Gandinnovations 1224 or Fujifilm Acuity Advance

[Burtoncorp]

Hello all,
I have been testing the Gandinnovations Nanojet 1224 and the Fujifilm Acuity Advance during the past year. Both machines have the quality and through-put I need. Any body have input to help me make my decision? I'm leaning towards the Gandi just because it needs to be a production machine used in a production environment.

Thanks.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

Neither...........

 

[KR3signguy]

Neither...........

and your reasoning is..........

 

[MilanoGuru]

I would have to Agree with Chicago. I have been researching flatbeds for the past 3 years. As soon as they came on the market I was very involved with alot of different company's and their Ideas. I found that Ghandi was a Work Horse but lacks longevity It prints great for a few hundred sqft feet or so then you gotta redo everything Bidirs cleaning... Not Fun on a Grand format. The Acuity was just extremely over priced For the price you have for that machine you can buy like 4 roland roll to rolls. If you only want high resolution print buy the Acuity that's all the machine is really good for, Pretty Colors and Pretty Half naked girls all over the show room floor But anyway That is my 2 cents. I am sure There are alot of people out there who can blast me on the Acuity but I am very pleased with my machine.

 

[KR3signguy]

I would have to Agree with Chicago. I have been researching flatbeds for the past 3 years. As soon as they came on the market I was very involved with alot of different company's and their Ideas. I found that Ghandi was a Work Horse but lacks longevity It prints great for a few hundred sqft feet or so then you gotta redo everything Bidirs cleaning... Not Fun on a Grand format. .

Ours gets primed at most twice a day. It only lacks longevity if you don't know how to dial in correct settings, obviously we're on a different page. Maybe a few hundered short of thousands of feet & when we blow through 4 cases of gator foam 1.920 sq ft 60 sheets...it's no prob but I'm sure you know better.

 

[SignManiac]

It's been two months since our Scitex FB950 was installed. Not one issue to date and the print quality is good along with good print speed (around 225 s.f. in production quality mode) for what its worth. Price is about $150k and I added the 98" roll to roll option which was an additional $15k

So far I'm really pleased with this machine having been burned in the past with other ones.

 

[Burtoncorp]

The reason I have settled on the Gandi or Acuity is, I need a dedicated flatbed for the materials we print. Any machine with a vacuum transport belt is not an option. If I were printing normal sign substraights I would be looking at a Vutek, or maybe the HP FB950.
Thanks for your input.

 

[Typestries]

hey Burton check your PMs

 

[wonsngis]

Ours gets primed at most twice a day. It only lacks longevity if you don't know how to dial in correct settings, obviously we're on a different page. Maybe a few hundered short of thousands of feet & when we blow through 4 cases of gator foam 1.920 sq ft 60 sheets...it's no prob but I'm sure you know better.

KR3-

It's amazing the amount if misinformation out there isn't it?

As I speak (er, type), our 1224 has been running 18 hours a day since last thursday with almost no downtime inbetween.

Such has been the story with our 1224 for nearly 2 years now.

In that time, it has also been through a flood and a fire and didn't miss a beat.

If it's longevity you want, the 1224 has it.

 

[wonsngis]

I would also add that I don't think the quality of the nanojet is that much better than the standard 1224 with the 30pl Spectra SE heads.

Not enough to sacrifice stainless steel heads and speed, anyway.

 

[eazyED]

a few people have issues with their printers and they throw out a lot of crap about them. but we've had our 1224 for about 1 1/2 years and it's a work horse. with any new printer you run into some problems. we've had a few but that's nothing when it can do the 18hr days like ours has done as well. if you need something that will print for hours with little to no problems then go with the 1224. get you profiles down and you'll be happy with what comes out

 

[wonsngis]

a few people have issues with their printers and they throw out a lot of crap about them. but we've had our 1224 for about 1 1/2 years and it's a work horse. with any new printer you run into some problems. we've had a few but that's nothing when it can do the 18hr days like ours has done as well. if you need something that will print for hours with little to no problems then go with the 1224. get you profiles down and you'll be happy with what comes out

Just to add another point in Gandi's corner:

It's common to have problem's with a new printer. HOWEVER: Our Gandi's serial number is 7. Our printer is such an early model and it is still bulletproof.

 

[andy]

When I owned Fuji grand format equipment the service and tech support was horrid. The agents selling the machines knew next to nothing and the whole experience was akin to taking many thousands of pounds out of my bank account and then setting fire to it.

The machines were so bad I was given a second one for free in the hope that between the two printers I'd manage to get some usable output. Needless to say I didn't. In the end I gave both machines to the scrap metal merchants.... couldn't find any suckers like legman to buy em

The fuji badge isn't worth paying a premium for nor will owing a genuine Fuji machine give you any added advantage whatsoever.

 

[MilanoGuru]

I am totally open to new things. I never said the 1224 had Longevity problems... I just said the quality is what you get. Speed really isnt. There are sooo many problems with soooo many printers. Its mind blowing. I have a SJ 640 in my corner. I have over 6 billion hits on the Black head. Roland says that they guarantee then for 1 billion. I think that If you have a Machine that is worth more than a Car you should probably keep better care of it than a Desktop printer. I think That Fuji and Ghandi are both amazing. I would like to have them but for the price of 250k for a machine that a 50k machine can match why not. But Once again I think We are all in the market we should really inform each other as the truth.

 

[wonsngis]

Milano,

I guess I just don't get where you're coming from. Perhaps its your sentence structure (that's not intended as a flame).

You say: "I found that Ghandi was a Work Horse but lacks longevity It prints great for a few hundred sqft feet or so then you gotta redo everything Bidirs cleaning... Not Fun on a Grand format."

Then you say: "I never said the 1224 had Longevity problems... I just said the quality is what you get. Speed really isnt."

And you go on to say: "but for the price of 250k for a machine that a 50k machine can match why not"

Are you suggesting that a roll to roll printer can do what a flatbed can do?

 

[eazyED]

if any 50k printer and match what a 250k flatbed can do then why would they even bother making them or even selling as meny as they do? If you think speed is an issue it's not if its dialed in, when i'm able to print a full 4x8 in 7 mins i think thats fast enough

 

[eazyED]

but maybe thats too slow for you

 

[Typestries]

I love reading all these misstatements!

Unless you are running on a daily basis or are the owner of either or the machines in question (eg the guy that signs the checks) why even bother comment? Clearly Chicago, KR3, Won, eazyEd and I are running the Jetis, and it sure seems to me that we're all very pleased. There are a few others here as well.

The original poster asked for an opinion on a production machine in a production environment. The Gandi is a true production machine. Just a little basic mechanical experience will tell you that it's built to a more industrial level than the Fuji. Look at the machining, the joints in the frame, the cable and board attachments, etc.

Then, the original poster said he (she) was printing non standard substrates. I think I have put everything I can in my Jeti. I don't know about the fuji, but I have made my machine print things that probably were never conceived when the machine was designed. Any number of jigs can be engineered and used on the jeti. Right now we have a clamp down fixture in the works that will hold tensioned, odd shaped pieces down to the table, without putting mechanical fasteners into the bed.

Sure, some Gandi owners have had issues with their machines. I know many of them, and yes, they are serious issues. Most are being resolved by Gandi so far as I can understand.

Bottom line for me is that we made a huge investment, and it's paying off. It makes fast, beautiful prints on a huge variety of substrates.

anyone can feel free to PM me with questions and you are always welcome to stop by my shop and check it out.

 

[MilanoGuru]

ok you got me won... I am saying exactly that. My Roll to Roll Milano does a great job, Im not saying it will out perform them but it does a really great job. I never said those are bad machines at all. I also said If I had one I am sure there would be things I would have to look into and fix. As Operators we all have things to Iron out. Where we live, what the weather is, how much we use it. I am definitely not on here to make enemies in anyway. I want to be able to help people who ask and be comfortable asking for help. I really appreciate anyone's opinion and am always open to crits.

 

[Rover]

Fuji Acuity

Hi, I'm new to this forum.

Just so I am up front, I am the National Sales Manager - Canada for Oce Display Graphics Systems. We manufacture and sell the Oce Arizona Flatbed product line, also licensed to Fuji as the Acuity. I work out of the same facility in Vancouver that designed and manufactures these Flatbeds.

I've been in Digital Printing as an Graphic Production Artist, worked as an Art Director for large International Ad Agencies, then as Production Manager at a large Photo Studio producing digital output on high end film recorders, had one of the first e-stat units in Western Canada...blah, blah, blah.... I've worn all the hats....

I don't sell printers...rather I tell people what the product in question is capable of. Facts are all I deal with.

Both the printers you are discussing are capable of producing sellable products on a variety of media.

The questions are simple:

What productivity do I "really" need?

What is the true production speed of the printer?

Consumable cost, inks, filters, print heads.

Footprint, power draw, special ventilation?

Image quality?

Product Reliability?

Service Warranty?

Service and Support Levels.

If I can be of any assistance, as far as answering questions about our Flatbeds, fire me a question or comment and I'll do my best to respond. I will NOT give any opinions about other products not manufactured by Oce.

Last note....Always get in front of the products you are considering, do some printing tests...then talk to others with the same equipment.

Cheers