Best print and cut printer?

[biggmann]

We are looking to upgrade our Roland sp-540 and are considering the Roland 640. Before we make the final decision I was wondering everyone's thoughts on the best print and cut printer. Must be able to handle at least 54 inch media. My concern is that with our current 540 when I print, laminate and then put back through to cut out, anything over 4 feet it seems to drift off and cut too wide or into the print. I have adjusted everything in the print and cut adjustments so I only chalk it up to the printer itself so that is why I am not leaning towards another Roland. I have seen printers at the sign shows that places crop marks at certain intervals instead of just the 4 that the Roland does. So what is everyone's opinions on the best printer?

 

[tomence]

The best option is to have separate printer and cutter, if that's not an option then Roland is your best bet because it takes less time to setup between jobs comparing to the Mimaki. This two brands are the only ones that i know of that make print and cut printers.

 

[ironchef]

Mimaki cjv30 user here... please elaborate on why roland is better? I love my mimaki and the rasterlink rip along with finecut is real easy to print and cut

 

[ironchef]

Id say go with mimaki. Less money then the roland, includes take up reel. Plus you can change between inks (ss21,es3,sublimation,etc.) Es3 having both white and metallic. So its really neck and neck between the two.

 

[ironchef]

It might take a little bit longer for the auto roller adjustments, but roland doesn't have that. So compare that to taking the rollers off the roland and putting them back in. The cjv30 takes like 30 seconds to switch all the rollers to off low medium or high

 

[tomence]

Mimaki cjv30 user here... please elaborate on why roland is better? I love my mimaki and the rasterlink rip along with finecut is real easy to print and cut

I did not say Mimaki is a bad printer, it only takes more time to setup print and cut jobs. By the time the Mimaki starts cutting Roland would be half way thru the job. Other than that they are both great printers.

 

[ironchef]

True. The roland starts cutting right away.

 

[tomence]

You can't go wrong with either printer. They are the best.

 

[401Graphics]

The best option is to have separate printer and cutter

yup!

 

[TXFB.INS]

We have some of VS 640 from Roland and they are able to handle everything we have thrown at it.

if you are having issues with cutting long runs that is do to the printer/cutter combo. you need to look at a stand alone cutter. or reduce the length of your cutting, for stickers we do in groups instead of a long run.

again it is a coin flip. if you are use to the Roland then there will be no learning the new software.

 

[ironchef]

I agree on separate print and cut for production. But i cant deny how easy it is to send a job and it prints and cuts by itself. Mimaki taking about a 2 mins extra to read switch the rollers pressure and read the reg. Marks. But if your doing alot of laminating then i see its good toto have both. I bought a print and cut. And later on when I'm more busy ill get a 54 in summa or graphtec... i have a mimaki plotter cg130 (old but still working hard) and a 30 in graphtec fc8000

 

[player]

My concern is that with our current 540 when I print, laminate and then put back through to cut out, anything over 4 feet it seems to drift off and cut too wide or into the print. I have adjusted everything in the print and cut adjustments so I only chalk it up to the printer itself so that is why I am not leaning towards another Roland.

Could the bad cut registration have anything to do with the heater and or the vinyl stretching?

 

[Jeff South Florida]

I would highly suggest you take a look at the Mutoh offering. You pint and then take it off and lam. Put it on the Kona cutter and it does the rest. I have done 30' of 1" circles and had it nuts on. The Mutoh uses a multi-segment bounding box. It will register itself every every 18 inches. You dont have to worry about loading it correctly. Flexi will put a bar code at both ends and adjust from there. It is truly a beautiful thing. I watched a customer printing a 20' banner while cutting a job of 500 labels.

 

[particleman]

Another vote for separate machines.

However, if you are set on getting a print/cut machine the Mimaki CJV series is really nice. Friend of mine has one and it is a really reliable printer/cutter.

 

[CanuckSigns]

we just upgraded from a vp540 to a vs540 and it's amazing! on the old vp, the media sat on the 2 long metal rollers on the back of the machine, which caused the media to drift on long runs if it wasn't loaded 100% straight, the VS has a completly new media holder which completly eliminates that.

 

[Gene@mpls]

VP540/GX500 combo here- I have done 16' logos and the cuts are nice
and right on. I can't tell you how much our thru-put has increased between
the IR dryer and separate cutter. Rolands also thrive on minimal maintenance.

 

[rjssigns]

Here is the world's best printer buying tip:
Find the dealer with a tech that is closest to your shop. Period. It may cost a tiny bit more, but it is worth every penny when the printer craps out during a deadline job and the tech can be there in an hour.


My buying tip actually applies to any major equipment purchase.