JV33-160 white ink worth it?

[CropMarks]

Hello, I have a 3 month old Mimaki JV33-160 and it is currently running CMYKCMYK SS21 inks that I love compared to my old converted Roland and I'm wondering if anyone is running the CMYK-LcLm+white configuration with the SS21 inks? There are about 3 times a month that I could really use white to do things like reverse printed stickers on clear vinyl with a white coating over the back for opacity. Right now with the double CMYK configuration I LOVE the color and the speed. Anyone have any thoughts on the pros and cons of using the CYMK-LcLm + white configuration? I know the speed will go way down... any other thoughts? Thank you very much for any thoughts! Miked.

 

[signage]

White ink can cause a lot of issue if not used almost daily. The white ink has titanium oxide that requires the ink to be shaken/agitated to keep it suspended.

 

[onlinestar]

most likely ss21 white ink is not near anywhere opaque enough to make it really usable

 

[CropMarks]

thanks for replying... I tried a "forum search" and it didn't yield very much from this 101 site... but I just did a google search and it found a thread from this website that has some in depth discussion on it... and it looks like it has a few of your thoughts already on there. I'm leaning towards saying "NO WHITE".... but my two partners are wondering about it. If we needed it several times a week I might think it would be worth it. The speed slow down I don't like and since the color out of the double CMYK configuration is awesome, why mess with a good thing? - Thank you very much for replying!

http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30950

 

[onlinestar]

Maybe ask any dealer / Mimaki corp for samples

 

[DustinD]

most likely ss21 white ink is not near anywhere opaque enough to make it really usable

Unless your planning on printing only on clear materials it's not a good option.

 

[WI]

Don't do it.

The whites you get from that particular system are weak, highly translucent, and they have a strong blueish cast. Understand that I love the JV33, it's a fantastic printer, but the white sucks on that machine.

If you really need white that badly, invest in a UV printer. That still isn't a perfect white, but it's certainly an improvement.

 

[Centro Graphics]

We are in our 5th year with a JV33 and NO to white, not worth it at all unless your work demands it on a very regular basis. The double CMYK btw is two sets of each so less likely to run out in mid print, it doesnt use both sets at the same time.

Happy Friday

 

[CropMarks]

Quick question for the guys who say "don't do it".... I'm really thinking that I don't want to run white at all (why ruin a perfectly running machine?) But my partners are really looking for people who have actually tried it and can honestly say it's either good or bad. I love the double cmyk configuration and the color i'm getting blows away my old roland. They feel pretty strongly that we should get white... I'm against it (to be honest). I'm just thinking of the horror story scenarios that might occur (horrible speed loss, including Lm+Lc messing with the beautiful color, not selling enough white crap to keep it running smoothly). thank you all very much for the input... I appreciate it! Miked.

 

[onlinestar]

I "tried" it the shows. Take clear film, spill 2% milk on it = that's the white it's gonna print

 

[artbot]

if you must you can run auxilliary white carts and keep your machine in CMYKx2 mode. it takes some tinkering but it's not rocket science. if anything pour your white ink into a clear cart so you can visibly see the pigment blend when shaking the cart. as for leaving it in the lines 24/7. you'd need to be using white everyday. the sediment of pigment (Ti02) will form plaque over time on the bottom portion of the ink line and it is is immune to any solvent. one cool thing about running white ona dx4 machine is because the caps are separate, you can recycle the white by running the drain tube away from the waste tank directly to a syringe. in general it'd seem the 160sp is a bit friendlier to using white (and or silver) than a 33 series.

 

[WI]

I can honestly say it's bad. I worked for the better part of a month trying to get a decent saturated white out of that machine for a (very lucrative) potential contract that we very nearly fumbled because the machine is simply not up to the task.

It sounds like the guys you work with have already made up their minds. If that's the case, great. Get a machine that prints white and sell the hell out of it, but the JV33 is not the equipment for the job.

 

[bloobird0]

I own a Mimaki CJV30 with CMYKLcLm and double White SS21 ink, nearly a JV33 with integrated cutter.

My opinion: unless you use white ink daily, don't go this road, a real pain to maintain the machine in good shape (printhead, pipes, cart must be shaked every day at least...) and costs a lot (ink is twice more expensive and a lot it thrown away during cleaning cycles).

Also consider the white is not opaque, only suitable to print on clear for windows graphics, nothing else. Think that when you print with white, the speed is very slow, about 0,5 sqmeter (!!!) an hour at best with most opaque white.

The LcLm doesn't add much print quality but breaks the print speed by nearly 2 so no reason to choose CMYKLcLm ink configuration. It's not worth it. This last fact is not based on my own expericence, it's what I read on the web as I have never run 2xCMYK on my mimaki.

I wish I had choosen 2xCMYK from start. I will switch to it as soon as I must replace my printhead (1 of both white channels is clogged for 2 years so can't switch to 2xCMYK, but it is not valuable enough for me to pay 3k€ to change it as other ink channels are OK).

I also have demand for white ink printing but I have to reject the orders. I consider buying a SummaDC printer, enventually a Gerber Edge. I need very opaque white ink (small labels with clear background to be placed on dark surfaces) and my Mimaki is definitely not the best candidate for this.

 

[MikeD]

Unless it's needed on a daily basis, white ink is not worth the maintenance effort. Also, it took a lot of ink and time to achieve opacity. We got rid of white. As for the metallic, it was really interesting but rubs off with light pressure.
UV printers may be a better option.

 

[CropMarks]

Thank you very much for all your responses... it definitely helps....

 

[MixMaker]

Actually just flushed and converted to ditch the white. I never used it to justify the problems I had. White ink clogged nozzles, white ink dripped down the ribbon cable and fried the head (titanium dioxide fried the head instantly, had it been any other color the printer would've entered safety mode to protect itself) , the cartridges are smaller so the printer thought they were empty since they were only used during cleaning making the algorithm for ink consumption off. Since the printer saw they were "empty" the cleaning cycle didn't take place and I lost every single nozzle.

Not worth it one bit.