Is there a downside to printing high speed?

[Banners Signs Etc.]

Of course the quality, but recently we had a tech tell us that high speed mode wears the printer out...I think he may have been talking about the encoder strip.

 

[rushworks graphics]

never heard of it wearing anything out, but as you say, thereis a difference, noticable difference infact, when printing with high speed and standard.

 

[MikeD]

High speed will cost in print quality, but the lower quality may not be an issue if your print is being viewed from several feet away.
I have some printers that move pretty fast, and the entire machine sways with the print head motion...I imagine that could create wear on some components.

 

[Gino]

I think the colors you end up with are kinda bad. Why waste banner or vinyl media on stuff, if it's gonna end up looking bad ??

Of course, perhaps you have a customer or two whose signs are 50' high on a building and it's a short term sign, so what the hey ??

But to be constantly running at the highest speed available.... why didn't you buy a faster machine, instead ?? That would seem more logical, then running at poor quality and colors all the time.

 

[rushworks graphics]

I think the colors you end up with are kinda bad. Why waste banner or vinyl media on stuff, if it's gonna end up looking bad ??

Of course, perhaps you have a customer or two whose signs are 50' high on a building and it's a short term sign, so what the hey ??

But to be constantly running at the highest speed available.... why didn't you buy a faster machine, instead ?? That would seem more logical, then running at poor quality and colors all the time.

yep...totally agree with what gino says on this.

 

[Banners Signs Etc.]

We have a Roland RS640 and it prints amazing in all modes...(I can't recommend this printer enough)
We just had a bunch of yard signs that are one color that the customer needs fast (lotta weeding if cut)..there is no noticeable difference except less ink usage on the estimator
It was an indian tech so I may have misheard him..he was pointing to the chrome strip that the heads seem to ride on.

 

[rushworks graphics]

i know we did a few test prints when we got our roland and on the high speed mode, especially on banners you can see its not as bright/clear and visable on the standard setting for example.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

that sounds backwards to me. High speed usually means lower resolution and fewer passes. Which translates into LESS wear on the printer.

If you're printing 1440x1440 16-pass that a lot of ink drops per nozzle and a lot of passes vs. say 360x360 4-pass. In fact, 4-times as much usage for printing the same image.

As Gino pointed out, there is a definite quality sacrifice for fast printing. The challenge is to find the right combination of speed and resolution to deliver the quality you need without going overboard. No reason to print 1440x1440 16-pass when 540x720 4-pass will also deliver good real-world sellable prints 3 times faster, while using less ink and causing less wear-and-tear on the printer.

 

[Gino]

Have you tried all of the primary, secondary and tertiary colors at your fastest speed ??

We have...... and blacks look like dark grey, reds look a little anemic, while blues, greens and oranges just don't quite make it if you're trying to get complete color duplication. If no color codes or numbers are used, we can get by, but I don't think we've used our fastest speed in more than 5 or 6 times in 4 years.

 

[john1]

I print in high speed on banners as there is no diff between that and standard quality mode on banners. I found the same is true with printing on matte adhesive vinyl.

 

[rushworks graphics]

on matte adhesive yeah, agreed...but not on banners! you can tell the difference between high speed and standard for sure.

 

[rjssigns]

Of course the quality, but recently we had a tech tell us that high speed mode wears the printer out...I think he may have been talking about the encoder strip.

The reds generally look like poo when doing high speed with our SP540. That being said, we have clients that have to hit budget and are okay with a little less quality for things that will be used a day or two at most. A lot of this work is 18" x 24" roadside stuff for events.

High speed also uses less ink and less passes thus less wear, so I would look for a new tech. We budget for service but the dang thing is built like a tank so we haven't needed any.(save for the third party ink fiasco)

"At fifty feet and fifty miles an hour nobody will care if it's a little off".
Mike Wauters

 

[john1]

Really? I can't tell a difference and i always have had real good results high speed on banners. Colors always come out very vibrant.

I print on ultraflex 13oz matte.

 

[rushworks graphics]

not with our stuff. we can tell the difference. its not a huge, huge difference, but we can tell.....we always print on standard.

 

[gabagoo]

I almost never use high speed. Not happy with the outcome.

I only use it for cheap customers who relentlessy bother me about price hehe