it's been good so far. some learning curve issues but other than that it's running smooth.
we also got the cmyk w/ orange set up. prints are great, come off dry. cutter has been spot on but some small issues with the machine reading crop marks on occasion.
all the issues signs_welly described we have not had any of that. that sounds like all the issues we had with the roland truvis (which we traded in for this mimaki

 

[petepaz]

one concern i have is the bulk ink system. all the inks have expiration dates, like most inks, but they have a chip and if the date comes up then it won't let you use whatever ink is left and wiht the bulk ink we don't really use that much so see how that goes

 

[Solventinkjet]

one concern i have is the bulk ink system. all the inks have expiration dates, like most inks, but they have a chip and if the date comes up then it won't let you use whatever ink is left and wiht the bulk ink we don't really use that much so see how that goes

Yeah that's always a concern with these 2 liter systems. If you're willing to use expired inks, you can find chips online to trick the machine into letting you use the rest. There's a post on here right now about making your own chips too. I see people use chips to use up their expired ink all the time. Of course it's a do at your own risk type of thing.

 

[petepaz]

Yeah that's always a concern with these 2 liter systems. If you're willing to use expired inks, you can find chips online to trick the machine into letting you use the rest. There's a post on here right now about making your own chips too. I see people use chips to use up their expired ink all the time. Of course it's a do at your own risk type of thing.

over the years i have used roland inks when they have expired and never had an issue. i could see certain inks being a problem but over all if they are in the sealed container, not exposed to any elements or light what goes bad?
i could see maybe white or metallic inks being an issue but not your standard cmyk solvent and eco solvent.

 

[Solventinkjet]

over the years i have used roland inks when they have expired and never had an issue. i could see certain inks being a problem but over all if they are in the sealed container, not exposed to any elements or light what goes bad?
i could see maybe white or metallic inks being an issue but not your standard cmyk solvent and eco solvent.

Mostly what happens is the pigments separate from the solution which can cause clogging. But they should last a good time after expiration.

 

[yannb]

We have a JV330 8C in our demo room. Good print quality, great speed. The odour of the inks is a bit more pronounced. Funny thing is that everyone I demonstrate it to, is that they ask if it's possible to get it without the XY trimmer.