china printers

[fraidknotdesigns]

I am looking for another solvent ink printer. I only have $8000 max. I need at least 53 wide. So my choses area old Roland ,hp, mutoh. I would love a value jet. But due to my limited funds I can only afford a very old and tired printer. Option 2 is a new china printer a nice one is only about $6000. Opinions on which is better. Anyone with experience with the china printers? will flexi 10 run with them?

Let the flaming begin.......

 

[Gino]

Have you tried the 'Search' button on this topic ?? You'll find quite a bit already written on this subject and it never ends well for the Chinese.

I would either sub it out, until you can do it without sacrificng time and quality or go without completely, until you can afford a good one.

Who is gonna service you from 1/2 way around the world ??
​

 

[BigfishDM]

I would buy a used Latex 60" machine with that budget!

 

[CreatedDesigns]

A new 1.6m banner jet runs for around 5k shipped(includes rip and one set of inks) from china also spare ink was priced at $20.00 per liter. I was very close to purchasing one of these but I wanted to use Caldera as a RIP but they did not support that particular printer so I went a different direction and bought a used HP L25500 60" and have Flexi 10 to start with for $7000

 

[BigfishDM]

The most important part of buying a machine is the service available for that machine. That's the main downfall to the over seas guys right now is they don't have tech support like you would find with an HP or other big names, no matter what you buy it is going to break down at the worst possible time and if you have to call china to get service then that might not be the best solution.

 

[fraidknotdesigns]

I did a search and only found one good thread.
I also do my own service so that help with the over sea problem.
If I get one year good service from it I will be happy.

 

[wunder]

for $8000 become a very good production machine include all you need (Rip, Printer, Inks Set)
stable working 100% reworked so you have a Plug&Print solution.

HP9000s inks from Nazdar and by side you can print very good near Photo quality with good speed.

thats 100% the better choice

Chinese............. 101% lost your money...please forget it !

 

[fraidknotdesigns]

I considered a hp9000 but it has 6 heads at $1200 each. that makes a used one a big gamble. Also high maintenance cost. I The china unit uses 1 dx5.

 

[Gino]

Sounds to me, fraid, that you came here looking for confirmation buying Chinese is the way to go and no one is saying anything remotely in that direction. You have excuses why it will be better for you to go that route, so I'll be the first to say.... do it, if you so desire. It's ultimately your decision, so be accountable for yourself and your business's future.

I guess the part that gets me is.... you only have $8,000 for this venture, but you go on to say, nothing bothers you about a low-end, tech-free and unsupported piece of equipment, but yet you wanna spend your money wisely. Well, which is it ??


All I know is, it ain't a good idea to go grocery shopping when you're starving and that's what this looks like to me. You just wanna spend it on something and reality doesn't account for anything. Good luck...............

 

[Stealth Ryder]

Chinese Printers

ALL, I repeat ALL Printers made in China that I have used/tested have been complete Junk with NO exceptions...

 

[fraidknotdesigns]

I was really hoping to find someone that had bought one. For good or bad.....
I know that the china units have major minuses but so does a old tired name brand unit.

 

[satanoperca]

Chinese printer are looking okay

Hi,

Just returned from Sign China in Guangzhou. Hundreds and hundreds of printers on display, using DX5 and DX7 epson heads which are readily available in China. The build quality look robust and the print quality is excellent. Using bulk ink setup and the cost of inks was very cheap compared to my Roland and coming later in the year HP Latex. I will be purchasing one or two later in the year for producing my cheaper stickers, banners and posters. I think they have their place in a workshop, but as long as you have a backup printer just in case something goes wrong as servicing can be a hassle.

I have also investigated and been testing their SAV's, lightbox,banner and magnetic medias. Many a junk, but after a year of investigating have finally found two suppliers of media which are excellent and print better that most of the named media stock I print on. When testing the durability, they hold up as well or if not better than the leading brands but are one third the cost.

You guys can flame away, but like any selection of product/media/ink investigation and testing needs to be done and China quality over the last few years in coming along leaps and bounds.

Cheers

 

[artbot]

i have an email/friend that bought a dual head wit-color to replace his aging mimaki and he reported back recently (after having the printer over a year) that this printer has been fantastic. excellent investment.

i believe i got the wit-color 9200 3302S (dual dx7 heads or maybe his has four heads called a 3304)?
http://www.wit-color.cn/en/productshow.asp?id=767
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPKauRRnr4E

 

[player]

i have an email/friend that bought a dual head wit-color to replace his aging mimaki and he reported back recently (after having the printer over a year) that this printer has been fantastic. excellent investment.

i believe i got the wit-color 9200 3302S (dual dx7 heads or maybe his has four heads called a 3304)?
http://www.wit-color.cn/en/productshow.asp?id=767
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPKauRRnr4E

How much? What if a major issue occurs?

 

[artbot]

i suppose i could ask.

i remember when i was considering getting an Ntek dx5 flatbed (still could use one). the spare parts were so inexpensive. encoder readers, motors, ...the works. you could pretty much stock a cabinet with everything you'd need for $700. which is probably good business anyway. a single day down regardless of what printer OEM you purchase will cost you at least $700 in losses.

one odd thing about some of these chinese printers is the universality of the parts. several different OEMs will use the same slider board or the same capping station. which is smart. say a guy wants to go into the capping station business. he can specialize in just capping stations that's. ...not the whole enchilada. i had a dx5 based solvent printer that i never set up for this company i started. but from playing around with it i could tell that there was some good and bad.

the gantry was much nicer than the gantry on my mimaki. the machine was quiet and smoooooth. but the pinch roller arm was terrible.

my thought is if you are generally good with DIY maintenance, then get a super deluxe WIT-color or some other major brand. load up on cheap ink and make some money.

bit by bit, there's just no way that roland or mimaki can justify the high prices of these very simple machines.

 

[GAC05]

i suppose i could ask.

i remember when i was considering getting an Ntek dx5 flatbed (still could use one). the spare parts were so inexpensive. encoder readers, motors, ...the works. you could pretty much stock a cabinet with everything you'd need for $700. which is probably good business anyway. a single day down regardless of what printer OEM you purchase will cost you at least $700 in losses.

one odd thing about some of these chinese printers is the universality of the parts. several different OEMs will use the same slider board or the same capping station. which is smart. say a guy wants to go into the capping station business. he can specialize in just capping stations that's. ...not the whole enchilada. i had a dx5 based solvent printer that i never set up for this company i started. but from playing around with it i could tell that there was some good and bad.

the gantry was much nicer than the gantry on my mimaki. the machine was quiet and smoooooth. but the pinch roller arm was terrible.

my thought is if you are generally good with DIY maintenance, then get a super deluxe WIT-color or some other major brand. load up on cheap ink and make some money.

bit by bit, there's just no way that roland or mimaki can justify the high prices of these very simple machines.

One can hope.

I just had the tech leave out of here.
The pinch rollers on my 1304 started to swell up and turn to mush - leaving tire tracks through the print as they fell apart.
The rollers are sold as single pieces - just the tiny little black tube - not the rod or the cleat that holds them.
They must be sourcing these parts through http://www.jared.com/en/jaredstore because he said they were billed $38.00 each.
It takes 68 of these for a complete set so he just changed the really mushy ones.
This was covered under maintenance but once that's up it is going to be cheaper to buy a new unit over replacing it part by part.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[player]

bit by bit, there's just no way that roland or mimaki can justify the high prices of these very simple machines.

if prices go super low, the industry won't be worth working in. Every man and his dog will have a printer. Prices will tank.

 

[satanoperca]

if prices go super low, the industry won't be worth working in. Every man and his dog will have a printer. Prices will tank.

That is exactly what is happening. Chinese printers are getting better and the quality of the media is also getting to international standards.

Printers are accessible to anyone and are getting easier and more reliable to use.

That is the new world reality.

Cheers

 

[phototec]

I agree with all the comments about Chinese printers, and would NOT go that route.

There are always good deals for printers on ebay, you could get a nice used Roland for under 5K and have money left over. Here is a good printer with extra print head for 5.5K, but the seller will take BEST OFFERS, so offer him $4800 and haggle up to 5k.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROLAND-SOLJET-SJ-500-PRINTER-/141210484136


I know we all have to start somewhere, I have been there, and often you have MORE time than money, that was my case. 5 years ago when I needed to purchase a laminator, I found an excellent deal on a used Seal 54" wide laminator for 2k, however it was located in NJ and I'm in TX.

The lowest shipping cost I could get was almost $900, so I decided to go get the laminator myself, me and wife decided to make a vacation out of the trip, hooked up our 5'x8' utility trailer and drove the 1000 miles to NJ, We took two days to get there (one night in a motel) and as mentioned also used this event as a vacation, so we spent a few days in NY and visited my wife's sister, went up to the top of the Empire State building, etc.

I had purchased the Seal Image 5400 laminator from an equipment broker, but the actual owner was Bristol Myers Squib (drug company) in NJ. This was a blessing because instead of having a shipping company pick up the laminator and deliver it to me in TX without ever laying eyes on it, instead the people at Bristol Myers Squib were great and showed me the laminator in operation, and gave me a one hour course on how to use it. Then they helped me wrap it up and load it on my trailer. I strapped it down and covered it with a blue tarp for the return trip.

The guys at the Bristol Myers Squib corporate art department told me that although the laminator is older it was NOT used as a production machine, so it had very little use (looks NEW). And if I would had a shipping company pick it up, that's all I was going to receive, but because I was there in person, they gave me all kinds of free-bee's, many extra spare parts about 10 rolls different types of laminate. They recently purchased a 62" laminator, that's the only reason they sold the 54". After I had the blue tarp around the laminator, they wrapped it with shrink wrap for me.

It was funny because the reason they let a broker sell the laminator, they didn't what to mess with ebay and the buyer, but in the end they were great about the whole process. There loading dock was underground (under the main building), I have never seen anything like that here in TX, they said it was because of all the snow they get in the winter, so they were able to load and unload at the dock in any weather, pretty smart if you ask me.

Anyway, I would purchase the printer on ebay and go get it, check it out in person. I have a Roland and do all my own maintenance, parts are readily available.

 

[John Thomson]

I have run a Tjet 1671 single DX7 head Chinese printer (same as Bannerjet) alongside my Mimaki for over a year now.

I have imported sublimation equipment and a laser from China before so knew what to expect when dealing with China.

My only main issue was finding a good set of profiles to run with the supplied Photoprint which I now have.

It is a simple well made printer that does what it is supposed to..........as you will be setting the machine up yourself it helps to have a reasonable understanding of how a solvent printer works.

John