Ok, Just just had a very interesting conversation with an HP reseller who admitted that it is well known that laminates don’t like the new scratch resistant ink, he admitted that 3M are the ONLY manufacturer that guarantees they won’t de-laminate and that HP recommend to use.....they just chose not to tell anyone they sell the printer to.
We have had a few jobs come back where prints have delaminated, Just put it down to no heat or dodgy laminate, only when I started testing all prints going out that I really noticed it.
We had color issues, it could not print consistent color without major "oversight" and constant tweaking. We print a LOT and a lot of solid colors. When we had to print patch/repair panels, they never matched and we ended up reprinting whole wraps. This issue scares me back away from thinking about them again.
Have had no color issues, just the de-lam, but because of that and their total lack of care in helping with the issue, I would never buy another.
Hi Bly, never heard of that before but you are right, worth giving it a go, nothing to loose. Though it is also happening on pop-up material, which can’t take much heat as it warps, so don’t think too much heat is the cause but will give it a go.
Check out the 80600 model of printer. Same day lamination and I would bet that it is faster at printing than the HP, but I haven't seen them running the same file side-by-side. Ours hasn't given us any trouble yet, but if you buy a new one then the warranty will take care of any potential issues you have to worry about. Epson under warranty service has been exceptional (get the extended warranty), but out of warranty, not so much. I think we pay $156 US per cartridge using the 3M Ultrachrome MCS inks, but we don't go through that many cartridges every day, I think we changed cartridges more often in the HP and older models of Epson we have. Check the specs on the cost per sf in the brochure for ink cost, we don't worry about ink with how expensive the vinyl is, lol. (not really lol!) We run 4+ rolls through our printer every day and spend maybe 20 minutes per week cleaning it, but we keep our printers sparkling clean. You can laminate about an hour after printing depending on ink coverage.
Hi JF, thanks for the reply, the reason I ask about the inks is that I remember looking at an Epson SC a few years ago and the ink was a ridiculous price, about £160 per cartridge (220 US) which put me right off but checked out costs for 80600 last night and they are £86 so very reasonable (same as HP). The print quality and colours look amazing on it, something I always liked about the HP and as long as I can laminate same day I would be happy, we usually leave prints 3-4 hrs before laminating anyway. This might be the printer for me if I can get HP to take my 360 back. Just bought a Fuji Acuity, so money a bit tight at the minute
I've only had the Epson for about 6-8 months, but I would imagine the ink longevity is around the same, the inks and printer are MCS certified same as the HP's most printers say 3 years unlaminated.
Ours will sometimes sit for a week unused during lulls in printing (we are not a print only shop) I just fire it up, do a 5 minute head clean and it's good to go.
