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Gerber Edge FX vs Summa DC5sx

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phatmanu812

New Member
Can anyone compare and contrast the two digital printing systems mentioned?

I have an Edge FX and am considering the Summa DC5sx.

Specifically interested in:

1. printing white on clear
2. printing on Convex chrome
3. cutting accuracy
4. foil cost
5. anything else you may think is relevant

Only first hand experience please.
 
SellersSign&Design

SellersSign&Design

New Member
I did a lot of research on the Summa printers. I currently run an Edge LE which I love, it just doesn't print wide enough for everything I do. There were two main drawbacks that kept me from buying a Summa, or at least buying a new one. The first is banding in the prints. All the samples I received that were printed with spot colors in an area big enough to require more than one pass had noticeable banding between the passes. The second problem was head replacement prices- after the warranty is up the head is just as expense to replace as a Gerber printhead, and I during my research I found many cases where they fail more often. There were some other more minor issues such as contour cutting, Summa doesn't recommend removing the material from the printer, laminating and then reloading to contour cut. They say you must use a stand alone cutter. With all that being said, I will most likely still buy one eventually due to it being the only real solution if you need thermal printing capabilities at widths wider than 11.88 inches. I'm just holding out for a deal on a used one.
 
artofacks1

artofacks1

New Member
I like my Edge fx printer but I will admit the banding issue is scary. The edge fx does have a lot of miss prints to though. You get missed lines or dots the the foil doesn't print on. I as of late print everything 600dpi and that has helped. I too wish the print width was bigger. I am worried about having to buy big wide material though. The size of the printer and the space it takes up.

I tried getting samples on convex from summa but never did they come through. The difference between me buying a edge fx or summa dc5x was literally customer service Cus at the time I was blind and didnt even know which would be better.
 
SellersSign&Design

SellersSign&Design

New Member
artofacks1 said:
I like my Edge fx printer but I will admit the banding issue is scary. The edge fx does have a lot of miss prints to though. You get missed lines or dots the the foil doesn't print on. I as of late print everything 600dpi and that has helped. I too wish the print width was bigger. I am worried about having to buy big wide material though. The size of the printer and the space it takes up. I tried getting samples on convex from summa but never did they come through. The difference between me buying a edge fx or summa dc5x was literally customer service Cus at the time I was blind and didnt even know which would be better.
Click to expand...

The Edge printers are tanks. Like you say, they can be quirky from time to time but all in all they just work. That is the biggest issue for me, I would expect the same reliability and quality from a summa and I don't know that it would live up to those expectations. I just wish Gerber would come out with a 30" machine that works as good as the Edge.
 
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