kazoosigns
New Member
Can anyone tell me the advantages/disadvantages of one over the other? I'm doing some research about getting a second machine, and am curious about these two (we already have a JV3-160sp and love it).
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JV5 vs. JV3
- Thread starter kazoosigns
- Start date
MobileImpact
New Member
If you love the JV3-get another one. The print heads are different on the 5. There are a lot of similarities, but they are not the same machine. There have been and continue to be some issues with the 5, but that is normal on a new machine roll out. There were issues the the JV3 series when they first came out.
If it ain't broke-don't fix it!
If it ain't broke-don't fix it!
kazoosigns
New Member
Due diligence. If I'm spending the boss' money, I'm going to exhaust all options before saying "This is the next printer we need." For the record, I want a JV3-250sp for the fact that it is the same machine.
So, given the fact that we're looking between the JV5 and the JV3, are there any advantages/disadvantages between the two?
MobileImpact
New Member
Speed. And the fact the JV5 has Mimakis Ink Delivery system, so it holds more ink. The JV3 is a proven platform and workhorse. It will continue to be for a long long time. If your serious about a 250, I have one for sale.
synergy_jim
New Member
Jv5
The JV5 has a new print head design and they are staggered so you can print more per pass.
Also it holds more ink.
For the money, if you do not need the sf/hr stick with the JV3
I saw the JV5 at ISA and it was impressive, but so was the price tag....
The JV5 has a new print head design and they are staggered so you can print more per pass.
Also it holds more ink.
For the money, if you do not need the sf/hr stick with the JV3
I saw the JV5 at ISA and it was impressive, but so was the price tag....
Letterbox Mike
New Member
It depends on the throughput you're after. If you need to increase capacity, the JV5 is a better choice. If you're not worried about speed, go with the JV3 since you're familiar with it. The JV5 is or will be available soon in two wider options (one of which I believe is a 10' wide model). The JV5 has some issues that are still being massaged out, so the longer you wait to buy one the better off you will be. A local company we work with just bought one and haven't had too many issues but I know they've had technicians on site fairly regularly since they took delivery in December workign out some kinks and making sure it's working properly. The output and speed are very impressive though.
kazoosigns
New Member
Probably because I only asked about the JV5 and the JV3. I have looked into the JV33, and am actually scheduled to go to the Advantage Sign Supply office in a couple weeks and check it out.
Thanks for the info on the JV5; our sales rep echoed that there have been problems still with the JV5, although having a 10' wide printer would be good for us here.
WB
New Member
Personally unless your main goal is production speed I'd go with another JV3 if you can find one.. we purchased a 2nd JV3 last year just before the JV33's came out. we had the option of going with the newer machine but didn't. The reason we did this is because it keeps your overhead down. If you run 2 different printers your keep twice the ink on hand twice the consumables and so on. I run the same profile on both printers and get consistant color.
I just like the idea of having 2 of the same machine.. 1 of the draw backs for me is the ink on the JV5 what is there 16 cartrdiges!! if one os out the machine won't run gimmie a break. As a rule of thumb we keep a full set of ink on hand at all times if you had a JV3 and JV5 this would mean 24 ink cartridges, I get by with 8 cartridges with 2 JV3's
I just like the idea of having 2 of the same machine.. 1 of the draw backs for me is the ink on the JV5 what is there 16 cartrdiges!! if one os out the machine won't run gimmie a break. As a rule of thumb we keep a full set of ink on hand at all times if you had a JV3 and JV5 this would mean 24 ink cartridges, I get by with 8 cartridges with 2 JV3's
signcreations
New Member
JV5 is a better machine. Faster is the main difference, but it has some other great features the JV3 doesn't. However, if speed is not a factor the JV3 is your best option for the money.
kazoosigns
New Member
All of your reasons are the exact ones I'm telling the boss too. Plus, with two JV3s, we could run one project over both machines and have a modicum of color difference (I realize there will be some, as no two printers are "exactly" alike).
Speed is a big factor of getting a second printer, don't get me wrong. The way our system works now is like this; the sales rep gets the signed mockup and payment, they contact me and the production manager to see when we can fit the order in, we then make sure it fits within the customer's timeframe, and then shuffle as needed. While this may seem like a solid system, you have to realize that we also do screen printed banners, and the bulk of them are just scheduled because we can do so many of them in a reasonable amount of time.
With the addition of a second printer, we could easily double if not triple our capacity (does anyone know about the adaptor that lets you run two small rolls on the JV3-250?), making scheduling something that only needs to be done in small instances (or when we're slammed).
DoubleDown
New Member
We've had our JV5's for a while now and love it but it does have it's pros and cons. But first my two cents. Most issues with machines come down to users and suppliers not training the users correctly. I firmly believe that most lower ranged machines do not get enough training to their users. So with that in mind, you HAVE to take the time to thoroughly learn your machines. You HAVE to learn what everything does, how it affects other things. And last you HAVE TO TAKE CARE of your machines. I don't care if the manufacturer says it needs little maintenace, clean the thing every day or every other day.
Blow off dust, clean grit rollers, clean the pre and post heaters to get off adhesive, etc, etc. We equate all our machines just like expensive cars...heck even cheap cars. If you don't take care of your car like you should, then why do you think you are going to take care of an expensive machine?
But with that all aside the JV5 is very fast, very fast. You can print 14 - 4 x 8 gorgeous banners in an hour. Because it has staggered print heads, 4 of them, this means that you will really never have any issues with printheads dropping out because you have 3 other backups. Essentially you can run out of all 3 print heads and just print from the one, which is the same speed as a JV3. The JV5 also automatically replaces any heads that drop out. We have had 300 heads drop out (freak event wayyyy back in the beginning) and it still printed perfectly.
With this speed though comes a learning curve...drying time. If you have the space to let the prints roll off the machine and onto the floor then you can roll up, you are good to go. Banners you can let run on the take up reel easily but you will HAVE to get an infrared dryer if you want to use the full speed and have your prints be dry. Also, you can print these speeds on vinyl, 180, posters, etc but again if you are trying to get good color, the prints may not be 100% dry by the time they hit the take up reel OR you will have to cut your ink back a good amount, but then you lose color.
Another great point is banding or lawnmower effect. For those of you who do not know, light and dark banding or lawnmower effect is caused by your print heads. Since most machines have heads that go black yellow cyan magenta, that means that when it goes to print across the media, it lays down black first, then yellow, the cyan, then magenta. When it comes back, it lays down magenta first, then cyan, then yellow, then black. So what happens obviously is you are laying down a different pattern on the way out than you are on the way back. This is why running in uni-directional takes care of that. BUt on the JV5 the print heads are back to back on each other so in both directions it's running black, yellow, cyan, magenta...so never any banding issues.
I'm not sure if the new JV3, which has the increased speed, has the configuration or not, but you might want to check.
That's my two cents, hope it helps, but again like someone said above, if you just need to double your speed then go with another JV3. That way you always have a backup just in case and you don't spend a ton of money.
Best,
Blow off dust, clean grit rollers, clean the pre and post heaters to get off adhesive, etc, etc. We equate all our machines just like expensive cars...heck even cheap cars. If you don't take care of your car like you should, then why do you think you are going to take care of an expensive machine?
But with that all aside the JV5 is very fast, very fast. You can print 14 - 4 x 8 gorgeous banners in an hour. Because it has staggered print heads, 4 of them, this means that you will really never have any issues with printheads dropping out because you have 3 other backups. Essentially you can run out of all 3 print heads and just print from the one, which is the same speed as a JV3. The JV5 also automatically replaces any heads that drop out. We have had 300 heads drop out (freak event wayyyy back in the beginning) and it still printed perfectly.
With this speed though comes a learning curve...drying time. If you have the space to let the prints roll off the machine and onto the floor then you can roll up, you are good to go. Banners you can let run on the take up reel easily but you will HAVE to get an infrared dryer if you want to use the full speed and have your prints be dry. Also, you can print these speeds on vinyl, 180, posters, etc but again if you are trying to get good color, the prints may not be 100% dry by the time they hit the take up reel OR you will have to cut your ink back a good amount, but then you lose color.
Another great point is banding or lawnmower effect. For those of you who do not know, light and dark banding or lawnmower effect is caused by your print heads. Since most machines have heads that go black yellow cyan magenta, that means that when it goes to print across the media, it lays down black first, then yellow, the cyan, then magenta. When it comes back, it lays down magenta first, then cyan, then yellow, then black. So what happens obviously is you are laying down a different pattern on the way out than you are on the way back. This is why running in uni-directional takes care of that. BUt on the JV5 the print heads are back to back on each other so in both directions it's running black, yellow, cyan, magenta...so never any banding issues.
I'm not sure if the new JV3, which has the increased speed, has the configuration or not, but you might want to check.
That's my two cents, hope it helps, but again like someone said above, if you just need to double your speed then go with another JV3. That way you always have a backup just in case and you don't spend a ton of money.
Best,
Rooster
New Member
The JV33 although only having a single head lays down 8 ink channels in a single pass. You get the same laydown as the JV5 in 2 pass mode (when print ing dual CMYK) just without the additional speed of having 4 staggered print heads. No need to switch to single pass mode on either machine with that ink channel configuration.
premiercolour
Merchant Member
I have a customer who is selling his jv3, one year old. This is in excellent condition. He doesn't use much so he have decided to sell. email me for his info. kicemocha@gmail.com
premiercolour
Merchant Member
To be exact..
FOR SALE By Owner: Mimaki JV3-160 SP 64"printer with rip... Like New !
Prints beautiful vibrant color prints on everything from Paper to Vinyl.
The JV3 160 SP is an excellent machine for the vehicle wrap business... it prints accurate & fast.
I am an artist who bought the JV3, brand new at the end of 2006, to do giclee prints of our paintings. But, since I am not a sign shop and I did not have a customer base...(I am still trying to get my website to be interactive for purchasing) therefore I only printed approximately 100 paintings for sample prints. Then I stored the machine/stopped using it for five months... and now I decided to sell it because I do not use it enough.
I have the original crate/box packaging and all the software & books.
If you are interested in a very clean like new JV3 160SP Mimaki Printer,
Located in Arizona.
$17,000 OBO includes the Raster Link Pro 2 Rip Software, ink, media & cleaning supplies.
For more info. from Mimaki about the JV3 160SP, visit: http://mimakiusa.com/SignLevel5.aspx?page=2&so=1&catid=78
FOR SALE By Owner: Mimaki JV3-160 SP 64"printer with rip... Like New !
Prints beautiful vibrant color prints on everything from Paper to Vinyl.
The JV3 160 SP is an excellent machine for the vehicle wrap business... it prints accurate & fast.
I am an artist who bought the JV3, brand new at the end of 2006, to do giclee prints of our paintings. But, since I am not a sign shop and I did not have a customer base...(I am still trying to get my website to be interactive for purchasing) therefore I only printed approximately 100 paintings for sample prints. Then I stored the machine/stopped using it for five months... and now I decided to sell it because I do not use it enough.
I have the original crate/box packaging and all the software & books.
If you are interested in a very clean like new JV3 160SP Mimaki Printer,
Located in Arizona.
$17,000 OBO includes the Raster Link Pro 2 Rip Software, ink, media & cleaning supplies.
For more info. from Mimaki about the JV3 160SP, visit: http://mimakiusa.com/SignLevel5.aspx?page=2&so=1&catid=78