Discussion I've owned an HP R1000 since April 2019, ask me anything

[Lunar Graphix]

so optimizer on everything, but you still use adhesion promoter on certain substrates that are having issues?

hot damn, that maintenance kit tho'. 3x the cost of my 26500, I'd imagine printheads are a bit more as well?
still not talkin' me outta this machine anytime soon, fell in love with it at the last ISA show alongside another flatbed from AFGA, but the hybrid feature makes it more versatile & appealing to me.

Yeah, optimizer on everything. We typically run about 15% OP but sometimes up to 25%.
Don't use adhesion promoter on anything! Thought you meant optimizer but it's apparently something different. We don't do a lot of glass printing and the acrylic and metal we've done has not needed adhesion promoter at all.

 

[jasonx]

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06057649


Page 131.

 

[Brandon708]

Hello everyone,

Feeling a bit chatty lately while working night shifts to keep up with a large job. Wife's running day ops which leaves me alone with my vices and equipment.

Anyway, as the title says we've had an R1000 in our shop since the first few months of US availability. We upgraded from a Scitex FB550 which we owned for a year before the R series was announced and we decided to sell the 550 and upgrade.

Being owner to new tech meant there hasn't been much I could find online when troubleshooting or researching in this last year. Even videos of the machine operating (outside of EU owners) were sparse. There is the HP knowledge center but it's still lacking for the R series.

So I'm here to answer any questions you might have. Maybe this can serve as a future resource for other R1000 and R2000 owners.

Do you need to use the Digital MaxMetal or can you just use the regular MaxMetal?

 

[Corwin Steeves]

I love the print quality of this machine! I did have a few questions/concerns though...

1) Finger prints. Is this an issue?
2) Heat. I was concerned with printing on heat sensitive materials. (ie 20pt styrene, foamboards, etc)
3) Double sided. We do quite a bit of double sided printing and getting things to line up is very important, especially when the clients insist on adding boarders to everything.

 

[PrintQueen]

I hope you're still answering questions... I'm writing up a proposal for the R1000+. I'm wondering if you have any metrics, like a percentage of increase in productivity, or cost savings for printing direct to substrate? This will be our first flatbed machine, and it will be alongside our current Latex 365. My boss likes numbers, so I'm trying to see what I can find among current users.

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate you allowing us to pick your brain on this killer machine!!

 

[MikePro]

+1 interested in metrics info, if avail.
...or at the very least, what's the psf cost of ink&optimizer to print single-layer full coverage rich black?

 

[Lunar Graphix]

Do you need to use the Digital MaxMetal or can you just use the regular MaxMetal?

You can use either max metal

 

[Lunar Graphix]

I hope you're still answering questions... I'm writing up a proposal for the R1000+. I'm wondering if you have any metrics, like a percentage of increase in productivity, or cost savings for printing direct to substrate? This will be our first flatbed machine, and it will be alongside our current Latex 365. My boss likes numbers, so I'm trying to see what I can find among current users.

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate you allowing us to pick your brain on this killer machine!!

It's been a while now since we sold our latex 360, but the cost savings over that machine in ink, time and maintenance was mind blowing to me at the beginning. At least 2x if I remember right. I was so happy to be pumping out a roll of very nice looking banners (at only a 3 pass!) in 30 minutes versus multiple hours on the 360. Same with rolls of vinyl and even yard signs. Of course the excitement has worn out, but I'm still in love with this machine and would buy a second one the moment the need arises.

Tonight I ran 250 12x24" 24pt cardstock boards. I was able to do 5 boards every 90 seconds. The same job on our old Scitex fb550 would have taken 4-5 hours.

A few nights ago I did a few 4x8' sheets of 40 mil styrene (solid red background, 4pass-80density-6color) 5 min per board.

We do a lot of 18x24 yard signs and I've timed those. 3pass gets you 3 boards every 60 seconds

54" x 1850" roll of vinyl decals. 4pass 90 minutes, 6pass 2 hours. Compared to our old latex saves about an 1 to 1.5 hours

White ink is the slowest, but you can get paid more most of the time as most shops don't offer it. 33 pass, 4x5' decal took 45 minutes. The ink is a dream. It doesn't clog, doesn't dry out. Doesn't turn yellow. We don't do white jobs often (maybe once every 2 months) but when we do its a 10 minute head swap and then it just prints. Doesn't even need a cleaning first.

We run our machine 12-18 hours a day. We buy 2 rounds of ink (12x $285) and 2 cleaning kits (2x $350) on average per month. We replace heads (6x $550) every 6 months or so.

There aren't any tools I'm aware of that calculates ink usage and translates into a cost estimate. We typically bill out at between $95-125/hour for machine time.

The year I owned a scitex + latex 360, we did around 125,000 in sales. First year with the R1000 we did 300,000 and no other machines. We have 4 employees.

That's all the numbers I can think of off the top of my head

 

[iPrintStuff]

So have you got a rough estimate on square foot printed compared to the ink you’ve used?

 

[PrintQueen]

Tonight I ran 250 12x24" 24pt cardstock boards. I was able to do 5 boards every 90 seconds. The same job on our old Scitex fb550 would have taken 4-5 hours.

The year I owned a scitex + latex 360, we did around 125,000 in sales. First year with the R1000 we did 300,000 and no other machines. We have 4 employees.

holy cow!! this sounds like a dream! thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it, and the info you provided has been super helpful. I appreciate you! thank you!

 

[2M]

Can you tell me about the comparative between your FB and the R:

• How is second side printing justification; are there any issues with alignment, or loading the sheets?
• I read that the R2000 is limited to a 47x98" sheet size; do you know this to be true?
• Do you have your power supply on the floor or a drop from the ceiling and where in relation to the machine?
• Do you have issues with fingerprints showing through the ink, and or do you pre-clean your sheets?
• How is the sensitivity to dry humidity levels during winter months?
• Are there any spacial workflow suggestions you would advise related to your experience and the site prep dimensions?

Also, For cleaning the FB belt; I found this method to work very well. Spray denatured on 12-18" sections across the belt, and cover with plastic wrap. Let soak for 10 min. and scrape up with plastic razor. Comes off like butter. The only area I had resistance with is the user end sheet alignment edge.

Thank You
M

 

[Signplanet]

What setting do you use for Ultra Board with aluminum? We have an R2000 and keep having issues with board warping. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

 

[Behrmon]

I’ve got one and apologize if it’s been asked. Do you print 080 aluminum painted blanks with good scratch resistance and if so could you share your settings. On day 2 of our R1000 and loving her so far.

 

[Brandon708]

What setting do you use for Ultra Board with aluminum? We have an R2000 and keep having issues with board warping. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Did you try to close the “curtain” between the heater and print area? That helps the print area from getting to hot that can warp boards.

 

[Brandon708]

Just a quick note on print speeds. We printed about 100 18x24 single sided coroplast in about 45-50 minutes. I didn’t get an exact time because we had the head strike sensor get activated because one of the last prices of coroplast was curled. After we waited for that to clear and reload it was like 60 min. I think if you’re printing a bunch of signs for a while the print area heats up a bit so closing the curtain between the curing area and print some would help on this issue. We fed (3) boards at a time and just kept feeding it. That was on a R1000 at 3 Pass which looked like a 8 pass on my HP 360. I also heard HP is working on an update for a 2 pass mode in their next firmware update. Im sure that mode would be perfect for temporary outdoor because the 3 pass looked awesome. As I get better numbers in the future I will share.

 

[Lunar Graphix]

Can you tell me about the comparative between your FB and the R:

• How is second side printing justification; are there any issues with alignment, or loading the sheets?
• I read that the R2000 is limited to a 47x98" sheet size; do you know this to be true?
• Do you have your power supply on the floor or a drop from the ceiling and where in relation to the machine?
• Do you have issues with fingerprints showing through the ink, and or do you pre-clean your sheets?
• How is the sensitivity to dry humidity levels during winter months?
• Are there any spacial workflow suggestions you would advise related to your experience and the site prep dimensions?

Also, For cleaning the FB belt; I found this method to work very well. Spray denatured on 12-18" sections across the belt, and cover with plastic wrap. Let soak for 10 min. and scrape up with plastic razor. Comes off like butter. The only area I had resistance with is the user end sheet alignment edge.

Thank You
M

• How is second side printing justification; are there any issues with alignment, or loading the sheets?

ZERO issues with alignment regarding the machine itself. Only problems are when boards are cut crooked

• I read that the R2000 is limited to a 47x98" sheet size; do you know this to be true?

Weird. My R1000 can Print 50x100" boards no problem

• Do you have your power supply on the floor or a drop from the ceiling and where in relation to the machine?

Drop from the ceiling. Electrician had no problem doing this. However we built the building with this in mind.

• Do you have issues with fingerprints showing through the ink, and or do you pre-clean your sheets?

YES! Wear gloves and DONT EAT KFC FOR LUNCH (unless you wash your hands after
This said, I always hold boards on the very corners and with my finger tips

• How is the sensitivity to dry humidity levels during winter months?

Material is very sensitive especially paper based. We have a couple dehumidifiers in the room and try to keep it at 30% or below. In winter I do like to keep the door to the outside open

• Are there any spacial workflow suggestions you would advise related to your experience and the site prep dimensions?

Build a bigger building than you think you need....


Also, For cleaning the FB belt; I found this method to work very well. Spray denatured on 12-18" sections across the belt, and cover with plastic wrap. Let soak for 10 min. and scrape up with plastic razor. Comes off like butter. The only area I had resistance with is the user end sheet alignment edge.

Tried this several times and did not work.
Luckily R1000 doesn't care if belt is dirty it seems

 

[Lunar Graphix]

What setting do you use for Ultra Board with aluminum? We have an R2000 and keep having issues with board warping. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

We don't print ultraboard (yet) but we do print a lot of ACP and my recommendations are this:

Use the pre-made settings from HP (and modify to your liking)
Faster speed, lower temps (find a good balance to make sure it cures, but don't let it sit in the printer too long)
Max out your vacuum and input tension parameters

 

[Lunar Graphix]

I’ve got one and apologize if it’s been asked. Do you print 080 aluminum painted blanks with good scratch resistance and if so could you share your settings. On day 2 of our R1000 and loving her so far.

Text me - 785.331.9360
I'll send you a picture of the settings we use for our 0.32" 12x18" ACP. Zero head strikes in months now since we got it dialed in

EDIT: yeah I put my phone # on the internet... whatever. I don't usually answer so just text me.
If it's important you'll leave a voicemail and I'll call back, otherwise it's probably the robots again.

 

[Lunar Graphix]

Did you try to close the “curtain” between the heater and print area? That helps the print area from getting to hot that can warp boards.

There is a setting called print zone airflow (pA), I believe, and this helps keep temps cooler in the print zone (?) never really messed with it but I'm aware of it

Not sure what curtain you're talking about.


On a side note. We're currently contacting HVAC people to discuss building a custom hood for the printer to help vent heat out the ceiling. Been working in 85 degree + heat the last week. FML

 

[Lunar Graphix]

Just a quick note on print speeds. We printed about 100 18x24 single sided coroplast in about 45-50 minutes. I didn’t get an exact time because we had the head strike sensor get activated because one of the last prices of coroplast was curled. After we waited for that to clear and reload it was like 60 min. I think if you’re printing a bunch of signs for a while the print area heats up a bit so closing the curtain between the curing area and print some would help on this issue. We fed (3) boards at a time and just kept feeding it. That was on a R1000 at 3 Pass which looked like a 8 pass on my HP 360. I also heard HP is working on an update for a 2 pass mode in their next firmware update. Im sure that mode would be perfect for temporary outdoor because the 3 pass looked awesome. As I get better numbers in the future I will share.

Couple things to address here:

We can print 90 1-sided 18x24 boards in 60 minutes (3 boards per minute), on a 3 pass setting (color is awesome)

2 pass is garbage. We're always upgrading firmware to the latest beta. Yes 2 pass is super fast. But man it sucks. If you increase the density it looks....passable. 3 pass is where it's at. If you need faster then buy multiple machines or maybe consider silk screen for single and double color yard signs

What is this curtain you keep mentioning? Do you mean the curing lever on the curing module? This is only used for heat sensitive substrates, we "enable" (flip) this lever when we do things like polystyrene and things that warp very easily.