Ink Question

[blufftonsignguy]

I am currently running a Roland SC545EX with ecosolvent (Roland) inks. I have been told by several people who really know these machines mot to run 3rd party inks in them. The machine is 10 years old and is under no warranty. I received an offer from Grimco yesterday for a 3rd party ink (20/20 ink) that is kind of hard to turn down. Supposedly they offer (I have paperwork showing) a warranty on their ink, that if it were to mess up my system, they would send someone down to take care of the problem. They have also stated that there hasn't been any problems and nothing to do bu plug and play.

My question is, is there any others out there that have tried this 20/20 ink and if so did you have any problems with it? Your input would be greatly appreciated from anyone who had tried and failed or succeeded in this ink.

Thanks!

 

[rjssigns]

You would have to talk to people that actually had an issue then ask them how it was handled. Pretty sure you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that had anything covered.

 

[blufftonsignguy]

You would have to talk to people that actually had an issue then ask them how it was handled. Pretty sure you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that had anything covered.

Thats kind of why I posted the question here to see if anyone has used the ink and if they had any pros/cons to making the switch.

 

[ams]

I will never use a 3rd party ink, it's a bad idea. Those are for newbies.

 

[blufftonsignguy]

I will never use a 3rd party ink, it's a bad idea. Those are for newbies.

Could you possibly expand on the reason/experience with 3rd party? Up to this point I would agree with you 110%. That's what I was told by several including a Roland tech and a salesman that has been in the business for many years. Each have their own reason, I'm curious of experience switching.

Thanks for your response

 

[BigfishDM]

I am currently running a Roland SC545EX with ecosolvent (Roland) inks. I have been told by several people who really know these machines mot to run 3rd party inks in them. The machine is 10 years old and is under no warranty. I received an offer from Grimco yesterday for a 3rd party ink (20/20 ink) that is kind of hard to turn down. Supposedly they offer (I have paperwork showing) a warranty on their ink, that if it were to mess up my system, they would send someone down to take care of the problem. They have also stated that there hasn't been any problems and nothing to do bu plug and play.

My question is, is there any others out there that have tried this 20/20 ink and if so did you have any problems with it? Your input would be greatly appreciated from anyone who had tried and failed or succeeded in this ink.

Thanks!

The 20/20 has been around for a while now and no matter who's ink you use it will give you a problem at one time or another I guarantee you that. That's a good warranty they offer on fixing your machine if it messes it up but does that also include the print heads? Grimco is a huge company and me personally I would use it on a machine like the one you have no problem especially if they give some kind of head warranty.

 

[niksagkram]

We've been using 3rd party inks (Nazdar) in our SC-540 for at least 3 years now, and not a single issue! Have we been lucky? Maybe. But I do regular cleanings on all our printers (SC540, XC540, VS540) and all machines are used regularly, and I believe that is important for "trouble free" printing. We still use OEM inks in our go-to machines, XC and VS, because, well, you never know. But, if the economy and the Canadian dollar continue the way they are, 3rd party inks may be an option for cost cutting.

Good luck,

Mark

 

[petepaz]

We've been using 3rd party inks (Nazdar) in our SC-540 for at least 3 years now, and not a single issue! Have we been lucky? Maybe. But I do regular cleanings on all our printers (SC540, XC540, VS540) and all machines are used regularly, and I believe that is important for "trouble free" printing. We still use OEM inks in our go-to machines, XC and VS, because, well, you never know. But, if the economy and the Canadian dollar continue the way they are, 3rd party inks may be an option for cost cutting.

Good luck,

Mark

we used a 3rd party ink in our rolands years ago and had some capping station issues so we swore we would never do it again not worth the risk. we recently (about 4-6 months ago) started using nazdar's ink in our roland xc with no issues. we had a few reasons we chose to take the risk with nazdar. first off we have been doing business with them for over 40 years for our silk screen needs and about 15 for digital needs so they have a good history with us and have always backed up their products and work. secondly ink is what they do, that is their specialty so we figure if anyone could do it right it would be them. third they offered all the warranties and said they would replace anything damaged by the inks again they have always backed their products and work so no reason to believe they wouldn't now. i guess the only problem would be to prove that the ink was the cause but so far so good.

 

[CS-SignSupply]

If I may chime in... if the choice is made to go third party, I would highly recommend you increase/bolster your maintenance plan and add a couple hundred of dollars per year for consumables (wipers, sponges, captops, scrapers, swabs, fluid) to your budget.

Most, not all, but most 3rd party inks are more aggressive and have a tendency to clog (not so much in the head but in the pump lines and captops).

If you clean your printer on a weekly basis with OEM Roland inks now, plan to clean the unit every other day with normal printing.

My tech has been on 3 calls this week to unclog the captops/captop lines/pump lines for a specific brand of Magenta 3rd party in in 2 weeks.

I prefer Roland OEM Ink, of course... but have very little negative to say about 3rd party inks, if the printer is run and maintained on a daily basis. If not, a drop out or clog could cost you 15-20 minutes or several hundreds of dollars to resolve.

Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.

 

[ams]

Could you possibly expand on the reason/experience with 3rd party? Up to this point I would agree with you 110%. That's what I was told by several including a Roland tech and a salesman that has been in the business for many years. Each have their own reason, I'm curious of experience switching.

Thanks for your response

Because the dealers know their machines. If a China brand screws up your printer, will you get a refund or a new printer from them? Nope.
What about quality? such as drying times, color, brightness, even coats, etc?

I used to buy cheap tools, they broke down on me. Now everything is Dewalt and guess what, years and years and no problems. Buy the best and you won't have problems, buy cheap and your shooting yourself in the foot.
If the ink was exactly the same, they would charge more.

 

[blufftonsignguy]

Thank you to everyone that posted. Great tips from all. I clean my printer once a week because it is not in use every day. I have thought since I purchased the printer that I would never use 3rd party inks, but after this offer came through I had a second thought about it. I believe I will leave it as a thought only! I agree with AMS, I only purchase name brand tools and etc because the companies make good products and stand behind them.

Thanks again everyone!