Opinion Buying A Flatbed Printer

[bigben]

Just a few more random thoughts. As far as the Agfa I'm not particularly impressed with how their belt system works for starters. Just a quick glance it appears they use the same style they have for years. We used to to run an M4f the belt walks and it's a headache in general. At some point it has to be replaced because of ink build up. The HP for example is a locked belt that can't move. I'm not a fan of Agfa after our time with the m4f.

Owning a UV printer is a minefield and there are many many other things to consider other than quality. Absolutely be considering the warranty length, ink adhesion, quality vs speed, cost of print heads, cost of service contract and also the consumables. Agfa again was insanely expensive to buy lamps and parts in my opinion. They don't build their machines they make money as a service company.

You're in Canada I would be asking how many techs a company like Vanguard or Canon has available and how they service your area. Your machine will break at some point you would be shocked to see how many companies have a few techs overbooked to service half of the US. I can tell you Agfa and HP do have their act together as far as providing service.

Great, thank you for all the details. It's my first uv printer and I'm in no rush to buy it since I can sub some work for now. So I want to do my homework well before making my purchase.

I did not mention it, but I'm also looking for a flatbed cutter and a uv coater for rigid sheets.

 

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

Great, thank you for all the details. It's my first uv printer and I'm in no rush to buy it since I can sub some work for now. So I want to do my homework well before making my purchase.

I did not mention it, but I'm also looking for a flatbed cutter and a uv coater for rigid sheets.

You can buy a lot of digital ready media, you may not need a corona treatment machine (I assume that's what you mean by UV coater?) unless you're planning on buying lots of very cheap, non-digital media in bulk.

As far as flatbed cutters, we've been really happy with our Zund.

 

[klmiller611]

Just a few more random thoughts. As far as the Agfa I'm not particularly impressed with how their belt system works for starters. Just a quick glance it appears they use the same style they have for years. We used to to run an M4f the belt walks and it's a headache in general. At some point it has to be replaced because of ink build up. The HP for example is a locked belt that can't move. I'm not a fan of Agfa after our time with the m4f.

I'd completely agree with particleman on the Agfa belt systems. We have an 8 year old Anapurna Mv. The belt design is horrible, I spent at least 6 months of the first year trying to keep the belt from crawling so much. It was/is a royal pain, as you spend so much time adjusting it. I think with a new belt, I'm pretty good, I got it pretty well set after changing it out and it stays fairly close now.

I'd also agree with the comment on the varnish, in the entire time we have had the machine, we have used the varnish twice, maybe three times, not nearly enough to justify the maintenance of it.

The Agfa image quality is fine to me, ours is 6 color plus varnish, so that edges up a bit. However, the adherence to coro is not as good as some others I've seen. Particularly heavy coverage and attempting to cut a printed area. It is a bit better with specific brand coro, but still an issue.

Good luck
Ken

 

[Oroscoe]

I had the same question before purchasing a flatbed as well. One of the most important things other than the machine reliability is service. Which manufacturer is going to give the the best service after the sale? Pick up the phone and call other people that are out of you area and have had their machine for at least a year.

 

[Steve Weist]

So I'm doing my homework to buy a new flatbed printer. So far, I have few contender. To give you an idea of what I will do with it, here is a short list:

• 40% will be for printing on coroplast
• 10% will be for printing on aluminium composite
• 25% will be for printing on acrylic (so need white ink)
• 25% will be for printing on rolled material, but mostly phototex.

My main sales are for interior products, so quality is a big factor over the speed. Having clear ink would be a plus value for certain effects, but it's not a ''must have''. Some of the printer don't have the roll-to-roll feature, but with a 10ft long table it will be enough for me to print one panel at a time.

The list:

• Mimaki JFX200-2531: entery-level printer. It's the slowest on the list, but also the cheapest and have the clear ink option. For the quality, it seems ok, but I did not try my own files yet. I've read somewhere that ink adhesion could be a problem for acrylic and aluminum composite.
• Vanguard VK300D: best print quality I've saw so far, great speed and I really like the rep (Jim). He helped me alot with all my question. I had a concern for service since I'm in Canada, but Jim assure me it won't be a problem. Don't have a roll-to-roll feature, don't have clear ink and the table is smaller than the other ones (5X10). So I can't have 2 4x8 at the same time, but it's the fastest printer on this list.
• Océ arizona 1260XT: The most expensive of the list, don't have the LED curing so I'm wondering if it's an old technology. Have the roll-to-roll option the other ones don't have, Option of clear ink. Print quality is very good and most of the guys in my area have a canon flatbed. So I think it saw well about the service.
• Agfa anapurna H2050i LED: I've just went to the graphic canada show and went to the Agfa booth. Seems a good and versatile printer. From what I read on the forum here, hybrid printer could be temperamental and have accuracy/registry problem. But having an hybrid printer would be a good thing for my roll material. Also the 12 pico litre drop is a concern for me for the print quality. I did not saw my own files printed for this one. It does not have the clear ink. Customer service seems to be great. Speed is also very good.

So here is my short list. What is your opinion and what I've forgot to check?

Thanks.

Big ben, i have personally installed over 100 Mimaki UV flatbeds and my company PDS Equipment has over 180 installs in the last few years, feel free to contact me with any questions that you may have. A PDS Equipment installed Mimaki JFX 200 will print as good or even better than printers 3x the cost, they might print bigger and faster but will not out print one of our Mimaki JFX printers. If your machine is configured properly adhesion is not an issue, the JFX 200 can be equipped with CMYK + primer +clear + white.

Since you are located in Canada I can not sell you a printer but would still help you learn more about the Mimaki products and help with any question you might have.

Steve Weist
615-812-3001
www.mimakiinkjet.com
sweistsr@gmail.com
FYI my service team and I are available 7 days a week and loves what we do.

 

[Pauly]

I'd go with the oce. Love my 480xt that much I'd get another. Before I looked at mine I saw other brands and the ice speaks for itself. The roll to roll is its own unit so doesn't require the media to go over the flat bed like other models. Colour is amazing. I print mostly in quality mode which is the middle of quality it can do and it's brilliant.
As your in Canada, service should be a breeze. I've dealt with a few of the Canadians and they're very knowledgeable.
I wouldn't bother with varnish much but the oce will do it along side white. The 1200 series is the first series to have light magenta and cyan.