Is HP 630 compatible with the same 3M reflective sheeting as the 365?

[ZH84]

I work in a sign shop for the city/county government making street and road signs. We want to upgrade from a plotter with EC film to a large format digital printer. We use 3M material, so I checked the 3M website and they have a list of which printers work with their reflective sheeting (all are HP models except 2 massive units made by other companies that are way too big for my shop). Now here is the issue; the 365 is the only one that works with Engineer Grade sheeting (which I use a lot of), and the 700/800/1500 are way too big for my shop anyway, but the 365 is discontinued and no one even sells it anymore. Some of the retailers I looked at said that the 365 was replaced with the 630, but I have no idea if the 630 is confirmed to work with all the same 3M material that the 365 was compatible with. I contacted 3M and they just said to get the 700, which I already mentioned is too big and doesn't work with Engineer Grade sheeting. I've also read tons of terrible reviews about the 700 and 800. I contacted HP too and they weren't really any help either, they just keep sending me auto-generated responses.

Does anyone here use a 630 with 3M material or know for a fact it will print on high intensity prismatic, diamond grade, and engineer grade sheeting? I don't really know what to do at this point since the printer I want doesn't exist anymore and the only other option doesn't have much data about what it's compatible with. If anyone knows of a different brand/model that they know works with 3M reflective sheeting, I'd be open to looking into those too. I'm just going off which printers the 3M website recommends right now.

 

[chrisphilipps]

What are the product codes for the 3M reflective sheeting you are using?
This link shows the compatibility of the 700/800 series on the 3M reflective sheeting materials: https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/2054064O/hp-700-hp-800-matrix-for-traffic.pdf.

The Latex 630 series is the direct replacement to the 365 based on price point but it isn't a direct replacement based on features/functions. HP had the 365 positioned towards the top end of the gen 3 latex line up, the 630 series is the entry level of the gen 4 line up. Also the footprint of the 630/700/800 series is almost identical, see below.

Dimensions (W x D x H)

630 Series: 102.5 x 33.2 x 55.3 in
700 Series: 101.7 x 33.6 x 55.2 in
800 Series: 101.7 x 34.1 x 55.2 in

The 630/700/800 series printer all use the same exact ink and print heads. Unfortunately, HP and 3M have only certified the 700/800 series to work with the 3M traffic system / materials and I don't think that will change. If you need to hit traffic colors and get backing from 3M for warranties you have to go with the 700 or 800 series. While the 630 may be physically capable of doing this work, there is no support from 3M or HP and you would be responsible for getting profiles setup so it can print on those materials. Any savings in the printer purchase price would very quickly be eaten up with trying to create the substrate profiles and the trial and error to get it to work correctly, not to mention the lack of 3M warranty.

 

[ZH84]

What are the product codes for the 3M reflective sheeting you are using?
This link shows the compatibility of the 700/800 series on the 3M reflective sheeting materials: https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/2054064O/hp-700-hp-800-matrix-for-traffic.pdf.

The Latex 630 series is the direct replacement to the 365 based on price point but it isn't a direct replacement based on features/functions. HP had the 365 positioned towards the top end of the gen 3 latex line up, the 630 series is the entry level of the gen 4 line up. Also the footprint of the 630/700/800 series is almost identical, see below.

Dimensions (W x D x H)

630 Series: 102.5 x 33.2 x 55.3 in
700 Series: 101.7 x 33.6 x 55.2 in
800 Series: 101.7 x 34.1 x 55.2 in

The 630/700/800 series printer all use the same exact ink and print heads. Unfortunately, HP and 3M have only certified the 700/800 series to work with the 3M traffic system / materials and I don't think that will change. If you need to hit traffic colors and get backing from 3M for warranties you have to go with the 700 or 800 series. While the 630 may be physically capable of doing this work, there is no support from 3M or HP and you would be responsible for getting profiles setup so it can print on those materials. Any savings in the printer purchase price would very quickly be eaten up with trying to create the substrate profiles and the trial and error to get it to work correctly, not to mention the lack of 3M warranty.

I use
3M Diamond Grade VIP Reflective Sheeting Series 3990
3M High-Intensity Prismatic Reflective Sheeting Series 3930
3M Engineer Grade Prismatic Reflective Sheeting Series 3430


This is directly from a form 3M sent me. I don't understand why HP would discontinue the only model that is compatible with every type of sheeting. So basically there is nothing currently on the market that will print on 3m Diamond Grade VIP or Engineer Grade sheeting

 

[chrisphilipps]

I am not familiar enough with 3M's reflective sheeting to know the difference between any of them. Since the 630 series is using the same ink and print heads, even if it was supported by HP and 3M, it would have the same compatibility that the 700/800 series has.

Unfortunately the technology in the 365 is around 10 years old at this point and HP can't manufacturer them forever. There are plenty of them still out there and it shouldn't be too hard to find a 365 second hand. I don't know why the 700/800 series isn't listed as compatible with those series of 3M materials. Since the 365 is discontinued maybe 3M and HP will do something to make the 700/800 series compatible with a 3M material that will work in the applications the 3990 and the 3430 series are used for.

 

[MNT_Printhead]

Get an Avery/Mutoh Traffic Jet and use thet. Running reflective on the KAtex machines sucks back. You can't raise the head height and will deal with head strikes.

 

[balstestrat]

If 700/800 is supposed to work then 630 will as well (basically same frame as 700).

 

[chrisphilipps]

balstestrat HP/3M didn't create the required substrate libraries for the 630 series for these materials and 3M will not honor the warranty if it is printed on the 630. There also won't be any guarantee that it will match the Federal Highway Administration's color targets for the traffic colors. These are important issues for the application that most of these materials are used for.