GS6000 vs. the new Seiko W-64s

[FishnSigns]

Need some help please. We are in the process of replacing our old Mimaki JV3 and are considering either an Epson GS6000 or the new Seiko Colorpainter W-64s. The new printer will run along side of our Mimaki JV33 so we are looking for something that can output high quality graphics at a reasonable speed. I like the expanded color gamut on the Epson with the green/orange ink but my sales guy is pushing me toward the Seiko. Any thoughts? Thanks for the help.

 

[d fleming]

My Seiko has been a good rugged machine for 6 years.

 

[FishnSigns]

Good to hear on the 6 year machine. My concern with the new 64s is that they may have decreased the quality and durability to get the price down. I would like to believe it's of the same caliber but I have doubts at the new price point. Thanks for the reply.

 

[HulkSmash]

I have a few HP9000's (which i hate) and they're the same machine - just a new generation. I would stay away from them, but that's just me.
IMHO the color painter can't touch the gs

 

[Action-kat]

GS6000 is a good machine

I had two Seiko 64s which worked hard all day every day then after about 5 years became to much trouble to keep going in a very busy shop.
not knowing how the new W-64s are but I would expect they would be good.

I however can comment on the Epson GS6000 as we now have two of these.
speed wise I would say little faster than the Seiko but without all the maintance work, very little is required,
even after a head strike which I find they are a little prone to,
they recover very fast and only need the very light clean to get them there, you don't even need to check the head so that on is't own is a great plus.

the newer one has a couple of bars on the back to aid keeping the roll tension behind the machine ( see prone to head strikes )
all in all a fast reliable printer with little time needed to watch over it load & print
The wave tech is great ran 50 meter roll today mainly images & heavy black in the fastest mode looked like it was on a quality mode no banding or colour steps great for catching up on work.
KAT

 

[Robert M]

You Avartar

FishnSigns, is your avatar photo taken on the Green River?

 

[FishnSigns]

Yep, photo taken on the Green a few years back. Great river! I leave next week for 10 days of fly fishing in Montana. Will catch hell when I return but it should be worth it. Thanks for the feedback on the printers. Leaning toward the Epson.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

We replaced our aging JV3 with a GS6000 and I'm kicking myself. I should have either bought another JV33 or an HP latex printer. If you haven't already, consider the JV33, it's in a different league than your JV3, it's an impressive machine for what it is.

But back to the Epson. It is not a volume production machine. It's just not up to the task. It's severely overengineered to the point it's performance is hampered by it. It may be great for some markets like fine art, but if you're printing banners and vinyl all day long, there are significantly better machines out there for the money. It's prints are beautiful (the majority of the time anyway), but that's the ONLY positive thing I can say about it.

 

[Beyond 1]

Epson GS6000

I have the Epson GS6000 for alittle over 4 months now and I love it. The quality of the photo's are the best hands down. As for the speed it is a bit slower then the other machines, but thats because most of the profiles are done on a higher resolution. If you can find higher speed profiles it will go alot faster. Its designed by MUTOH so it is very easy to clean and take care of. I also have 2 MUTOHs which I like as well. The only thing I'm alittle scared about the GS is that the inks have a higher color gamit, but with that the color fade faster. Even on the Epson website it say's it last less then the previous ink thats in, Mutohs, rolands and mimaki.... I hear that the yellow and orange can start fading as soon as less then a year in direct sunlight (yes with lamination) Because of this I use it for only tradeshow and POP signage, long term outdoor graphics I print on my Mutoh's... If you need a great all round printer check out the new Mutoh 1624... it prints up to 313sqft/h. Thats pretty fast.

Good Luck...

 

[artbot]

agreed. the jv33 or the latex are pretty sweet. they'd have to be in that list. i wouldn't buy anything until you see both of them installed. the latex is an odd creature but it prints beautifully and the prints are bone parched dry right out of the machine.

and i don't understand how the gs6000 can promote itself as a fine art printer. that marked demands archival ink.

 

[PromoGuyTy]

simple plug

Have had our GS for about 7 months now and love it........

print tons of banners and vinyl and some paper...

 

[Robert M]

Green river

FishnSign

We stock Mimaki parts here in Denver if you ever need anything for your JV3 and JV33
Have fun in Montana

www.solventinkjet.com

 

[FishnSigns]

Thanks for all of the good feedback. I should be able to get my hands on the Seiko this week for a demo. I'm leaning toward the Epson but the Seiko is less $$ and advertised as faster. Worth a look.

 

[HulkSmash]

I think Sign specialist in Denver has a jv33 for sale at their site. It might be the print cut combo, but sure though.

 

[Freese]

Epson no doub

 

[FishnSigns]

Just found out that Wasatch doesn't have any profiles built for the new Seiko... could be a deal breaker. The Epson is looking better by the day.

 

[FishnSigns]

Thanks for the heads up. We have our new Epson being delivered today. Looking forward to using the new printer!

 

[SolitaryT]

I've worked with the Seiko before, and I've preferred it over a Mimaki JV5 and a Roland VersaCAMM, but I don't think that's saying much. Our JV5 was a lemon and broke down pretty much twice a month with reliability. The Roland is alright, but slow and not nearly as versatile as the Seiko was.

 

[Dice]

Can't really say much about the Seiko's but we have 2 gs6000 and 1 jv33. The jv33 is a work horse and I had pegged the gs6000 to kill the jv33 and it would have if it weren't for the little things and also the ink.

I'm sort of kicking myself now on the GS6000's. They are good machines yes, but because of the ink (less than eco) the life on the inks won't last as long as the jv33. 1 year vs 2-3 year.


GS6000 has a superior print head, better color gambit, little faster.
jv33 has Superior inks and is a better designed machine for high production.


I'm in the market for 1-2 more printers and i'm only looking at jv33, latex or a roll to roll UV.

I've heard that HP will be coming out with a new Latex printer at the show in Oct.

I've also heard they are working on a latex flatbed, but I doubt this will be out anytime soon.

 

[FishnSigns]

Good info. I agree... the JV33 is a work horse adn we love ours. We looked at the HP latex in Vegas. The price was good but there were too many variables this early in the game. I think a latex flatbed would be cool if they can figure ou the temperature vs. substrate battle.

We unloaded the Epson off the truck about 2 hours ago. Can't wait to have it built and running.