Question Epson SureColor series printers i.e., 40600, 60600

[BigJimSlade]

I work in a school district print shop. We are interested in a Epson S-series wide format printer. My question is; does that machine print from the pinch rollers? We had a Mutoh that did, but it died. We have a new HP 700, that prints fine, but is not economical when printing "one at a time" jobs. The reel to reel aspect on the HP can use a lot of extra media. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[unclebun]

Print from the pinch rollers..... what does that even mean? Printers print from the print heads.

 

[BigJimSlade]

Of course. What I mean is does the media have to be advanced past the pinch rollers to print effectively. The HP tells you to advance the media. If you don't, it can curl up and cause a head strike, when the media goes into the curing unit. The Mutoh dries passing over a heated platen. I have a Roland SG 300 that is similar. Sorry my question was confusing. In simple terms, can you have a roll with 4' left on it and print a 3' image on the Epson? Thx.

 

[BigJimSlade]

This was the advice I received about the HP 700, and it is true.
Just a tip with the 700/800s, always attach substrate to take up reel, they're not good with printing from pinch rollers like the 360.

Prone to head strikes due to the paper path or scraping above the curing unit before it's cured. Tension to the take up resolves this. You might need to adjust tension in profile settings depending on media.

 

[balstestrat]

Meh there's only few materials you must take all the way to the take-up-reel. Most you can do just by moving the edge out of the heater. Some even from pinches.

But now they massively improved in the new L730.

 

[unclebun]

On the Epson you can start the print with the vinyl advanced about 1.5" beyond the pinch rollers. With some materials I like to advance it about 3-4" because there is a groove in the platen that curly materials can go down into and then pop up, causing head strikes or misfeeds. This doesn't mean you can print a 3' image with only 4' on the roll though. The Epson constantly tensions the supply roll and checks it. If you pull the vinyl off the cardboard tube, it can cause the print to stop because it thinks it's out of vinyl. You need to have about 18" of vinyl at the back end of your print. I have gotten closer in a pinch by going behind the printer and holding the tail of the vinyl in one hand to apply some tension and holding the supply reel with the other to advance and pull back to make the printer think there's vinyl there.