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Argument for latex? Especially for home based business..

J

jpena9137

New Member
I would like to preface that I am not currently running a print operation so I risk looking like a complete moron... However, it seems to me that a major selling point in Latex is that it comes off the printer dried and ready to use without additional curing time. It would seem to me that most of you guys with solvent printers would likely have space dedicated to drying your prints. If this is the case, wouldn't the elimination of a need to have a rack or other system for drying be a huge plus? Especially if you are in a home operation where space is tight.

Additionally, if you are still in the home, the advantage of the water based Latex seems pretty substantial for fumes sake. If you are on the cusp of needing to move out and you can stay in the home with these advantages - it seems that whatever the increased costs from going to a latex system as opposed to a solvent system would be offset by bigger savings of not having to have the overhead of a commercial space (even if it buys another year of facilities costs which in my area would be estimated at about 30K in a year). Am I thinking correctly about this?
Thanks!
 
Biker Scout

Biker Scout

New Member
You wouldn't be running Solvent Inks unless you were printing on a printer 8 feet and wider. You'd need to have a fume extractor at that point because the smell is really strong and potentially harmful. You;d most like be running a printer that used Eco-Solvent ink sets which really don't smell all that much, provided you stick with name brand inks. They really don't take all that long to dry. At worst, 20 min. But most stuff comes off relatively dry to the touch. Unless you plan on doing vehicle wraps where you need to make sure the inks are fully outgassed before you laminate, otherwise running the risk of poor adhesion. Then I wouldn't worry about it too much.

UV LED Cure Ink comes off the printer instantly dry, has no fumes and uses less energy that even an HP with Latex Ink. They require a lot of pre and post heat. So if it's electricity and fumes you are worried about, look into LED UV Cure Ink Set & Printer.
 
P Wagner

P Wagner

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jpena9137 said:
I would like to preface that I am not currently running a print operation so I risk looking like a complete moron... However, it seems to me that a major selling point in Latex is that it comes off the printer dried and ready to use without additional curing time. It would seem to me that most of you guys with solvent printers would likely have space dedicated to drying your prints. If this is the case, wouldn't the elimination of a need to have a rack or other system for drying be a huge plus? Especially if you are in a home operation where space is tight.

Additionally, if you are still in the home, the advantage of the water based Latex seems pretty substantial for fumes sake. If you are on the cusp of needing to move out and you can stay in the home with these advantages - it seems that whatever the increased costs from going to a latex system as opposed to a solvent system would be offset by bigger savings of not having to have the overhead of a commercial space (even if it buys another year of facilities costs which in my area would be estimated at about 30K in a year). Am I thinking correctly about this?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Prints that are immediately able to go to the next stage of production are one of the major advantages of water-based latex ink. Having no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) also is a benefit, particularly in home environments where young children or older adults may be present. The HP Latex machine requires 220 volt power to run.

Many of the light/ low solvent ink sets would require active remediation in home settings. Eco-solvent ink sets (ether derived solvents) tend to put off lower concentrations of VOCs than other solvent ink sets that use ethylene glycol or cyclohexanone for their solvent base. You can get this information from any ink manufacturer/ OEM from their MSDS sheets that must be made available.
 
CreatedDesigns

CreatedDesigns

New Member
Castek Resources said:
Prints that are immediately able to go to the next stage of production are one of the major advantages of water-based latex ink. Having no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) also is a benefit, particularly in home environments where young children or older adults may be present. The HP Latex machine requires 220 volt power to run.

Many of the light/ low solvent ink sets would require active remediation in home settings. Eco-solvent ink sets (ether derived solvents) tend to put off lower concentrations of VOCs than other solvent ink sets that use ethylene glycol or cyclohexanone for their solvent base. You can get this information from any ink manufacturer/ OEM from their MSDS sheets that must be made available.
Click to expand...

Every home in the US that has electrical service has 220 so this should not be of any problem. Unless you can't do basic wiring. Then have an electrician wire an outlet for you.
 
OldPaint

OldPaint

New Member
i work out of our house. IF I WAS TO GET A PRINTER... it would be LATEX, 42" NO BIGGER. #1, i dont want to wrestle with 60" rolls of media, would have to have an extra pair of hands at 60"..........and aint doin wraps. and if its in your house.........YOU AINT RUNNING IT EVERYDAY...... which with eco-sol/solvent printer NEED TO KEEP RUNNING or they plug up.
at present i have a ENCAD 736 inkjet printer. this company was the 1st to produce a precursor of the latex printer called the ENCAD VINYL JET. it was also 220V needed.
http://www.wideformat.kodak.com/Printers/Discontinued/VinylJet/index.asp
mine is not the vinyl jet but serves me well for as much printing that i do. the nice thing is..........it sits there sometimes 2 weeks with no use. then i need it. i create the graphic, send it to the printer.AND IT PRINTS IT. i may not use it again for 2-3 weeks.......so the fact it doesnt create PROBLEMS for me is great.
i can do SHORT TERM(30-60 DAYS OUTDOOR) or long term(1 year or more)INDOOR no problems.
 
Speedsterbeast

Speedsterbeast

New Member
I love reading facts stated about products from people who have never owned or used them.
First of all: Eco-Solvent- I have a Roland SP300V in my HOME for three years. Fumes are NOT an issue. If you're printing a large area of dark ink you may get a faint smell. I have also had my printer sit for several weeks without use and it has never missed a beat It runs a cleaning cycle every 24 hours at idle. You just have to leave it plugged in, and not even on. As for curing time; 24 hrs is a good rule of thumb. I m gong to upgrade to a 54" in the next 16 months. If I already owned a 54" cutter, then I would go wit the HP Latex as the eliminate cure time is a hue plus. By the time I buy the HP and a cutter I'm close to $30,000 however, since can get a Roland print-cut for $20,000 I may just have to stick with what I know and I like.


Oh yeah, and a 42" printer is useless the first time you want to do a one-piece 4' X 8' sign
 
Baz

Baz

New Member
Some people are more sensitive to fumes than others. Ecosol inks do have a smell to them although not nearly as strong as full solvent.

If you go with a latex printer you should have a separate plotter to go with it or buy a printer/cutter unit. I don't believe there is a latex printer/cutter unit out yet so that would limit you to ecosol inks.

Drying time for ecosol is about half an hour before it's safe to handle but if you plan on laminating then it's best to wait overnight. Of course there are always rush jobs. You can handle prints right off the printer but you have to apply premask overtop the print so to be able to handle it once you peel the vinyl off the backing paper.

And go at least with a 54" unit. Less than that is useless and 54" is the common size for digital printing media availability.
 
P Wagner

P Wagner

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Printheads for the L2 machines (L25500, L26500/ Latex 260) run about $110 ea in the USA market. There are six printheads in these machines.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Speedsterbeast said:
I love reading facts stated about products from people who have never owned or used them.
First of all: Eco-Solvent- I have a Roland SP300V in my HOME for three years. Fumes are NOT an issue. If you're printing a large area of dark ink you may get a faint smell. I have also had my printer sit for several weeks without use and it has never missed a beat It runs a cleaning cycle every 24 hours at idle. You just have to leave it plugged in, and not even on. As for curing time; 24 hrs is a good rule of thumb. I m gong to upgrade to a 54" in the next 16 months. If I already owned a 54" cutter, then I would go wit the HP Latex as the eliminate cure time is a hue plus. By the time I buy the HP and a cutter I'm close to $30,000 however, since can get a Roland print-cut for $20,000 I may just have to stick with what I know and I like.


Oh yeah, and a 42" printer is useless the first time you want to do a one-piece 4' X 8' sign
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Then, before making a statement like that, you should be aware of something. While the odors are masked and somewhat less evil, there are still the 'baddies' in them. If you have children or pets in the house, you should have your head examined if you're bringing these machines into your home. The young tissue of children's lungs and whatnot cannot tolerate what adults do. It's one thing to hurt yourself, but a little baby or a dog, that's something else. At least like with Old Paint, his stuff is in a separate garage from the building, I think.

To the OP, if you wanna bring this stuff in-house, think about finding a proper facility and doing it that way.

Do any you think your homeowner's insurance is gonna cover a piece of equipment like this.... even if you put a separate rider on it ?? Heck no. It's H O M E O W N E R S insurance, not business insurance. Think outside the box of the logistics of will it fit or not. Real estate is not the only question, but what ramifications you may encounter should something go slightly wrong.

 
iSign

iSign

New Member
to me, this question reads like "among the dozens of considerations, here's 3 reasons I think I'm right... am I right?"

...so, to reply, yes I think you are right on the 3 considerations!

Would I plan a business, or an equipment purchase decision on a small percentage of the relevant considerations? No.

Anyway, that's just how it reads to me. Maybe you got all the validation you need already & maybe there really aren't any other considerations relevant to you.

To me, I think you would ultimately benefit more from a lengthy discussion about your skills, your experience, your mid to long range goals, your target market, your local business climate, your proximity to commercial warehouse space, your family makeup, your equipment budget, & at least a few other questions that would result from the answers of the first batch.

In a nutshell, building a business plan on the cheapest startup cost is like choosing a marketing budget based on the cheapest logo & signage. You get what you pay for, and even just on the home based or not equation, for every successful home based sign guy, there are probably several successful sign shop owners paying the high cost for a commercial facility, and profiting far more as a result... not saying this is your situation, because nobody could know from what you told us.
 
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