HP DesignJet 5500PS

[Merlin8167]

Hi Everyone,

I'm semi-new(OK...REALLY new in comparison to a lot of you) to the sign making thing.

I have 2 decent plotters and just bought a new 53" plotter with ARMS.

Here is my question.

I have the opportunity to purchase a totally refurbished HP Designjet 5500PS for $500 (maybe less).

I would like to start doing banners (indoor) and maybe decals.

Can anyone give me information on their experience with this model? Would it be a good investment to start out doing indoor banners? I has both the dye and UV inks (I know HP UV ink isn't a true UV ink)

Thanks in advance for your help!!

 

[Marty6022]

We run several dye based printers, one being the HP designjet 500 and a designjet 800ps along with a mimaki jv3 and some other smaller printer, I find with the HP they are quite slow in terms of output, and printheads, yes a lot of print heads are avaliable for these machines but they are very sensitive to people ha felling them, also I find ink matching other than HP inks to be a challenge, I haven't to this day found a decent dye ink and married it to the printer, so we stick with original HP inks. Overall I think HP is a good choice it gives you that plug and play factor without having to buy an expensive rip software (all depends on what your printing) for it and with the postscript it makes it abit easier to manage colours ect if you have the correct software that is.

 

[Bly]

They are dinosaurs that were great in their day.
I'm sure people still use them but parts must be getting hard to get, ink and media are more expensive than ecosol or latex printers.

 

[knucklehead]

For indoor stuff, refurbed, for less than 500 bucks, hell yeah! One wall mural will pay for it.

 

[Rlaw44]

I'd say there's no question. I used a 5500 at my last company for all of our interior stuff and it was a it was definitely a workhorse.. we never had any issues with it and it ran at least 3 hours a day 5 days a week. 500 bucks is a steal.

 

[visualeyez]

I still have one in use. I get all sorts of great print media from BigfishDM. Inks are like $60 shipped for 660ml cartridge from LDproducts.
I use it for canvas prints, product labels, posters, laminated decals, indoor banners, laminated outdoor banners, interior signs, cardboard cutouts, etc.
Media is slightly more than solvent media, but ink is cheap, and laminate is like $.15 sq.ft. so you can run everything through the laminator and still do all right.

 

[kanini]

It's a great deal at 500 bucks but check the carriage belt so it's not terrible worn. It can be a cost and takes a while/is a bit fiddly to change correctly.

 

[greysquirrel]

buy it for $500 then use it as a trade in for a HP Latex...they usually run promos 1000-1500 cash back with new purchase...

 

[anozira02]

I still have one in use. I get all sorts of great print media from BigfishDM. Inks are like $60 shipped for 660ml cartridge from LDproducts.
I use it for canvas prints, product labels, posters, laminated decals, indoor banners, laminated outdoor banners, interior signs, cardboard cutouts, etc.
Media is slightly more than solvent media, but ink is cheap, and laminate is like $.15 sq.ft. so you can run everything through the laminator and still do all right.

Was wondering which ink are you using for canvas and outdoor banners? Right now I have Dye ink in my 5500ps printer,,, I am new to this machine I use to have a Roland..
and how much of a hassle is to change over inks,, like from dye to latex or UV (pigment) inks..

 

[Billct2]

You can switch to UV(pigment) inks fairly easily, you have to buy a full set of inks and a UV tube assembly, so the initial investment is large.
I only ran UV inks in mine when I had them, but switched several tube assemblies and it was pretty simple.
The UV inks are fade and moisture resistant even without laminating.
But as has been said outdoor use is limited.

 

[anozira02]

Thanks for the info,,, very helpful..