CET COLOR X-Press FK512 flatbed.. thoughts?

I have seen it in operation and was impressed with its capabilities and design.

Relatively quick and easy to operate.

 

I've seen mixed reviews. All parts are made in China, then chipped here for assembly. I've seen decent prints off it. But nothing spectacular. Not horribly fast.

My main concern is their ink supplier and tech support.

 

When you are dropping that kind of cash, you really want the impression they are here to stay and have substantial back up. Lots of Chinese and Korean companies have come and gone in this industry leaving people with broken printers and no way to get serviced.

I know that unit runs $78k, would you spend another $20k for an equivalent unit from Agfa or Vutek, who aren't going anywhere?

You might end up paying for it anyways.

 

Their Rastek line.

 

Ok, I have owned one now for about 6 months.

1-They are not made in Atlanta from Chinese parts. Are some parts Chinese (frame), yes, but also US, Canada, Germany, Japan etc....it is a quality, well made machine

2-I get 6 boards an hour at 720x720 extraction 1. With no extractions, I can get 10 boards an hour.

3-Service is top notch. Instant answers or immediate call backs.

4-you need to meet Dave Cich(Oce) and Ernie Chin (express color/DPI) both industry veterans, 20+ years each. When you hear what they are about you will no longer fear them being around.

5-A Rastek is not a Vutek. Find 5 people who will give a good reference. I couldn't.

6-I am pleased with my purchase. I would do it again. Quality is better than Oce's due to smoothing, and 6 vs 4 color. Send me a message if you want more details.

 

CET printer

I have the FK512 model with 6 color + White + Varnish.
I also have owned or operated many competitive devices.

Share with us what your apprehensions or questions are and I will try to address them.

This is a significant investment and you need to feel 100% confident in your purchase - no matter what you get. If you don't - then every little thing that goes wrong will annoy the snot out of you and make you second-guess yourself. And guess what - things go wrong with these things - everyone's breaks or does some weird function that you didn't anticipate. Its the nature of the technology. Remember - this technology -at the quality level that most of us can sell - is only about 10 years old - so to a degree - this is still a bit of an experiment from the manufacturers side - especially on the ink side.

When someone tells you to buy from a company that will "be around" - its probably good advice - but really - how do you know? You would have thought Dupont would have been around now. There are no guarantees. You aren't buying the company - you are buying their product, their consumables and their support - thats where your comfort level needs to be high. If you think you can sell the output from a machine made in Iceland, you can afford it and you believe in it - then it doesn't matter where it came from. The bashing of Chinese-made devices is getting old. I bet you can't rotate around in your office chair and not hit something that you bought that was made in China.

Its pretty obvious that consolidation will happen in this industry so some companies will survive and eventually there will be five big players (HP, Vutek, Durst, Fuji, and a toss-up between AGFA and Oce) and there will be a handful of mid-range guys left.

Buy something - use the hell out of it and pay it off as fast as you can and then buy something else. This isn't a house - you move into and out of this technology every 3-4 years because it changes fast.

 

Agree 110%... Only machines are ripe for about 2 years then something better comes along. Faster, Bigger and Cheaper to run....

 

CET printer

CO signs -

Oddly - I got a job in this morning that will require spot varnish - so i will see whats involved with clearing the White ink out of thos two extra heads. Currently its at 4 heads for White which lays down a really nice flood for backlits - no banding or pin holes.

I will send you a private message with my email and cell and you can call with any questions if you want.

Sean

 

Cet

Coloradosigns - did you end up buying an Oce?

 

CET Color X-Press FK512

Hi

Just finished reading your post asking about the CET Color X-Press FK512.

We, too, are interested in CET's product.

Wondering if you decided to purchase from CET, or, if you decided on another UV Flatbed instead?

If you purchased, how is your unit performing? How is maintenance and downtime? Speed and print quality.

Looking forward to hearing back.

Thanks
Paul

 

Thanks for the quick feedback. FYI - CET is just launching a couple of new products ...
X-Press 500 and X-Press 500H ... http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25505455/XPress500_Data Sheet.pdf
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25505455/XPress500H_Data Sheet.pdf