jfiscus
Rap Master
We have had both here in-house. Both latest generation machines, and even the new solvent/UV hybrids produce around the same end product in very similar time frame.
It depends a lot on what you produce as your main product as to what I would recommend.
Latex machines run fast, load a bit slower, have to deal with warm/cool cycles, and produce great detail (as long as the heads are in good shape, they are not what you are used to with solvent print heads), they also are good for same-day lamination. Colors are not as vibrant as solvents; especially at higher speeds, but you would just get used to your new color gamut and adjust your profiles accordingly. They DO have a smell, it bothered both of us here when we had the machine in a small room; it might have just been the material/backing "cooking" though, but it hurt your eyes/throat after a while. A lot of parts are plastic and do break easily, so is does go down every once in a while. Our experience with tech service under warranty was "ok"; took a day or so to get here and they got it taken care of, but we were still down a machine a couple days over broken plastic clips, etc. It allowed for a few "specialty materials" that we were told solvent didn't, but we are a wrap shop, so it wasn't anything really pertinent to us. Heads constantly degrade, so over time prints get more grainy until you decide it is time to replace them, but they are real cheap, so no big lump hit to worry about, just a lot of smaller dings throughout the year to get used to. No real cleaning time/cost involved with these though so it kind of balances out. These machines are VERY environmentally sensitive and the temp/humidity does change the color that the machine prints; very similar to copiers/toner printers if you have operated these. We had major issues printing repair panels that matched previous prints, even immediately; for anything that isn't paneled/tiled this wouldn't be an issue.
Eco-Solvent machines also run fast, are fast loading, start printing right away, and produce great detail 100% of the time. They also offer same-day lamination; just not immediate. With proper out-gassing the vinyl is no different to the installers. Colors are very vibrant, but you might want to be wary of the machines with 8+ colors - many of those additional "specialty" colors DO fade quickly (oranges, greens, reds especially) and aren't covered under warranty. So, I would recommend sticking with dual-CMYK if you do go eco-sol. They do have a smell, but it is not as bad as the solvent machines of the past. My newest machine has filters built into it that help some and we keep our print room well ventilated. It is nowhere as annoying as the smell from the latex to me, personally, YMMV. Most are made with stronger parts than the latex machines, so little things don't break often. Print heads are now "all-in-one" heads so if you damage a head you're looking at a decent repair bill (possibly around $5000 if you're out of warranty), but on all 3 of our eco-solvent machines we have not had any head damage from regular high-volume operation yet. Cleaning takes about 1/2 hr per machine per week; we clean them whether we are using them or not they seem to get just as dirty sitting. Cleaning supplies are cheap, we use alternative (non OEM) vendors for most supplies. Under warranty, tech service has been phenomenal, out of warranty - not so much, extend your warranty if possible.
These are our experiences here; I hope they help you decide.
(the machines I discussed above were HP 360 and Epson 70670/60670 series)
It depends a lot on what you produce as your main product as to what I would recommend.
Latex machines run fast, load a bit slower, have to deal with warm/cool cycles, and produce great detail (as long as the heads are in good shape, they are not what you are used to with solvent print heads), they also are good for same-day lamination. Colors are not as vibrant as solvents; especially at higher speeds, but you would just get used to your new color gamut and adjust your profiles accordingly. They DO have a smell, it bothered both of us here when we had the machine in a small room; it might have just been the material/backing "cooking" though, but it hurt your eyes/throat after a while. A lot of parts are plastic and do break easily, so is does go down every once in a while. Our experience with tech service under warranty was "ok"; took a day or so to get here and they got it taken care of, but we were still down a machine a couple days over broken plastic clips, etc. It allowed for a few "specialty materials" that we were told solvent didn't, but we are a wrap shop, so it wasn't anything really pertinent to us. Heads constantly degrade, so over time prints get more grainy until you decide it is time to replace them, but they are real cheap, so no big lump hit to worry about, just a lot of smaller dings throughout the year to get used to. No real cleaning time/cost involved with these though so it kind of balances out. These machines are VERY environmentally sensitive and the temp/humidity does change the color that the machine prints; very similar to copiers/toner printers if you have operated these. We had major issues printing repair panels that matched previous prints, even immediately; for anything that isn't paneled/tiled this wouldn't be an issue.
Eco-Solvent machines also run fast, are fast loading, start printing right away, and produce great detail 100% of the time. They also offer same-day lamination; just not immediate. With proper out-gassing the vinyl is no different to the installers. Colors are very vibrant, but you might want to be wary of the machines with 8+ colors - many of those additional "specialty" colors DO fade quickly (oranges, greens, reds especially) and aren't covered under warranty. So, I would recommend sticking with dual-CMYK if you do go eco-sol. They do have a smell, but it is not as bad as the solvent machines of the past. My newest machine has filters built into it that help some and we keep our print room well ventilated. It is nowhere as annoying as the smell from the latex to me, personally, YMMV. Most are made with stronger parts than the latex machines, so little things don't break often. Print heads are now "all-in-one" heads so if you damage a head you're looking at a decent repair bill (possibly around $5000 if you're out of warranty), but on all 3 of our eco-solvent machines we have not had any head damage from regular high-volume operation yet. Cleaning takes about 1/2 hr per machine per week; we clean them whether we are using them or not they seem to get just as dirty sitting. Cleaning supplies are cheap, we use alternative (non OEM) vendors for most supplies. Under warranty, tech service has been phenomenal, out of warranty - not so much, extend your warranty if possible.
These are our experiences here; I hope they help you decide.
(the machines I discussed above were HP 360 and Epson 70670/60670 series)
)
