Flatbeds: CET Q5 vs ITI?

[216]

Anyone have experience with ITI (Inkjet Technogies)? apparently they were an OEM for many big co.'s for yrs but decided to market their own machines (out of Ft. Worth.) Their ITI 2512 model is on-par (spec-wise) with the CET Q5-500, but about $5K+ less.

Looking for a new 4x8 fixed-bed (about the $80K mark) and narrowed it down to those 2. Waiting on a quote, but seems like Vanguard may be a contender also. (I wish I could wait til SGIA but I want it running before then.)

Both CET and ITI are very similar (both upgradable, Ricoh Gen 5's, etc.) I've read a lot here (good/bad) re: CET but can't find anything on ITI. Both dealers are close by, and the ITI rep is great. ITI techs are a 2 hr drive (vs across the country for CET).

This thing will basically run a few hours/ day (M-F), printing mainly higher-quality art repro indoor prints on acrylic (as well as the occasional plywood, dibond, etc.). Ease-of-use and maintenence costs are more important to us than speed. White ink is a must (25-50% of jobs). Clear varnish would be fun but not necessary.

 

[nate]

Look at vanguard as well. It's owned by Dave cich, the gentleman who made cet what it is today.

 

[216]

Look at vanguard as well. It's owned by Dave cich, the gentleman who made cet what it is today.

Yep, waiting on a quote from Vanguard. I imagine they're priced close to the CET. Any advantages of the VR5D vs. the Q5-500 or ITI-2512?

 

[10sacer]

Don't do anything until you get in touch with Dave.
PM me and I will give you his number.

 

[crowder888]

I've had my VR5D for about 3 months now and I love it. I went with Vanguard because of the LED curing (was quoted $25,000 to upgrade the CET to LED), metal raster strip, and high volume negative pressure system. If I remember correctly, their ink is slightly cheaper as well and we've had great success with adhesion on hard substrates like glass and metal. The company may be newer, but the guys running it are not and have a reputation of taking care of their customers. Very satisfied with our decision.

 

[mark7979]

Anyone have experience with ITI (Inkjet Technogies)? apparently they were an OEM for many big co.'s for yrs but decided to market their own machines (out of Ft. Worth.) Their ITI 2512 model is on-par (spec-wise) with the CET Q5-500, but about $5K+ less.

Looking for a new 4x8 fixed-bed (about the $80K mark) and narrowed it down to those 2. Waiting on a quote, but seems like Vanguard may be a contender also. (I wish I could wait til SGIA but I want it running before then.)

Both CET and ITI are very similar (both upgradable, Ricoh Gen 5's, etc.) I've read a lot here (good/bad) re: CET but can't find anything on ITI. Both dealers are close by, and the ITI rep is great. ITI techs are a 2 hr drive (vs across the country for CET).

This thing will basically run a few hours/ day (M-F), printing mainly higher-quality art repro indoor prints on acrylic (as well as the occasional plywood, dibond, etc.). Ease-of-use and maintenence costs are more important to us than speed. White ink is a must (25-50% of jobs). Clear varnish would be fun but not necessary.

Anyone have experience with ITI (Inkjet Technogies)? apparently they were an OEM for many big co.'s for yrs but decided to market their own machines (out of Ft. Worth.) Their ITI 2512 model is on-par (spec-wise) with the CET Q5-500, but about $5K+ less.

Looking for a new 4x8 fixed-bed (about the $80K mark) and narrowed it down to those 2. Waiting on a quote, but seems like Vanguard may be a contender also. (I wish I could wait til SGIA but I want it running before then.)

Both CET and ITI are very similar (both upgradable, Ricoh Gen 5's, etc.) I've read a lot here (good/bad) re: CET but can't find anything on ITI. Both dealers are close by, and the ITI rep is great. ITI techs are a 2 hr drive (vs across the country for CET).

This thing will basically run a few hours/ day (M-F), printing mainly higher-quality art repro indoor prints on acrylic (as well as the occasional plywood, dibond, etc.). Ease-of-use and maintenence costs are more important to us than speed. White ink is a must (25-50% of jobs). Clear varnish would be fun but not necessary.

Actually now Ricoh Gen5 print head has already been outdated,according to what I have known from the signmaker and some printing company in China,they start to consider to use the Kyocera KJ4A-3.5PL UV flatbed printer to do the printing!Compared to the Ricoh Gen5 or Konica 1024i uv printer,the image printing quality and printing speed are better!

 

[GPilot24]

I purchased the Vanguard VR5D about 3 months ago with white ink and have had many problems with the printer since its arrival. When I first considered Vanguard I was impressed. The demos went well and after doing all of the comparisons with other similar printers it made the most sense. I worked with Jim one of the owners and he as well as Dave were very professional initially, but since the problems began it hasn't been the best experience. I won't list all of the issues that I have had, but on major one is the white print head has failed and they did send someone to try and fix it. The tech did everything he could and even stated the only solution was to replace it. It has been over 3 weeks now and still no head replacement. They say the head manufacturer had a bad run of heads and that they are waiting on new heads to arrive. This may be true, but if it is then how do new printers continue to ship out? This week a gantry motor failed and the the printer is down. I will say that Vanguard sent out a technician the next day and we're still waiting to get back up and running. I am not suggesting that Vanguard shouldn't be an option when considering a purchase of a flatbed, but you may want to be sure that the customer service is going to be there. The printer did not even have a manual when we purchased it and they have sent one out, but even the manual has mistakes in it which will be a problem should we need to reference it. After spending just under $100K I expected not to have my production going down this much. Each day the machine is down it is costing my company money. Don't expect for Vanguard to reimburse you for any of your loses. I feel that they roll out the red carpet for you when you are potentially a buyer, but don't value you once they have your money. They need to backup their statement of building a "Vanguard Family." They should give the same or greater attention to the customers that have purchased their machines and not just to those that are considering it.

 

[davecich]

I am sorry we disappointed you. A customer who purchased our machine today pointed this post out to me.

We do really try our 100% best to do right by our customers. I acknowledged that your white print head losing nozzles was our fault. Our technician trained your employee improperly on how to exercise your print heads daily, leading to some of the nozzles clogging over time. We replaced your head for free.

We had a tech on site immediately to change the defective motor.

We stand behind our printers. I am sure moving forward you will see the value in a Vanguard Printer and doing business with us.

Dave

 

[billram570]

I just read that Vanguard Bought ITI.... So I'm sure Dave can take care of you either way.

 

[Graphic Realm]

I've had my VR5D for about 3 months now and I love it. I went with Vanguard because of the LED curing (was quoted $25,000 to upgrade the CET to LED), metal raster strip, and high volume negative pressure system. If I remember correctly, their ink is slightly cheaper as well and we've had great success with adhesion on hard substrates like glass and metal. The company may be newer, but the guys running it are not and have a reputation of taking care of their customers. Very satisfied with our decision.

Are you still happy with your Vanguard? How many print heads do you have

 

[GraphicsSource]

We have a CET 500h that's about 7 years old. Overall it still runs well, it does have it's quirks.

We use Dave at Vanguard and his crew for technical support and have even had a tech, Jang, on site a few times.

Based solely on their support with our aging machine they will be the first place we look, if and when, we decide to upgrade our flatbed.

Having spent a lot of time running different flatbeds I will say that I prefer a true flatbed over a hybrid just to throw that out there.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[crowder888]

Are you still happy with your Vanguard? How many print heads do you have

Yes, we're still very happy with our Vanguard. We have 5 heads in ours and it runs all day, every day. We've had minimal issues (that didn't even cause down-time) that have been taken care of quickly. I would not hesitate for a second on purchasing a Vangard again.