Is clear ink and primer worth it?

[Doc Zoom]

I'm thinking about updating my Mimaki JFX200 to have a clear ink channel as well as a primer channel. Any thoughts on this? Experiences?
Is this a useful option to have or just a gimmick that won't ever get used?

 

[bigben]

I can't help, but I'm on the market for a flatbed printer and I would like to have feedback on those two options also.

 

[FutureSigns]

I can't help, but I'm on the market for a flatbed printer and I would like to have feedback on those two options also.

We just bought a Mimaki JFX200 and have white ink loaded. I am thinking about adding clear. The white is a necessity since we are going to print faces but the clear would add such a cool effect. Might not be that much of a request for it but it sure does add that wow factor.

Any issues with your machine? We had ours installed a couple weeks ago. Nothing but issues. The on going one is an error 511. The head raises at night and never caps until the machine is rebooted.

 

[Doc Zoom]

If you get one of these machines, definitely get white! We do a lot of acrylic prints and they're beautiful! Only problem was a head strike on the media locating screws. Over $5,000 to fix! Not sure if this is an inherent
problem or my safety bars not being adjusted right.

 

[chromira]

We bought a new JFX200 a year ago with white, clear, and primer. We have used the clear to achieve a high gloss effect and has come in handy since we've had a number of requests for glossy. The primer has also worked well for us in situations where adhesion was not the best. Very helpful when printing on large pieces of acrylic that will have mounting hardware attached.

 

[DougWestwood]

Gloss laminate, on roll, might ultimately be a better option.
Have yet to see a company have enough primer/clear work to make the maintenance worth while.
Stuff gets gunky and must be kept very clean, both machine and environment.

 

[StarSign]

When we added our new flatbed a little over a year ago we got the white / varnish option. A year later we swapped over to white / white and are glad we did it.

 

[Gino]

We don't have either or in ours, but the theory on white/clear a few years ago was simple. If you're not going to use it just about everyday, don't get it. Agitating those is a real pain and can sometimes foul up the works, creating other headaches. Perhaps the technology or consistency has gotten better or it's just better in that machine..... I don't know. So, ask yourself if you're gonna use it once or twice a week or 40 to 60 hours a week.

 

[Doc Zoom]

Well so far we have hardly used either one. Have definitely used clear way more than primer. We just need to learn more about using clear. I wouldn't waste your time on primer at this point.

 

[Lilukey1]

We bought a new JFX200 a year ago with white, clear, and primer. We have used the clear to achieve a high gloss effect and has come in handy since we've had a number of requests for glossy. The primer has also worked well for us in situations where adhesion was not the best. Very helpful when printing on large pieces of acrylic that will have mounting hardware attached.

What ink are you running? I have the 100 ink CMYK CL PR W. Have you printed on acrylic or pre coat white aluminum exterior signs? If so, any problems with the ink cracking?

 

[Signs Express]

We have a JFX200 with CMYK+W+C. I'd definitely recommend the white. The clear on the other hand is really not necessary. We can do some neat effects with gloss finishes and 3D texturing, but nobody will every request it... you've got to sell it. For general sign production, you won't miss having the clear.

 

[chromira]

What ink are you running? I have the 100 ink CMYK CL PR W. Have you printed on acrylic or pre coat white aluminum exterior signs? If so, any problems with the ink cracking?

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. We use LUS-150 inks and we print on acrylic, aluminum, Dibond, wood and glass. No problems with ink cracking. We use 20% primer and 75% white as a backing color for all transparent media.

 

[Lilukey1]

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. We use LUS-150 inks and we print on acrylic, aluminum, Dibond, wood and glass. No problems with ink cracking. We use 20% primer and 75% white as a backing color for all transparent media.

Thank you for the reply!!!