• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Is Vanguard a good printer? Which model is recommended?

Spencer_cBlue

Spencer_cBlue

New Member
Hello everyone,
my shop is interested in purchasing a flatbed and we got recommended Vanguard.
I am just curious if those are quality machines, and which model would work best for us.
We are a medium volume company, we do a lot of foam core signs and corplast signs and Di-bond.
We have just been doing traditional mounting, but for big jobs it is far to tedious of a process.
We are looking at the VK300D-HS, VK300D-HVT, VK300D-SS, VKM600THS, VR5D-E.
I was just curious if anyone has any experience with any of these models and which one they would recommend for a shop of our size.
Any help would be awesome.
Thanks
 
Christian @ 2CT Media

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
Yes, it is!

We have the VK300D-HS and it works on all the media you mention and much more! The machine is blazing fast and has a very high-quality output. The HVT and SS are only needed if you work with really thin hard to hold down materials. the VKM and VR5D are great if you only need 4x8 size and speed is not a concern, but you also lose the awesome Kyocera Heads which are extremely durable and have an awesome PL dot size to build smooth color transitions and increase the gamut substantially without light inks.
 
Spencer_cBlue

Spencer_cBlue

New Member
Christian @ 2CT Media said:
Yes, it is!

We have the VK300D-HS and it works on all the media you mention and much more! The machine is blazing fast and has a very high-quality output. The HVT and SS are only needed if you work with really thin hard to hold down materials. the VKM and VR5D are great if you only need 4x8 size and speed is not a concern, but you also lose the awesome Kyocera Heads which are extremely durable and have an awesome PL dot size to build smooth color transitions and increase the gamut substantially without light inks.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply, when you say thin are you talking about just adhesive vinyl?
 
Spencer_cBlue

Spencer_cBlue

New Member
Christian @ 2CT Media said:
No, are you wanting to just print on roll stock? If so look at the VKR machine
Click to expand...

No, I want to print directly on to substrates I just wanted to know if it was okay to just print on adh vinyl with one of the lower end models.
We currently have a Eco Sol machine and I was just curious if we got this machine could it be a complete replacement for the eco sol.
 
Signed Out

Signed Out

New Member
How is the ink adhesion with these printers printing directly to white aluminum, 040, 063, 080? And what is the expected outdoor life uncoated vs coated with something like urethane?
 
N

Nate1n22

New Member
wleong said:
What are comparable printers to the Vanguard? How do they compare price wise?
Click to expand...
The Digitech Trufire is similar. Believe they use the same or similar heads. We got one a couple months ago and haven't been a fan. A lot of issues for a new printer. Always heard good things about the Vanguard on here though.
 
Z

Zach Starr

Head of Printing Operations
Spencer_cBlue said:
Hello everyone,
my shop is interested in purchasing a flatbed and we got recommended Vanguard.
I am just curious if those are quality machines, and which model would work best for us.
We are a medium volume company, we do a lot of foam core signs and corplast signs and Di-bond.
We have just been doing traditional mounting, but for big jobs it is far to tedious of a process.
We are looking at the VK300D-HS, VK300D-HVT, VK300D-SS, VKM600THS, VR5D-E.
I was just curious if anyone has any experience with any of these models and which one they would recommend for a shop of our size.
Any help would be awesome.
Thanks
Click to expand...


Do checkout the Stratojet EFB2512, i have used that printer for over two years now. Worked great for me. its fast and has adjustable vacuum system for doing heavy and light materials at the sametime. If you are looking for something versatile... They even had a model that did both flatbed and roll printing.
 
G

Graphic Realm

New Member
Nate1n22 said:
The Digitech Trufire is similar. Believe they use the same or similar heads. We got one a couple months ago and haven't been a fan. A lot of issues for a new printer. Always heard good things about the Vanguard on here though.
Click to expand...
What do you not like about the Digitech
 
G

Graphic Realm

New Member
Nate1n22 said:
The Digitech Trufire is similar. Believe they use the same or similar heads. We got one a couple months ago and haven't been a fan. A lot of issues for a new printer. Always heard good things about the Vanguard on here though.
Click to expand...
What do you not like about the Digitech?
 
johnnysigns

johnnysigns

New Member
To print vinyl you're going to have to either sheet the material to the table bed or rig up a roll setup to feed and take up the prints on rolled stuff. The guys here print whole rolls with some odds and ends to feed and take up the material. They just manually advance each bed onto a take up before lamination and guillotine cutting.
 
TGINC

TGINC

New Member
Nate1n22 said:
The Digitech Trufire is similar. Believe they use the same or similar heads. We got one a couple months ago and haven't been a fan. A lot of issues for a new printer. Always heard good things about the Vanguard on here though.
Click to expand...
We're looking at a Trufire. When you say "A lot of issues for a new printer." what were the issues?
 
N

nate

New Member
I'd take the Digitech over the Vanguard. I've had experience with both. If you can afford it the Digitech is the way to go. Talk with Patric the owner there or go through Greg @ Global Imaging. Either will take care of you.

I would curious to know what issues you have/had Nate1n22 . Is it something simple?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top