Latex vs. eco solvent pros and cons???

Latex is better for those applications right off the bat. Yes you can use all your same media you use now plus many more that you cannot run in eco-solvent. Let me be the one to help you, call me with any questions please 800-421-6167 ask for Josh.

Some Pros: No Smell, print more applications, print faster, great quality, low cost of ownership, great support.

 

The HP latex printers print slightly more grainy than most eco solvents I have seen. Colors aren't as vibrant. I still prefer latex.

 

I agree. Small text isn’t that sharp on Latex. So for small stickers it won’t be the solution. But for billboard / graphics it is the best. Odorless and reliable.

 

Some solvent and eco solvent media won't print well on older Latex models like L26500 because the material won't stand the temperature required for latex ink to cure.

 

I know it is slower than most want to print at but do you feel that small text isn’t sharp enough at 18 pass? I have been pretty satisfied with small details at 18 pass.

 

We have a mimaki jv150 and an hp latex 360 and we barely even use the mimaki anymore. The latex is so much nicer to work with. I find that the solvent makes wrap film a little too stretchy and has a higher tack than it should when printing with darker colors. Latex is good across the board. Granted the colors are a little muted sometimes but i think that's a fair trade most days.

 

FWIW. Latex does not allow the use of small pieces. I do quite well printing labels on what others deem scrap. Also don't care for the loading of material in the HP's. HP seems to be suited for production. Not a small timer like me. At this point I would need my Roland and HP.

Not hating the tech, just my two cents.













BTW I wired my office with two 220v outlets.

 

Howe small are you talking? I print at 8P, and the small text looks much more sharper than our Ecosolvent does.

Small text will always look bad compared to using a inkjet, just because of the technology. Wide format isnt really meant for small text... But if you use uni-direction, small text is pretty good.

 

I prefer loading compared to our eco-solvent. I heard the newest generation has better loading than the older gen, so maybe you're using an older one?

The small scraps is true though. Latex does do sheet feed... I just used a 12" x 30" piece of material to print an 8 x 24 condo sign...it worked OK, but I wouldn't do it often. the end was lifting a bit and caused a head strike. on our eco-solvent at work I can trick the printer into printing from the first inch all the way to the last inch, and it prints perfectly.

 

agreed that the ability to use scrap pieces of vinyl on my old solvent printer has been & forever will be missed. My HP Latex throws a fit if I put anything less than 36" long, so I do find myself tossing out a lot of scrap rolls BUT I also find myself not hoarding every single piece of scrap anymore.

i'm also no longer emptying out a waste tank of solvent ink every-other week and counting the $$$'s the printer is wasting while it sits idle cycling ink cartridges into the garbage.

we also used to run an air filter & exhaust system and STILL got complaints from office staff of the solvent smell when running rolls&rolls of prints.

 

About the tiny text, go look at your compliance posters. Those are all printed with the FIRST generation latex and looks amazing.

 

i was reading the other day where hp says the recommended smallest size on text would be 6pt to 4pt
thats pretty small.
i run rolls and rolls of material through my hp a week so the left over scrap is nothing i even worry about.
i haven't turned on my mutoh in a year. the quality of my hp is so much better
and the print and lam on demand without out gassing is a life saver

 

Yes, ink savings is another thing. Our ecosolvent has a 4 liter jug that gets emptied/full every 2-3 months. 4 liters of ink on this machine is $700 - It does have other consumables mixed in, so lets say around $5-600 of wasted ink every 2-3 months. Even more if you're printing less. And the non-smelling is great too. I used to bring prints home from work the same day I print them on Canvas... my wife would complain about the smell, even after it has aired out for a day. Latex has no smell.

Latex... I dont need to buy Cap cleaning, Wipe cleaner, spit cleaner (Around $50 a bottle, go through a bottle of each a month), Latex doesnt have a big thing of ink I dump every other month... I don't spend 20 minutes a day doing maintenance before I can start printing. 99% of maintenance is done automatically with the maintenance kit - Which is cheap.


We have a Eco-solvent and a UV at work. And I have a Latex at home - I prefer the latex over all 3.

 

So for the purposes of what are producing I would say that Latex is the way to go. We bought 2 HP 570's almost a year ago and have been very happy with them. They produce great color, detail, and speed. The bulk ink system is also a great way to save some money.

The pro's
Faster turn around time no more letting prints gas out.
No more fumes from the solvent inks
No more disposal of waste ink
No more worrying about ink drying in the tubes or heads
Little cleaning
Easy to media profile/color calibration
More media options
In-expensive consumables
Doesn't alter adhesive

Con's
Not a fan of the front loading
Will have to get 220 wired in

Aside from that we went from 2 HP Eco-Solvent 8000's to the 2 latex and haven't looked back. Most of the issues that people post about color issues, quality, etc are due to experience with either older machines and inks or the not being set up properly. The addition of the extra Optimize head allows for quicker printing and great detail. Most of the color issues have been fixed with a firmware update.

 

We use 18 pass for anything viewed up close.
Apparently it's the only mode that uses 1200dpi.

 

18 pass is the only pass count that prints at 1200x1200 dpi (1,440,000 addressable/ sq inch). All other pass counts output at 1200x600 (720,000 addressable/ sq inch)

 

Thanks Paul! Do you know how to force Flexi to go anything higher than 600x600? Even using a 1200x1200 profile, flexi errors out when trying 1200x1200 in the RIP, on current 12.x cloud edition.

 

With Gen 3 HP Latex, the resolution that is being referenced in the RIP is the resolution of the raster data set (PPI) that is sent to the printer. The printer takes that information and ultimately converts it into dots/ drops (DPI). All pass counts print at 1200x600 dpi, with the exception of 18-pass, which outputs at 1200x1200 dpi.

 

Solvent machines are like sharks, periodically eating large chunks of your money.

Latex machines are like a school of piranhas, continually taking small nibbles out of your money. The shark is always lurking in the shadows (HP field service), and once the scent of blood is in the water it tends to move in for the kill.