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Flatbed Dilemma

tony mansfield

New Member
Hi All,
Need some help... deciding on either a canon arizona 2200xt or a Vanguard vk 300d hs..

which is better on:
Quality: will need high dpi
speed: mainly using quality mode or higher
economics:

sales reps for each have made a mind spinning info...would like actual knowledge from end users...

thanks
t
 

tony mansfield

New Member
Vangard is super fast....I was pretty impressed with the ones I saw at last year's show in Vegas. I am not sure how they are serviced, but I can tell you once out of warranty you will hate OCE.
Vangard is super fast....I was pretty impressed with the ones I saw at last year's show in Vegas. I am not sure how they are serviced, but I can tell you once out of warranty you will hate OCE.
what about the quailty.. which do you think is better on solids and photo type of work
 

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
Vanguard all the way... we were not impressed with Oce at all when we were shopping. We have the vanguard you are looking at and it is hands-down a better option. Their service is phenomenal and the machine is a beast!

Quality to speed is far superior to Oce', plus you don't have to pay extra for layered printing like tactile or braille.
 

tony mansfield

New Member
Vanguard all the way... we were not impressed with Oce at all when we were shopping. We have the vanguard you are looking at and it is hands-down a better option. Their service is phenomenal and the machine is a beast!

Quality to speed is far superior to Oce', plus you don't have to pay extra for layered printing like tactile or braille.
Thank you for yoir response..any downfalls for vanguard
 

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
Not that we have found so far. We have one annoyance, but it is being released shortly. Some of the features are not live yet as they are still doing testing but once they go live it should make this machine even easier to use.
 

BALLPARK

New Member
Not that we have found so far. We have one annoyance, but it is being released shortly. Some of the features are not live yet as they are still doing testing but once they go live it should make this machine even easier to use.

Christian,

Did you purchase your unit new?
If so, would you purchase it again knowing everything about it up to now?
If so, is there any options that you would have changed on it?

How many heads and/or rows do you have on your printer?
How many 4x8 or 5x10 sheets can you print per hour?
How is the white printing? Any issues with printing on clear acrylic in reverse and then having the white flood as the top layer? We want to make sure the printer we purchase is going to have a good white option for art prints and printing on clear vinyl.

I've been reading good things on them. I've heard good reviews on here... We were looking at the LX3 Pro but it was sold and I'm thinking the VK300 series would be ideal if purchased new and there is also a used unit on the market now, but I think it has 6 heads.

How much is it to add more heads or is it rows? To help speed up the printer...
How are the ink cost per ink box and square footage in terms of usage?

I assume when printing on vinyl or banners you can only print the size of the flatbed as in 5x10, is that correct?

Would you mind to share with me the price you paid for you printer? If so, my email is mark@ballparksigns.com. I've read they are under 200k and can print up to 50-60 boards per hour.

...

Thanks for your input!!!
 

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
Christian,

Did you purchase your unit new?
If so, would you purchase it again knowing everything about it up to now?
If so, is there any options that you would have changed on it?

How many heads and/or rows do you have on your printer?
How many 4x8 or 5x10 sheets can you print per hour?
How is the white printing? Any issues with printing on clear acrylic in reverse and then having the white flood as the top layer? We want to make sure the printer we purchase is going to have a good white option for art prints and printing on clear vinyl.

I've been reading good things on them. I've heard good reviews on here... We were looking at the LX3 Pro but it was sold and I'm thinking the VK300 series would be ideal if purchased new and there is also a used unit on the market now, but I think it has 6 heads.

How much is it to add more heads or is it rows? To help speed up the printer...
How are the ink cost per ink box and square footage in terms of usage?

I assume when printing on vinyl or banners you can only print the size of the flatbed as in 5x10, is that correct?

Would you mind to share with me the price you paid for you printer? If so, my email is mark@ballparksigns.com. I've read they are under 200k and can print up to 50-60 boards per hour.

...

Thanks for your input!!!

I will try to answer this 1 by 1.

Did you purchase your unit new? Yes we did in December 2019
If so, would you purchase it again knowing everything about it up to now? Yes, we are contemplating getting their roll machine. So Yes!
If so, is there any options that you would have changed on it? There are a few things they are working on, but not really at this point.

How many heads and/or rows do you have on your printer?
We have 6 heads currently CMWYK KYWMC config.
How many 4x8 or 5x10 sheets can you print per hour? In our preferred 600x1200 CMYK 4-Pass about 2.5 mins a board on average.
How is the white printing? Any issues with printing on clear acrylic in reverse and then having the white flood as the top layer? We want to make sure the printer we purchase is going to have a good white option for art prints and printing on clear vinyl. White is awesome but takes a lot of maintenance. 4-Layers of White is very opaque and fast. No issues on acrylic or vinyl. See images.

I've been reading good things on them. I've heard good reviews on here... We were looking at the LX3 Pro but it was sold and I'm thinking the VK300 series would be ideal if purchased new and there is also a used unit on the market now, but I think it has 6 heads.
The Company, Team, and Machines are awesome. We love being a part of the Vanguard family. As for Used vs New, I would reach out to Dave Cich about that. He is totally honest and knowledgable.

How much is it to add more heads or is it rows? To help speed up the printer...
Heads are about $15,000 + Install, do know if this is special pricing or not so don't hold me to it.
How are the ink cost per ink box and square footage in terms of usage? Ink is the wildcard and comes down to profile building.

I assume when printing on vinyl or banners you can only print the size of the flatbed as in 5x10, is that correct?
You are correct.

Would you mind to share with me the price you paid for you printer? If so, my email is mark@ballparksigns.com. I've read they are under 200k and can print up to 50-60 boards per hour.
They are under $200K and you would need 8 heads to hit the 50+ range. I will send you an email more about my purchase.
 

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zspace

Premium Subscriber
Hi All,
Need some help... deciding on either a canon arizona 2200xt or a Vanguard vk 300d hs..

which is better on:
Quality: will need high dpi
speed: mainly using quality mode or higher
economics:

sales reps for each have made a mind spinning info...would like actual knowledge from end users...

thanks
t

Both are good machines. My two big deciding factors for purchasing flatbeds-

What are you printing? That should drive your decision. Coroplast- speed and saturation. Trade shows - high quality.
Support - who, how fast and how much?

Another system to consider is Digitech USA. They make some fast machines, include service in the ink cost and have ink sets that stick to everything - including acrylic.

Good luck on your decision.
 

markdarian

New Member
Vanguard all the way... we were not impressed with Oce at all when we were shopping. We have the vanguard you are looking at and it is hands-down a better option. Their service is phenomenal and the machine is a beast!

Quality to speed is far superior to Oce', plus you don't have to pay extra for layered printing like tactile or braille.

Hi Christian, I hope you don't mind one more question about your Vanguard VK300D. Did you purchase the base HS model? Or did you go with the SS or HVT models with the upgraded vacuum?

If you have the base model, do you have to tape down your corrugated boards?

I really appreciate your time. We're in the final stages of purchasing a Vanguard but can't decided which model to get, the showroom here in CA does not carry the SS or HVT models for us to test.
 

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
Hi Christian, I hope you don't mind one more question about your Vanguard VK300D. Did you purchase the base HS model? Or did you go with the SS or HVT models with the upgraded vacuum?

If you have the base model, do you have to tape down your corrugated boards?

I really appreciate your time. We're in the final stages of purchasing a Vanguard but can't decided which model to get, the showroom here in CA does not carry the SS or HVT models for us to test.
We went with the standard vacuum model, It is very strong. For our coroplast products, we typically don't have to tape the edges unless it's very warped. For corrugated cardboard, we do occasionally have lifting issues which is what the SS and HVT models are for but we rarely print of those products.
 

StratoJet

Merchant Member
Hi All,
Need some help... deciding on either a canon arizona 2200xt or a Vanguard vk 300d hs..

which is better on:
Quality: will need high dpi
speed: mainly using quality mode or higher
economics:

sales reps for each have made a mind spinning info...would like actual knowledge from end users...

thanks
t
Have you bought a printer yet? We have a lot of printers down in your area. Take a look at our Shark UV Flatbeds (8x4, 10x5, 10x6.5).
2400dpi, White Ink Parking, No E-Box, no 24/7 Ink purging, $0.11 a square foot, Cloud Support free for the life of the printer...

https://stratojetusa.com/shark-2512
https://stratojetusa.com/innovation
 

Pauly

Printrade.com.au
Have you bought a printer yet? We have a lot of printers down in your area. Take a look at our Shark UV Flatbeds (8x4, 10x5, 10x6.5).
2400dpi, White Ink Parking, No E-Box, no 24/7 Ink purging, $0.11 a square foot, Cloud Support free for the life of the printer...

https://stratojetusa.com/shark-2512
https://stratojetusa.com/innovation

When someone starts promoting their equipment this hard, most people steer away.
Try being helpful first, then promote your products.
 

StratoJet

Merchant Member
When someone starts promoting their equipment this hard, most people steer away.
Try being helpful first, then promote your products.
I guess I’m excited about my products that are truly advanced, can make a lot of peoples lives easier and more profitable. Just letting people know there are other options out there.
What would you like help with?
 

Pauly

Printrade.com.au
I guess I’m excited about my products that are truly advanced, can make a lot of peoples lives easier and more profitable. Just letting people know there are other options out there.
What would you like help with?
Look, i know marketing is hard, having a great product is exciting. I've had a look, they seem great.

But instead of just promoting it like a broken record, try be more helpful with the topic also.
For example, OP asked about 2 printers. so you should give your opinion on the 2 and offer your alternative product.

It's a very common practice on blogs etc that are ran by companies trying to sell their own products. they'd review all the competitors and their own product and list the features they all have to offer. Sometimes your product may be better, but the end user may not be able to afford it or just doesn't need it or needs a specific feature you don't offer.
 

BALLPARK

New Member
Hello Bruce,

What settings are you printing on in that video in terms of passes and curing?

How many rows of heads do you have installed on your Vanguard VK 300D?

Thanks!
 
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