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Best UV Flatbed out

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702displays

New Member
Wondering what UV Flatbed is working best for people out there. I used the new Roland Flatbed (not the hybrid) at my last shop and the quality was great but it was really slow. Just wondering what is working good for everyone in the 100,000 or less price range.
 
Solventinkjet

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
For $100k or less take a look at the MImaki JFX200. It's probably the fastest entry level flat bed out there. If setup in the CMYKx2 mode, you can get 8 full sheets per hour. The quality is on par with other flatbeds and they generally go for around $80k - $90k depending on what options you choose and shipping costs.
 
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702displays

New Member
VanderJ said:
For $100k or less take a look at the MImaki JFX200. It's probably the fastest entry level flat bed out there. If setup in the CMYKx2 mode, you can get 8 full sheets per hour. The quality is on par with other flatbeds and they generally go for around $80k - $90k depending on what options you choose and shipping costs.
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8 full sheets per hour?! Is that a typo? I'm use to 1 sheet in 45 minutes. I have to check that out. Thanks!
 
Solventinkjet

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
702displays said:
8 full sheets per hour?! Is that a typo? I'm use to 1 sheet in 45 minutes. I have to check that out. Thanks!
Click to expand...

In reality, because you have to load the material on and hit the button, it may be more like 7.5 per hour but if you have a good employee you could get 8 per hour. If you add white or any other color configuration it drops to about 5 or 6 sheets per hour.
 
7

702displays

New Member
VanderJ said:
In reality, because you have to load the material on and hit the button, it may be more like 7.5 per hour but if you have a good employee you could get 8 per hour. If you add white or any other color configuration it drops to about 5 or 6 sheets per hour.
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That's still awesome. I'm hoping they'll have one at the next sign show that comes close to Las Vegas.
 
flyplainsdrifta

flyplainsdrifta

New Member
VanderJ said:
In reality, because you have to load the material on and hit the button, it may be more like 7.5 per hour but if you have a good employee you could get 8 per hour. If you add white or any other color configuration it drops to about 5 or 6 sheets per hour.
Click to expand...

another thing you have to remember that most speeds they give you for boards per hour are on the production modes most of the time. if you wanted really hi quality, as in same quality you get from vinyl on 10 pass and above, your looking at more like 4 to 5 boards per hour, depending on the model. there's a lot of info to wade thru when purchasing a new flatbed. also, ALWAYS GET SAMPLES FROM YOUR OWN FILES AND YOUR OWN MATERIAL!!!!!
 
flyplainsdrifta

flyplainsdrifta

New Member
yeah 702, there is a lot of threads here regarding new fb purchasing within your price range. def suggest checking em out and asking questions as much as possible to your sales rep! see it in person, run it, and figure out if it speaks to you and your business! also i believe you guys have a sign show in august in vegas so get over there when it happens!
 
7

702displays

New Member
flyplainsdrifta said:
yeah 702, there is a lot of threads here regarding new fb purchasing within your price range. def suggest checking em out and asking questions as much as possible to your sales rep! see it in person, run it, and figure out if it speaks to you and your business! also i believe you guys have a sign show in august in vegas so get over there when it happens!
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Yep, I'm starting my homework now. Any other printers in the running for this price range, speed and quality? I'd like to be able to print white and spot uv like my last printer too.
 
dale911

dale911

President
Not trying to hijack and I was going to post a new thread but thought the opinion I get may help you as well.

I am looking at purchasing a used Scitex FB500 in the next week or two. Anyone have a comment on the quality of these printers, print and build? It looks like an ideal flatbed for my shop right now since it has a small foot print when not using the tables and can do roll to roll.


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echeverrit

New Member
VanderJ said:
For $100k or less take a look at the MImaki JFX200. It's probably the fastest entry level flat bed out there. If setup in the CMYKx2 mode, you can get 8 full sheets per hour. The quality is on par with other flatbeds and they generally go for around $80k - $90k depending on what options you choose and shipping costs.
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curious if the vacuum on this model really holds material down well? on our current Roland LEJ-640 UV flatbed it has 4 different "zones" however, we've found the vacuum to be quite poor - we have to cover all holes on bed in order to create more "vacuum" to pull down or hold material.
 
flyplainsdrifta

flyplainsdrifta

New Member
dale911 said:
Not trying to hijack and I was going to post a new thread but thought the opinion I get may help you as well.

I am looking at purchasing a used Scitex FB500 in the next week or two. Anyone have a comment on the quality of these printers, print and build? It looks like an ideal flatbed for my shop right now since it has a small foot print when not using the tables and can do roll to roll.
Click to expand...

first off congrats! they're a workhorse if they're maintained really well. have you had any flatbed printer experience before?? and what type of stuff do you guys predominantly run?

i would check the nozzle check, head lifespan, and have them print your files to get an idea of how it'll translate to your business. also definitely request any maintenance history it has had. as it only goes to 64" or around there, running full 4x8 sheets won't take too long, depending on quality mode. the r2r is not the greatest though, so if you already have a latex or eco sol currently id reccomend keeping it around. tracking issues among other things on the 1st gen keep it from excelling at roll-fed material. its great for short-runs, but i wouldn't hold your breath on long runs. overall print quality is pretty solid for what it is. express to outdoor plus is good for distance signage up to around 8 to 10 feet away and further, with very limited banding. indoor to max dpi is great for more detailed things that you really need up close and personal viewing. by no means should you be expecting art quality reproduction but it can do some pretty good work. if your used to running a roland, epson, or even hp latex, the quality will be a pretty steep drop off, but just keep in mind max resolution on the fb-x00 is 1200x600, but most of the work you'll run will be 600x300 in production modes or 600x600 for your indoor modes.

build quality is pretty solid, I'm still running a fb700 thats almost 7 years old. while we have replaced a few major parts over the years, as long as you can maintain a service contract with hp (along with a very conscientious operator, I've known some who just throw sheets in and eat heads so make sure you have someone stay on top of it) , when things pop up, it won't be the end of the world $-wise.

all in all, id recommend it as long as all the nozzle checks are in order, maintenance history is good, and can get a service contract. lotta boxes to check but its a solid buy, especially if you have the workload to feed it. any more questions, ill answer to the best of my ability! good luck!!!
 
johnnysigns

johnnysigns

New Member
Fuji and Oce have "preowned" machines your local rep can provide info on. They're machines they take back in and sell with a 6month or 1yr warranty/service package. I'm guessing you'd be looking at $75k - 90k for something that way depending on how it's configured.
 
dale911

dale911

President
flyplainsdrifta said:
first off congrats! they're a workhorse if they're maintained really well. have you had any flatbed printer experience before?? and what type of stuff do you guys predominantly run?

i would check the nozzle check, head lifespan, and have them print your files to get an idea of how it'll translate to your business. also definitely request any maintenance history it has had. as it only goes to 64" or around there, running full 4x8 sheets won't take too long, depending on quality mode. the r2r is not the greatest though, so if you already have a latex or eco sol currently id reccomend keeping it around. tracking issues among other things on the 1st gen keep it from excelling at roll-fed material. its great for short-runs, but i wouldn't hold your breath on long runs. overall print quality is pretty solid for what it is. express to outdoor plus is good for distance signage up to around 8 to 10 feet away and further, with very limited banding. indoor to max dpi is great for more detailed things that you really need up close and personal viewing. by no means should you be expecting art quality reproduction but it can do some pretty good work. if your used to running a roland, epson, or even hp latex, the quality will be a pretty steep drop off, but just keep in mind max resolution on the fb-x00 is 1200x600, but most of the work you'll run will be 600x300 in production modes or 600x600 for your indoor modes.

build quality is pretty solid, I'm still running a fb700 thats almost 7 years old. while we have replaced a few major parts over the years, as long as you can maintain a service contract with hp (along with a very conscientious operator, I've known some who just throw sheets in and eat heads so make sure you have someone stay on top of it) , when things pop up, it won't be the end of the world $-wise.

all in all, id recommend it as long as all the nozzle checks are in order, maintenance history is good, and can get a service contract. lotta boxes to check but its a solid buy, especially if you have the workload to feed it. any more questions, ill answer to the best of my ability! good luck!!!
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I appreciated your info on this. I was up in the air a little and your post helped to push me over the edge and take the leap. I've had it in the shop for about 3 weeks already and have already run a couple hundred yard signs and about 100 4x8 panels through it already. It's an amazing printer that does a good job. Printing on banner has been great as well. The speed blows away what solvent printer can do. I ran 38" wide material last week to run 3, 3x6 banners and had them all done in under 20 minutes whereas with the solvent, it would have been an easy hour or printing. I obviously have some tweaks to make on it as well as learn some tips, but I now wish I had jumped onto the flatbed wagon a lot sooner. Doing so would have saved me countless hours and money in materials, lamination, trimming and mounting.
 
flyplainsdrifta

flyplainsdrifta

New Member
aha absolutely my friend. and i know what you mean by saving hours and hours. just wait till you can get a flatbed cutter. then you'll really know what speed is haha. but yeah if you have any questions absolutely let me know or you can shoot me an email. if email is easier, just pm me and ill get back to you on there. have a good one man!
 
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Emd2kick

New Member
Have fun screwing in pins (and removing them if higher then the media) to line up media on the Mimaki. We test drove one and colors were super over saturated, missing fine detail. Also, for acceptable work it was 4 boards and hour. We went with an Agfa Anapurna (installed earlier this year), best decision we made. 4x as fast, a neumatic media system, reverse vacuum for heavy media etc.

Also, if your going to get a flatbed make sure you can afford a router/cutter too....they kind of go hand in hand.
 
dale911

dale911

President
flyplainsdrifta said:
aha absolutely my friend. and i know what you mean by saving hours and hours. just wait till you can get a flatbed cutter. then you'll really know what speed is haha. but yeah if you have any questions absolutely let me know or you can shoot me an email. if email is easier, just pm me and ill get back to you on there. have a good one man!
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Flatbed cutter is definitely on the list. I did find immediately that since I sped up production, now my bottleneck has moved to finishing. It seems to be a never ending hole. Today, I spent most of the day screen printing t-shirts and thinking about how much faster it would be if I had an auto press. Oh the things I could do If I had unlimited funds and space.


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