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EcoSol MAX or Latex-which ink?

Bruce G.

New Member
We are new to wide format printing. We have been dealing in dye-sublimation, Cromablast, DTG and now we want to do wide format. We intend to make t-shirt transfers, stickers, window clings, small signs and maybe even a small banner or two. Our question is Roland EcoSol MAX for the VS300 or should we look at a latex ink printer?
 

danky01

New Member
I bought a VS300 about a year ago, I love it with the exception of now I wish I would have purchased a VS540. The 300 is just to small to do a decent sized banner. Using 30" material allows you only 28" of printing space. Most people who buy a banner want at least a 36". I don't know anything about the latex ink, but I do love my Roland.

Dan
 

Bly

New Member
I have two Soljets and a Latex.

I've been wishing lately we had two Latex and a Soljet instead.
The HP is our go to printer for more and more jobs now.
 

xxaxx

New Member
HP Latex is awesome .. we print everything with it, instantly dry, ready to laminate, cut, etc. with no out-gassing or anything needed.
 

Bruce G.

New Member
Thank for your thoughts

Thank you to everyone for replying to my question. It seems that the Roland users love their machine and the HP users love their HP. I have to decide on the VS300 tomorrow or loose the good price I have on it. Our local dealer is asking 14K for the printer, setup, training, ink (with white and silver), and a media kit to practice with. I don't know is I will need a laminater, so I think I will pass on that for now. I still have doubts about sol vs latex, but I guess I'll take the plunge and live with it. Thanks again to everyone who tried to help make up my mind.
 

CanuckSigns

Active Member
Thank you to everyone for replying to my question. It seems that the Roland users love their machine and the HP users love their HP. I have to decide on the VS300 tomorrow or loose the good price I have on it. Our local dealer is asking 14K for the printer, setup, training, ink (with white and silver), and a media kit to practice with. I don't know is I will need a laminater, so I think I will pass on that for now. I still have doubts about sol vs latex, but I guess I'll take the plunge and live with it. Thanks again to everyone who tried to help make up my mind.


Do you have a specific need for white or silver ink? If not i would avoid them like the plague, do a search on here for issues people are having with them.
 

chafro

New Member
Go latex. They print on almost everything, it will give you a lot of flexibility and they are very reliable.

I have two with 50,000 square feet each in 12 months and the tech guy has only needed to come once.

Almost maintenance free.
 

Bruce G.

New Member
I don't have a use for white and silver that I have identified. I just think that this is something that could give us a leg up on the other shops. We want to print tees, small signs, window clings, stickers and maybe a banner every now and then. I just found another users group/blog (MyVersacamm.com). There is a horror story about a new VS540 that the shop can't get support for. Roland even seems to be slow to help. A new machine and no support, wow! Of course our local dealer says they are here for us. We have a friend with a latex printer he swears by. He says latex is the way to go. My problem is that I don't want to loose what I think is a good price a\on the VS300. Buying a printer involves compromises in size, features, price, etc. I just want to limit my disappointment in the future without going broke to get int the game.

Has anyone dealt with ImprintableWarehouse and printers? How is their support? Are they willing to help (hand hold) a newbie?
 

KaranGrewal

New Member
we have roland with white and silver ink, we use white a lot but silver is waste of money . if you are not sure about using silver , i would strongly recommed you dont buy printer with silver ink. over all we love our roland , work horse printer.
 

kanini

New Member
I think you're right about the Roland owners loving the Rolands and the HP owners loving the HP, but regarding the silver/white ink you should check the price on the silver ink carts... you don't want to flush that expensive soup in the waste bottle every day... Other than that I'd go with the Roland because nothing beats the print&cut when you have decals that doesn't need lamination (if you have that kind of work also). It's finished right out of the machine and you don't need to reload it into the cutter separately. You could get a separate cutter later on if you need to increase productivity.
I don't think you could go wrong with either Roland or HP as both are good brands with good support and machines but I'd be vary to buy the silver/white ink. When I last bought a new Versacamm we were very, very close to pull the trigger on the silver/white but in the last second we decided to go regular CMYK instead and that was a good decision. As Sleepyhead mentions the white could be good sometimes but you'd have to have a solid demand for the white/silver to justify the extra cost of running it. Just my .02.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Welcome from PA......................

Oh..... and 30" is not considered wide format. :wink:
 

anotherdog

New Member
Six years on our roland, no tech other than one service in all that time.

As far as the solver and white, test before you buy! I have done many tshirt transfers on the roland, but I think you may have issues with the silver and transfer to cloth.

don't be fooled by the incredible not to be repeated price....and get a 54 inch with a laminator.
 
I bought my 30" VS-300 from Imprintables a year and a half ago. (I learned today that is not considered wide format. Who knew!) I only bought the 30" because I ship everything so it needed to be 30" wide anyhow.

They have been awesome to work with. Answered my questions through email phone calls. I went to the training they provide. I got the CCMMYYKK set up because I wanted speed. I have no use for the white or silver and in actuality when I went to the training and saw things printed with the silver I was not that impressed.

I keep my machine humming printing through 3 rolls of material a week and I am a happy satisfied customer.

:)
 

xxaxx

New Member
Does the lifespan of the printing indoor or out compare to the eco-sol inks?

Yeah we have had no issues at all for longevity ... we have had the printer for I believe about 3 years and never had one complaint or issue with colors lasting. All the old prints we have gotten back all look pretty much the same as when it left.
 
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