Buying A Used 360 Hp Latex - Any Advice?

[RaymondLoewy]

FYI my 365 came with the counter weights last year - The tech who set it up ignored them and said they weren't worth using, even after I showed him the 5x18ft, 6 panel wall mural behind them and showed him that the first panel printed before the take up was hooked was 1/4" shorter than the other panels . .

I don't do much paneling so I haven't bothered to tinker with the kit. The only other printer I had had issues and had to tape up from the start were those old tank vuteks,

 

[BALLPARK]

If you can inspect the machine. Ask them to do the following:

Load new media. (Make sure it loads properly using the auto feature.)
Provide your own test print file and have them print it.
Make sure the take up reel works properly.
Check the carriage area for cleanliness.
Ask them if there are any known issues.

We love the HP series latex roll-to-roll printers. The quality of the prints are great. The speed of the prints are in line with competitors, and it's super easy to profile new media. We will purchase new latex printers in the future as they cost very little compared to solvent printers, but we will wait until the new model is released. We may even give HP the first run for dye sub printers based on how well we have worked with the HP latex. If their flatbed printer was not slow for the number of sheets per hour then we may only have HP printers in our production, but right now it's far behind the Vutek and Durst which is understandable based on the price and it's the first series for the flatbed. HP makes a great product and they stand behind it every time I've had an issue to this point. Most issues I've read about HP latex are user errors. That is not to say that some lemons have not got through their production lines, nothing is perfect.

We recently purchased another used latex 365 last month. The printer arrived not as described by any means. But this is where HP does a great job. It only cost us $50 to speak with a tech support to troubleshoot. This is done to ensure you need someone onsite with parts. Then we paid $1500 and HP sent us a 3rd party tech support person and he was wonderful. HP replaces/fixes everything that is wrong with the printer when the tech support person arrives. They overnight the parts and it does not matter if it takes 1 day or a week of the tech being onsite. It's only the $1500 and it covers ALL parts! Our tech person went over it and made sure by the time he left there was no issues with the printer.

I purchased the printer cheap and thought I was getting an amazing deal! But even after I paid $1550 total to fix it the price was still below $6250 with shipping. I doubt I could buy a used printer for that price in the condition this printer is in now, so it's not so bad! The printer now has new motors for the take up, motor for the reverse wind function, scan axis reader, etc... let's just say we are very happy with HP and the way they take care of the users after about 9 boxes arrived with parts and it was fixed in 2 days.

Good luck and I highly recommend the HP 365+ series!

 

[jimmmi]

FYI my 365 came with the counter weights last year - The tech who set it up ignored them and said they weren't worth using, even after I showed him the 5x18ft, 6 panel wall mural behind them and showed him that the first panel printed before the take up was hooked was 1/4" shorter than the other panels . .

I don't do much paneling so I haven't bothered to tinker with the kit. The only other printer I had had issues and had to tape up from the start were those old tank vuteks,

I use the counterweights for everything. I dont have problems with them and dont remove them. Of course they dont solve panneling problems but help together with the other tips like long consistency mode profile that preheats the printer(thats maybe you had first panel different that others), rotate every one panel, good media alignment with less skew and so on.

 

[RaymondLoewy]

I use the counterweights for everything. I dont have problems with them and dont remove them. Of course they dont solve panneling problems but help together with the other tips like long consistency mode profile that preheats the printer(thats maybe you had first panel different that others), rotate every one panel, good media alignment with less skew and so on.

This is a great example of why I won't go latex when I open my own shop. The fact that a $2,000 Service call covers any parts needed, really tells you how cheap these latex printers are.

 

[RaymondLoewy]

Hp 375 is almost exactly the same with 360 with only difference it has bulk ink of 3l. 360 uses exactly the same ink cartridge, printheads, maintenance cartridge. The only difference that makes sense in size consistentsy is the counterweights kit the 365-375 printers have. They are some weights that make the dancing bar of the TUR lighter so less tension is applied. You can buy this kit for your 360. I bought it too for my 360. About color consistency its same thing. You must calibrate colors and follow some tips you can find in the forum and also in hp videos. Also bought my 360 used. Runs perfect every time from day one. Go for it you wont regret it. Also about problems, every printer has it pros and cons. Solvents also brake.

Yes, solvents will "brake" and need maintenance and get back up an running quickly, while HP's phisher price printers "break" and the $2K 2 day service is actually 3. Where can I source parts from to fix it myself? - HP realizes its buyers are dumb and does not provide the option. Kind of like an IPhone.

 

[jimmmi]

Yes, solvents will "brake" and need maintenance and get back up an running quickly, while HP's phisher price printers "break" and the $2K 2 day service is actually 3. Where can I source parts from to fix it myself? - HP realizes its buyers are dumb and does not provide the option. Kind of like an IPhone.

Do you own a latex printer?

 

[Morten CHristensen]

I have owned both eco-solvent and now latex printers 2x26500 and 1x570. Your planned 360 is just in between. I would say go ahead. Heads are considered a consumable and fairly cheap, you can change them yourself.
Pretty simple and straightforward printer to work on. We service the printers ourselves. Our printers run a alot, so we have changed scan motors, encoder strips, jam sensors, heating elements, PSU etc. You can get cheap parts in china.

 

[myront]

Can't believe not one mention of what a pia the 360 is to switch media. This was something we noticed on day 1. Ours has given us minimal problems otherwise. If you're a smaller shop that changes media often, you'll certainly get a workout. Colors? Well forget about getting a rich red that you may be accustomed to. Strongest point to go with Latex is the ability to go right to laminating.

 

[eahicks]

Hello,

I was also leaning toward latex, but after more research, I've decided to go with solvent. I also need a cutter so buying 2 machines, a printer and a cutter didn't make sense either.

This is not correct thinking. If you are a busy shop, having separate machines DOES make perfect sense. You can be cutting a job while the printer is running. You still have to remove the prints to laminate before cutting so the idea of print-then-cut (for most stuff) on one machine with no extra steps isn't valid. I'm not saying Latex is the answer, I'm saying an all-in-one is not.

 

[Geneva Olson]

Hello fellow members!
I want to buy a used Hp Latex and this monday i will have the opportunity to inspect a used 360 HP Latex, it has supposedly printed 4000 m2, so it's not that bad, it was moved from Germany to Poland. I have experience owning a solvent printer but i have no idea what i should be on the lookout when buying a used latex machine. Could You give me some advice what i should check to be sure the printer is in good condition? Could the seller manually input a false milage? I know i want to run some single color prints to see if there is any banding... Anyways if someone with Latex experience, especially a technician could give me some hints i would be very very thankful.
Sorry for my English.
Kazek.

I bought HP 315 brand new. I had bought a used hp that was discontinued. Mistake. But I can say that the HP315 has been a good machine. I had some issues recently with mine, which I posed on here for trouble shooting help. Turned out I needed a new maintenance kit. horizontal banding sometimes happens when a printhead is going out. They have a good shelf life. They are also expendable. HP intended them to be this way. It's an easy machine.

 

[eahicks]

Can't believe not one mention of what a pia the 360 is to switch media. This was something we noticed on day 1. Ours has given us minimal problems otherwise. If you're a smaller shop that changes media often, you'll certainly get a workout. Colors? Well forget about getting a rich red that you may be accustomed to. Strongest point to go with Latex is the ability to go right to laminating.

Hmm....I get fantastic reds with ours, better than I ever did with any older solvent or eco-solvenet machines I've run. It's all in the profiles.....

 

[RaymondLoewy]

The B&H tech HP I paid $2k for to have everything fixed in 2 days, told me on his 4th day that the 360 will have support ended for it in the next 6-7 years, but also couldn't explain how that would matter with the 365 and the 831 inkset being widely used. He's a repair tech though and and didn't know the grand format HP latex machines I have had to deal with.

I would love to hear some profiling tips to get good red, because mine suck. Luckily our corporate red color is more of a backyard tomato red so I can make it work. I have had issues getting canned profiles for Onyx from Avery for years, (even for wrap material I can't get one that has more than 8 pass and works on the 365) but in the past the generic HP media profiles have been sufficient.

I have these printers setup for my altitude etc.

 

[RaymondLoewy]

My B&H tech confirmed my suspicion that the ink lines in my HP 360 were indeed made of a more rigid plastic and more prone to break and not meant to be fixed. Looking back at the ink line pictures I posted I can see that it looks like the were thermoformed to the their connections. I will say I have never felt ink lines that felt as brittle as these did in my over 17 years of large format experience. Even the old Design Jet 5000s and 5500s and Mimaki JV3s had plyable ink lines that one could fix without a tech call, or rig to keep it working - HP don't give a F about your schedule unless it is Indigo, they are a cash grab! Then HP sent me a new inkline kit (like we had with switching between aqueous and pigment back in the day with the 5Ks, only with brittle tubes and for some reason screws instead the old snap clips).

 

[RaymondLoewy]

I use the counterweights for everything. I dont have problems with them and dont remove them. Of course they dont solve panneling problems but help together with the other tips like long consistency mode profile that preheats the printer(thats maybe you had first panel different that others), rotate every one panel, good media alignment with less skew and so on.

I should not to have to make any work around for any device I operate and buy simply because they over sold a product, I fell sorry for you and your defeatest attitude and would feel the pain for making a poor purchase, I was stuck with HP from the get go where I am, sadly.

 

[RaymondLoewy]

v

 

[RaymondLoewy]

do you read? have dealt with and operated a every model and wasted too much time with them to bother counting.**** HP Large fromat

I would like to apologize for being an Ugly Americian such as myself and treating you poorly with my words, I should not be assuming.(I Feel free to DM me about the HPs.).

 

[myront]

Hmm....I get fantastic reds with ours, better than I ever did with any older solvent or eco-solvenet machines I've run. It's all in the profiles.....

Yes, I've heard that using a custom profile that eliminates LtC & LtM works best if just printing red alone but...
And our Print Tech, who also happens to be our IT guy, refuses to try customizing a profile.