Flatbed printer

[stoliker]

Just wondering who out there makes a flatbed that would print an 18" by 24" sign. Not in the market at the moment but seems like the size an entry level machine should be and when I google it none come up. Seems odd to me. Thoughts?

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

The only ones that have that size besides Chinese machines are Mimaki, Roland, Mutoh, and DCS that I know of.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Here is a 19" x 13" from Mutoh

And their bigger 19" x 23"

Here is an 11.8" x 16.5" from Mimaki

and their bigger 24" x 17"

I prefer Mimaki for UV at the end of the day.

 

[Gino]

Unless I'm imagining this, these flatbeds are not entry level to do 18" x 24" in any way, shape or form, unless you're only doing onesies and twosies. Your profile says screening and fundraIsing...... that little thing will bottleneck instantly if you need a dozen, let alone 200 pieces of something. For 30k, add some to that and get a 5' x 10' and do 12 up at a time in about 10 minutes. Flip it over and you have a dozen signs done in less than a 1/2 hour. Get a better model and they'll go even faster. I doubt there's any resale value to a little flatbed printer, so why waste upfront money ??

 

[Solventinkjet]

I agree with Gino. I have a customer running the Mimaki but he prints on custom silverware and small promotional items. For signs these machines are not very efficient due to the size.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Bingo!

These are designed for very specific applications like phone cases, golf balls, promo items and etc. For any "signage" you will run into production issues unless everything is 1 at a time and ultra-custom meaning you are charging way more for it.

 

[Mr. Sign Pro]

https://www.xante.com/x32/

 

[Bert Wondervan]

Just wondering who out there makes a flatbed that would print an 18" by 24" sign. Not in the market at the moment but seems like the size an entry level machine should be and when I google it none come up. Seems odd to me. Thoughts?

UV flatbedprinter A2
Azon A2 flatbed printer.

 

[Souldar]

Compress printers start at 18X24. They appear to be a sister company to Mutoh as they sell both on their site www.compressuvprinter.com

 

[LED Signs & Designs Texas]

Don’t waste your hard earned $ on such a small machine. Source these out, let someone else do the work. Go home and count all the money you saved by your new pool!

 

[stoliker]

Here is a 19" x 13" from Mutoh

And their bigger 19" x 23"

Here is an 11.8" x 16.5" from Mimaki

and their bigger 24" x 17"

I prefer Mimaki for UV at the end of the day.

but unless im reading it wrong none of those machines will print and 18" by 24" full bleed will they?

 

[Solventinkjet]

but unless im reading it wrong none of those machines will print and 18" by 24" full bleed will they?

Unfortunately since these machines are made in Japan they just convert to imperial when they export it to us so the sizes never really line up with standard sizes here. The closest bet would be the bigger Mutoh as it can print to the edges but as a lot of people have said here, for what you are doing, a larger flatbed is probably better but I understand the budget goes out the window on those.

 

[stoliker]

Unless I'm imagining this, these flatbeds are not entry level to do 18" x 24" in any way, shape or form, unless you're only doing onesies and twosies. Your profile says screening and fundraIsing...... that little thing will bottleneck instantly if you need a dozen, let alone 200 pieces of something. For 30k, add some to that and get a 5' x 10' and do 12 up at a time in about 10 minutes. Flip it over and you have a dozen signs done in less than a 1/2 hour. Get a better model and they'll go even faster. I doubt there's any resale value to a little flatbed printer, so why waste upfront money ??

space limitations is one of the things behind my thought, but yes we do a pile of onsie twosie. We have a router so it would be great to print 4 by 8 then contour cut and that will be the move eventually. Just curious as to why there would be 23" by 19" or 24" by 17", seems like the extra inch in either direction to make them a full bleed would be helpful is all.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

space limitations is one of the things behind my thought, but yes we do a pile of onsie twosie. We have a router so it would be great to print 4 by 8 then contour cut and that will be the move eventually. Just curious as to why there would be 23" by 19" or 24" by 17", seems like the extra inch in either direction to make them a full bleed would be helpful is all.

They are designed for other applications, not signs

 

[Gino]

Probably would be better for some people, but then they'd sell a buncha them for production machines, instead of an actual useful size. Then, when something goes wrong and you need the same knowledge for the big machine as the little machine, are you gonna be griping about the cost to work on it and fly someone in just for that ??

My opinion, it's just a size to keep the lil' fish in the little pond and the big fish in the bigger pond. ​

 

[stoliker]

We also pad print items so adding the full color to the spectrum would be nice for short run items. Again just throwing stuff out there.

 

[stoliker]

Probably would be better for some people, but then they'd sell a buncha them for production machines, instead of an actual useful size. Then, when something goes wrong and you need the same knowledge for the big machine as the little machine, are you gonna be griping about the cost to work on it and fly someone in just for that ??

My opinion, it's just a size to keep the lil' fish in the little pond and the big fish in the bigger pond. ​

very good points as always!