Jumping on the HP Latex bandwagon

[iSign]

quote from the "HP Latex Printer arrived today... " thread started by Suz:

Sounds like we need a bigger Bandwagon!!! Great to hear those who are taking the plunge! There will be a lot of support here for that printer!!!

well, I've dropped a few hints before I even made a decision, and now mentioned pulling the trigger in the bottom of one or two other members threads...

I'M STOKED TO HAVE MADE MY PAYMENT & SIGNED MY DOCS FRIDAY!!

Tim's right, this bandwagon looks like it might be a good long convoy of bandwagons..

I know too little to help this thread be about technical stuff... so I'm posting just because I'm excited with my decision & wanted to tell the biggest collection of the best friends I have in this workaholic's life... YOU FOLKS!!

I know there are a bunch of L25500 pioneers blazing the trail ahead of me, and several at pretty near the same point as me... and no doubt there are several more fellow members who will be following this train in the near future..

drop in with a show of hands if you wish to be known as a fellow HP Latex printer owner... but if you don't want to risk an occasional PM asking for tips and tricks.. maybe better not to post here

 

[Drip Dry]

Not sure, but why do I want a latex machine.

Is it better than my ECO versacamm ?
Are there benefits ?

Doug, I think you had a Mimaki... is it replacing that or in addition to it ?

 

[skyhigh]

Price

 

[Typestries]

Had one for just about a year, it's the best 54-60" printer platform yet (in 10 years), and we have had a converted CJ500, 2 arizona 180's (80k each) 2 HP9k's 30K each and a colorspan at 79k. At 12,5k or so this thing is AMAZING. We have a second unit coming soon. And a 3meter latex not far after.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

Not sure, but why do I want a latex machine.

Is it better than my ECO versacamm ?
Are there benefits ?

Doug, I think you had a Mimaki... is it replacing that or in addition to it ?

There is no comparison with this to a versacamm. My latex replaced a versacamm and everything about it is better. I bought mine sight unseen based off of recommendations and I have never regretted it.

There is a little more tuning and tweaking you will want to do, but that also allows you to produce better prints as well.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

One recommendation if you are going to do any cutting of your printed graphics:
- GET A SUMMA!! Sorry Graphtec, but the FC8000 I had SUCKED!!
I just got the 54" SUMMACut, only $4500, and it has worked perfectly!!

 

[ProWraps]

just bought two of them.

 

[kylebrk]

Seriously thinking about it.

 

[artbot]

can you guys here that? if you listen closely it's the sound of epson based solvent machines depreciating. if i was going to switch to latex and i wanted a decent price for my "mimalandtoh" printer, i'd do it sooner than later. a $23,000 used machine today will be hard to unload for $10,000 next year.

 

[iSign]

Not sure, but why do I want a latex machine.

Is it better than my ECO versacamm ?
Are there benefits ?

Doug, I think you had a Mimaki... is it replacing that or in addition to it ?

I had technicians come out & service my machine three times over 6 years, and all parts were covered under a warranty or service contract.. and I had excellent tech support from Advantage, and in return for my purchasing loyalty, they also gave me a break on a lot of the labor costs... but I did have costly travel expenses to cover...

so, now I have one half of my cyan head out, and I still get amazing prints, on most things... but some colors show evidence of this failure... so, of course I need to deal with it. The cost of the head is over $1000, or almost 10 times that of the Latex print head... and even though there are a lot of guys here (& at Advantage) who will help walk me through a print head change... it is still what I consider to be a somewhat tricky process.. AND, once it's done... there's no telling when another of those other three $1100.00 print heads will go... so, the mimaki has been an amazingly profitable machine to own & operate... but at this point, it is on the verge of being the most costly to operate that it ever has been... at a time when sales & profitability are still lower then most of all but the last few years..

So, price & "alleged" quality are 2 reasons for the new printer purchase... as well as user servicable parts.. and as for the mimaki, I may fix it first & then flush it & store it for awhile... or I may just flush it & put it in storage... and in either of the above scenarios, after 1 or 2 months I may decide that the Latex printer covers all my needs, and I could put the mimaki up for sale...

I realize the promotions that end Monday may be followed with new & different incentives... possibly even better ones.. but i decided not to gamble... rumor has it that the HP fiscal year ends with this quarter, and that as a result, much of the ridiculous savings will not be immediately reinstated, if ever...

 

[LarryB]

One recommendation if you are going to do any cutting of your printed graphics:
- GET A SUMMA!! Sorry Graphtec, but the FC8000 I had SUCKED!!
I just got the 54" SUMMACut, only $4500, and it has worked perfectly!!

Matt,

Since the latex printer has a pretty high heat setting do you ever have issues with material shrinking up too much before you do the separate contour cut?

I appreciate your response earlier about being able to stack 2 sided prints. Right now I have to put a sheet of paper between prints off my Roland. This latex printer is looking better everyday.

Thanks,

Larry

 

[jasonx]

The heat is an issue when coupled with the material your using.

You might need to change your current material to find a combo that can handle the heat. Some materials we've tried are find no different to printing on our rolands and some just are impossible to work with with any kind of repeatably.

The roland, mimaki's, mutohs etc would be a better fit for a smaller shop that wants printer to be an be all end all type of machine.

But if you only do specific jobs on the medias that run fine through the latex its a no brainier.

Maybe when newer latex inks are introduced that need lower curing temps these latex machines will take over. Sepia inks are coming too.

All I know we all better make sure our business models are recouping our return on investment on printers within 12 months.

 

[Tim Aucoin]

I'll pipe in on this thread and all threads in regards to the L25500! I'm going on 1 year ownership now and loving it as much as I did on day one! :Big Laugh

I am always open to questions and will do my best to help!!

 

[nate]

I've got 12. If you have any questions ask.

 

[Custom_Grafx]

I've got 12. If you have any questions ask.

Can I have one?

 

[nate]

Can I have one?

No. But thanks for asking.

 

[Suz]

I'M STOKED TO HAVE MADE MY PAYMENT & SIGNED MY DOCS FRIDAY!! ......

drop in with a show of hands ......
--------------------------------------------
Okay!
(Showi'n some hands!)

:Welcome:

And I am stoked for you too!!!:scream:

Okay, this is record breaking (ha!) More people are currently viewing HP forum then the Roland forum. Score is:
HP (14), Roland (10). That is the first time I have seen HP ahead! This is like Sunday night football!

Oh, and Nate - I want one too! I'd like to see pics of all those printers. Are they all lined up in the same room? How many people does it take to feed them?

 

[skyhigh]

Does all this "high heat" degrade the material?

 

[ProWraps]

I've got 12. If you have any questions ask.

hey nate, is the heat and/or shrink an issue when contour cutting 180c or any arlon materials?

 

[cdiesel]

We've had our LX800 for about six months now. Absolutely love the machine. Colors are the biggest plus, with a close second being the fact that there is no gummy vinyl with aggressive adhesive. This is important for anyone doing wraps.

@skyhigh, I was concerned about baking the vinyl too. We haven't seen any issues yet, so I don't think there will be any problems.

We may pick up a small one too. We print a ton of perf on our Rolands, so I'd need to make sure it won't be an issue to print on the L25500.