We recently (last October) bought a new Roland TruVis VG-540. The printer was excellent for about the first month, maybe two. Since then however, I have had a tech in here at least once a week. I have ran a SP-540V and a VS-540i for 7 years total, and have had more service calls in the last 4 months on the VG than I have ever had on the older machines. One week the cutline calibration will be off a mile, and the tech can't seem to get it figured out. Then the cutline lines out and the prints go to crap. I sometimes will start a print after a perfect test print, and about half way through the print, all colors start to appear washed out. Then a post printing test print will show half of my colors dropping out. Now, an entire print head has dropped out. Its fast, way faster than any of the previous models, but it also seems to go down way more than the others. Requires more cleaning, because the ink seems to turn to goo on the print heads, so I manual clean every other day. After initially being impressed, I am not happy with this machine. I'm still waiting on a replacement print head that was overnight shipped 3 days ago.
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From My Experience, Stay Away From Roland's New Truvis Machines.
- Thread starter DunbarPG
- Start date
Solventinkjet
DIY Printer Fixing Guide
At 375 sq ft per hour top speed it's actually one of the slowest Rolands ever and certainly one of the slowest of modern printers. I don't understand why Roland made this machine. The cutting specs are killer compared to other printer/cutters but that's about all it has going for it. Was it really cheap or something?
tomence
New Member
Good to know because I am looking to add new printer to my shop and thinking either Mimaki or Roland also considering the Seiko but have to find reputable dealer for it.
I have the same problems with my HP Latex 260, print heads failing in the middle of the print, sensors stop working, inconsistent colors when matching panels, stretched vinyl when doing print and cut decals etc.
These days I bet nobody is making reliable printers anymore, I used to have a converted Roland printer and that thing was printing day and night without problems for years and sold it for the same money I bought it. Then added a Mimaki JV3 which was another beast of a machine, had a brand new Roland RS I believe was, also very reliable, but once I started buying into this new latex bullsh!t the last 3 years were hell for me, on top of that can't even sell the thing, not even for $2500.
Is there anyone that make good printers anymore or are they became disposable machines now.
I have the same problems with my HP Latex 260, print heads failing in the middle of the print, sensors stop working, inconsistent colors when matching panels, stretched vinyl when doing print and cut decals etc.
These days I bet nobody is making reliable printers anymore, I used to have a converted Roland printer and that thing was printing day and night without problems for years and sold it for the same money I bought it. Then added a Mimaki JV3 which was another beast of a machine, had a brand new Roland RS I believe was, also very reliable, but once I started buying into this new latex bullsh!t the last 3 years were hell for me, on top of that can't even sell the thing, not even for $2500.
Is there anyone that make good printers anymore or are they became disposable machines now.
Idk where the numbers on it being one of the slowest Roland's ever came from. That is the only thing I don't have a complaint about. It blows the SP and VS out of the water when it comes to print speed. A 6 ft wall graphic will print in 7 minutes on the VG, takes over 40 minutes on the SP. We had to upgrade the SP, and the VG was the "Biggest, Bestest, Newest, Fastest, Most Sexy" printer ever made according to our "trusted" Roland dealer. If it consistently performed the way it did when it was new, like most Roland's do, I would have no complaints.
Solventinkjet
DIY Printer Fixing Guide
The entry level Mutoh and Mimaki printer right now have a top speed of 500 sq ft per hour. Those are their slowest models. The SP series was definitely slower but the VS should be faster than the VG even though it's an older machine.
C
ColoPrinthead
Guest
I really like the 2 year old Mutoh I'm working with; it's a pleasure to operate after working with some Phisher Price/HP "My First Printer" garbage machines over the last few years.
ChicagoGraphics
New Member
You looking for another JV3?
Roland Product Support
New Member
Hey DunbarPG,
Sorry to hear you’re having difficulties getting service for your machine to remedy the issues once and for all. Your Authorized Roland Reseller is your first line of defense, however, if you continue to experience issues, please submit an official Roland request for support online here:
Product Support Form | Roland.
Thank you,
Roland Technical Support
Roland DGA Corp.
rn
Sorry to hear you’re having difficulties getting service for your machine to remedy the issues once and for all. Your Authorized Roland Reseller is your first line of defense, however, if you continue to experience issues, please submit an official Roland request for support online here:
Product Support Form | Roland.
Thank you,
Roland Technical Support
Roland DGA Corp.
rn
tomence
New Member
I am not selling it at all, will use the crap out of it until it breaks and then will throw it out. I put so much money into it that I don't want to give it away. I could have gotten two Mimakis and double my production,
If these printers are so good why can't they sell used for $6500-$7000, like the Roland and Mimaki
Lesson learned.
Last edited:
tomence
New Member
You still have it. I would take any JV3 in working condition over any HP Latex. LOL
Gary Wiant
New Member
Check out the Misaki especially the JV300 in 8 color configuration ( C-M-Y-K-Lt.M-Lt.C-Lt.K-O) using the SS-21 inks. The colors are incredible and the machine is a touch faster than the JV-33 with 2xCMYK.
Kentucky Wraps
Kentucky Wraps
First off, for those throwing out "top speeds of printer X", let's not be so silly!
Nobody prints at "top speeds" unless it's a weekend long banner or a billboard.
Most shops using these printers need "Indoor Quality" speeds on average.
Nobody prints at "top speeds" unless it's a weekend long banner or a billboard.
Most shops using these printers need "Indoor Quality" speeds on average.
Kentucky Wraps
Kentucky Wraps
I've spent almost a year trying to decide between the HP 560 and the Roland TrueVis VG. (I'm a Roland user for 8 years and loved it)
Been watching the Latex machines evolve and keeping my finger on the pulse of their users, as well as the TrueVis users.
Having watched tons of videos, comparison ad campaigns by Roland & HP, and hearing users of both...3rd Generation Latex won.
We've been running our HP-L560 Latex printer for 2 weeks now and I think I made the right decision.
Been watching the Latex machines evolve and keeping my finger on the pulse of their users, as well as the TrueVis users.
Having watched tons of videos, comparison ad campaigns by Roland & HP, and hearing users of both...3rd Generation Latex won.
We've been running our HP-L560 Latex printer for 2 weeks now and I think I made the right decision.
ProColorGraphics
New Member
I love my Epson's! The new S80 is amazing! Way better than the HP's I had the previous 4-5 years.
I haven't been extremely impressed with my VG-540. I have terrible cut accuracy.... I'm currently cutting at +.25mm scan after starting at 0.0. Have had 2 errors today causing a reboot/cleaning cycle that wastes a ton of ink. I have updated the firmware to the new 2.2 and ran countless test prints. I'll be calling my dealer tomorrow and requesting a tech visit as it keeps throwing errors and the cuts are garbage after a few feet.
Any recommendations for a print/cut machine besides Roland?
Any recommendations for a print/cut machine besides Roland?
tomence
New Member
You really need two separate machines if you want accuracy. I can't recommend any printers as of now since they are all made to break in a year or right after warranty expires, but for a cutter i recommend Summa, or Graphtec, but I think summa is more accurate on longer runs
I have the same trouble, cut accuracy, and print consistency is all over the place. I have ran a roland print/cut versacamm in one model or another for the past 7 years and have never had a complaint with cut accuracy. Just hope that you don't lose a print head in the VG-540....mine went down last week, and I found out Friday(2/24/17) that the print head is on backorder and I won't get a replacement until 3/10/17 at the earliest. So for now i'm back to running my SP-540V, and have enough time to nap between prints.
That is my biggest fear, is Roland covering the head replacement at least? This is my only printer and downtime like that would be detrimental to my business. I plan on getting a second machine but with the issues I have been having Im holding off on purchasing a twin to this one. I have tried everything to get the accuracy better. I run all jobs as "CustomCut" and my longest label is 5.2" so it's not like a lot of material is traveling....... The saving grace to all of this is my Dealer has been helpful in sending Techs out. I have an appointment Wednesday, wish me luck!