Choosing a Flatbed Printer

[Mike G]

I am looking at getting a flatbed printer with a new roll to roll to replace my current HP L260 which is starting to show its age. HP and Mimaki are doing the bogo deal. I am looking at the;

HP Scitex FB550 with HP L365
or
Mimaki JFX200-2513 with the JV400SUV

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[BigfishDM]

Support I think would be better with the HP setup. Also the JV400 has not been popular at all in the market. I am not sure if there are more then 5 people who own one.

 

[ToTo]

And why not mixing a true flatbed JFX200 with a latex r2r?
Depending on your usage a true flatbed could be better then a belt-based unit...

 

[chafro]

X2 on the true flatbed they can do a lot more stuff!!


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[Pauly]

I'd rather get a true flatbed rather than a hybrid flatbed.

 

[Gino]

Something I've often wondered about a true flatbed........ how does one print a 3' × 28' sign face ?? Or a 5' × 12' sign panel ??

 

[chafro]

Something I've often wondered about a true flatbed........ how does one print a 3' × 28' sign face ?? Or a 5' × 12' sign panel ??

Our swissqprint is a true flat bed,, but when need to print large panels you can also advance the material trough the bed. You use a mesh to advance the material. It takes two-three minutes to set up. Works really well.


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[Pauly]

Something I've often wondered about a true flatbed........ how does one print a 3' × 28' sign face ?? Or a 5' × 12' sign panel ??

Who the hell is going to transport a single piece that big? If someone came to me for something that big. no problem, you're getting multiple sheets no matter how it's printed, on the flatbed or stuck on with vinyl.

Im not sold on any "material advancing systems" for flatbeds. I can happily print on 3000x 2500mm sheets with out screwing around. most sheets come in 1220 x 2440mm and i can happily put 2 on my machine and print them.

 

[boxerbay]

We have a hybrid flat bed CET Q5-1000H.
Someone mentioned you can do a lot more with a true flatbed? really like what?
We print 4x8 sheets all day long.
We print 126" x 244" banners all day long.

 

[Gino]

Who the hell is going to transport a single piece that big? If someone came to me for something that big. no problem, you're getting multiple sheets no matter how it's printed, on the flatbed or stuck on with vinyl.

Im not sold on any "material advancing systems" for flatbeds. I can happily print on 3000x 2500mm sheets with out screwing around. most sheets come in 1220 x 2440mm and i can happily put 2 on my machine and print them.

We have...... on several occasions. Most recently was a piece 36" x 216" The one that was 28' long and many others are usually poly, so you can easily roll it up for transporting. That's not a problem, so get that part outta your head.

That's why I asked. With our conveyor belt, we can go rather long hauls and still have it looking nice, where with a true flatbed, I don't see how you can go much over 8' or 10' depending on what size gantry you have.

 

[Pauly]

We have...... on several occasions. Most recently was a piece 36" x 216" The one that was 28' long and many others are usually poly, so you can easily roll it up for transporting. That's not a problem, so get that part outta your head.

That's why I asked. With our conveyor belt, we can go rather long hauls and still have it looking nice, where with a true flatbed, I don't see how you can go much over 8' or 10' depending on what size gantry you have.

Yeah i see where you're coming from. I suppose they both have the pros and cons.
It does depend on your output and your market base. For us, we prefer a true flatbed. It produces the most crisp images. vacuum table sucks the media down allowing the heads to be as close to the media as it needs to be. also the 3m x 2.5m table allows us to use 2x 1220 x 2440mm standard size sheets so i can print one and load and unload the other.

 

[boxerbay]

Most crisp images? We're running Ricoh Gen5 heads. Our belt bed is also vacuum. I can print 2 - 4x8 sheets at the same time and also I can continuously feed an entire carton. As the board is exiting we wipe down and load the next board right behind it. Hybrids have come a long way.

 

[Pauly]

Most crisp images? We're running Ricoh Gen5 heads. Our belt bed is also vacuum. I can print 2 - 4x8 sheets at the same time and also I can continuously feed an entire carton. As the board is exiting we wipe down and load the next board right behind it. Hybrids have come a long way.

Most of my work is is all Art work orientated. For example, you couldn't print 3x 3m x 1.8m pieces of glass that need to line up 100% on a belt.
Yes you can print and line up aluminium composite sheets if you print crop marks and cut them later, but with glass you don't have that option.