Need Help Buying a used upgraded Versacamm SP300v - what to look out for ?

[Jumbo]

Hey Guys,

i am from Europe , and i am looking to buy a used upgraded Versacamm SP-300v. I found one for a decent price, and the owner seems trustworthy. I will go and have a look at it on Friday.

Is there anything i would need to pay attention to ?

I will be using it mainly for my own purposes , my kids , my family, decorate the house , posters , T-Shirts, signmaking , wall tattoo's and such.

And help and tipps are very much appreciated !
Ah yes one more , i mainly use a Macbook , i know Versaworks doesn't work on OSX , so what else could you suggest to me to use with OSX ? Some Plugin for Illustrator or so ?

Thanks

 

[Ragnabrok]

ask for a print while you are looking at it. Not one they said they "just did", watch it print + cut in person. Listen to it while it prints, does it scream or make rattling sounds?

This printer needs a RIP software, illustrator can't print to it. The plugins just export it to whatever RIP software you are using. I think Caldera has a Mac version.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Also let it print a head test. There are nozzles that should all fire and you want to see if any are clogged. Our printer had a few missing and did fine.

 

[netsol]

parallels

run parallels and run it in winfows

Hey Guys,

i am from Europe , and i am looking to buy a used upgraded Versacamm SP-300v. I found one for a decent price, and the owner seems trustworthy. I will go and have a look at it on Friday.

Is there anything i would need to pay attention to ?

I will be using it mainly for my own purposes , my kids , my family, decorate the house , posters , T-Shirts, signmaking , wall tattoo's and such.

And help and tipps are very much appreciated !
Ah yes one more , i mainly use a Macbook , i know Versaworks doesn't work on OSX , so what else could you suggest to me to use with OSX ? Some Plugin for Illustrator or so ?

Thanks

 

[jsalda]

As someone who has purchased a used machine, I'll add my recommendations. Print large solids, dark and light primary colors. Make sure they are the width of the material, about 6 inch prints of each color. Head tests & the standard test print are nice, but there are a lot of issues that won't get exposed by the standard tests.

 

[Jumbo]

Like what issues ?

The thing is , i don't want to spend 8-9k for a new one , since it's only for personal use. If i would make money with it , it's a different thing.

 

[player]

The printer will tell you about the number of head shots, the number of hours running, the number of head changes etc. You know how much it costs to change a head? If it does not print perfectly, and print a perfect test print, and if the heads have a high shot count, calculate replacing heads into your price.

What the heck is upgradable on an SP300V?

There are also lots of issues with the cutter alignment to what you print. Buying used is for the experienced printer operators. There are so many things that could be out of wack on a 10-12 year old printer. Head cable, scan and feed motors, heaters, head assembly, capping station, main board, servo board... etc. Have you priced out what a Roland tech will cost WHEN (not if) you need servicing?

 

[bigblocktrader]

These machines are not designed for personal use every now and then,You need to print something every couple days or so,if you start having problem with cap tops alignment and so on you better learn how to fix it yourself, That alone can be a very frustrating learning curve,
do some home work good luck,

 

[Jumbo]

@bigblocktrader

what would you suggest than ? a Roland BN 20 ? because other than that , it can't get any smaller ?

 

[Ken]

The machine must NOT have been sitting idle for much time. They are designed to automatically pump ink through the heads on a daily basis. If it has been sitting for longer than a week without power, the heads could be compromised. Do you know what the print test looks like?

 

[questor]

The type of ink you need to use and apply should be considered first and will always help you to decide which Ink Printer/Cutter you need to buy.

You should also ask the Seller about the manufacturer/type of inks currently installed in the Roland SP300V... The SP300V uses CMYK Eco-sol inks that tend to dry out ink lines if the printer heads are not cleared at least once per month. You should look into buying equipment to help clear the print lines if they become clogged or jammed with dry ink. Regular use of the SP300v printer is needed to keep the ink lines/print heads clear and keep it working properly. Changing between ink types (ie water/solvent/UV resistant/Plastisol) may be expensive, time consuming and difficult to complete because the ink lines and print heads have to be completely cleaned and cleared when switching between types or even manufacturers of ink. This is why larger print shops may have 1 printer dedicated for outdoor inks, a 2nd duplicate printer for indoor inks and a 3rd non-standard printer used for Plastisol inks and T-Shirts

Beware the use of 3rd Party company inks instead of OEM inks if you need accurate color calibration. Roland Eco-Sol inks are good and expensive, however I do not know which company makes the correct Plastisol inks for a SP300V to print on a vinyl substrate and later heat pressed onto T-Shirts as you would like to do... Plastisol-based inks tend to be thick and quickly jam print heads. CAUTION: using Plastisol inks in a SP300V may jam the print heads and be expensive to fix!

If you are looking for consistent prints, you may need a Color Spectrophotometer to check the SP300V color calibration according to Pantone or Bourges CMYK values. However, color calibration to Pantone/Bourges standards may require a custom SP300V print driver to be created. Watch out for discontinued/obsolete Color Spectrophotometers on eBay. You may find the Hardware at a cheap price but the equipment is likely missing the color calibration card and/or software that can be expensive to find or replace and needed to recalibrate or create a custom printer driver.

Are you planning on using the basic Roland Versacamm software that came with the SP300V or else some other software such as Flexi-Sign Pro for the RIP software? 3rd Party Software can also get expensive...

Regards, Steve
Cincinnati, OH

 

[muhanad]

You must test printheads

and test cut and Attention to the voice of servo motor if high . Better that you print a large picture

I work in the Netherlands in printers and maintenance trade. Is it possible to i know the price for this roland

 

[Vinyldog]

I am from north America. I would mainly be concerned that many parts of it could be beyond the expected service life and that when it breaks the parts are not going to be available to repair it.

i am from Europe , and i am looking to buy a used upgraded Versacamm SP-300v. I found one for a decent price, and the owner seems trustworthy. I will go and have a look at it on Friday.

Is there anything i would need to pay attention to ?

I will be using it mainly for my own purposes , my kids , my family, decorate the house , posters , T-Shirts, signmaking , wall tattoo's and such.

And help and tipps are very much appreciated !
Ah yes one more , i mainly use a Macbook , i know Versaworks doesn't work on OSX , so what else could you suggest to me to use with OSX ? Some Plugin for Illustrator or so ?

Thanks[/QUOTE]