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looking for a printer,,but not sure which one

hilljob

New Member
kinda new to the whole digital printing thing.been doing cut vinyl for a couple of years..guys around here are wanting some wraps per say for racecars, but they dont want a huge bill, so i am trying to find an inexspensive option of a printer that i can print on vinyl and make it work,,will only need to last a year maybe 2 outdoors, and not always in direct sunlight.. i am looking at a hp designjet with uv ink and then just laminate it,,,but would really like some more input...90% of what i do, will be on a dirt track racecar
 

MikePro

New Member
UV doesn't work with wraps. you also don't laminate uv.
+1 to sub-out until you get a good client base for wraps... printers tend to bleed money when they're not in use, as ink must be constantly cycled to keep from gumming up the works.

search the forums on this board, there's plenty of reviews/referrals to the printer that's right for you. typically for wraps, you'll be looking into solvent/ecosolvent/latex printing. The pigment is able to flex with the media. UV is meant for direct to substrate printing, such as plexi/mdo/coroplast signage.

o, and welcome from wisco :) :Welcome:
 

Mosh

New Member
ALL RACE CAR GUYS WANT STUFF ON THE CHEAP. Trust me, they ARE NOT
loyal customers and go were stuff is the cheapest. Don't buy a printer just for them.
BTW, expect to pay at least $25,000 by the time you get a printer and a laminator, and yes you will need a laminator for wraps...This is the cheapest you can go....

We do 25-30 dirt track cars a year, so I know these guys well....

BTW, I was in Salina two weeks ago delivering a sign to the Hearthside Country Store.
 

hilljob

New Member
i have talked to quite a few race guys that i do cut vinyl for now,,and all said that they would pay a lil bit more for a wrap,,as long as they got a good year out of it,they would be good.i can pick up one of these design jets fairly reasonable so i figured it might be worth the risk to try it...i guess my next question is, is who has tried using one personally and what were the effects...laminating is not an issue, i have that end takin care of,,
 

Mikeifg

New Member
I would sub it out. You'll have more in materials inks and you will need software. You'll basically have more time and money in it then the racecar guys will want to pay. With a few exceptions on this site they're not going to feed you work year round to make it worth it.
 

Bill Modzel

New Member
The designjet that you are considering is not a UV printer, as in UV curable. It's an aqueous printer that uses UV stable inks.

You will not be able to purchase "wrap" vinyl for it. Any stock that you buy MUST be pre-treated to accept your ink. If you just throw some honest wrap vinyl in it you will end up with a puddle of liquid color running around.

Do some research before you make that purchase.
 

10sacer

New Member
If they expect the wrap to last a year and they wreck the car - are they then expecting you to repair for free?

Just job it out to a latex printer and save yourself alot of late nights trying to figure out why Panel A doesn't color match to Panel F and then having to reprint a whole job because the lamination was faulty.

The reason I say latex is because you don't have to wait 24 hours to laminate as with standard solvent prints that need to outgas.
 

Mosh

New Member
The reason I say latex is because you don't have to wait 24 hours to laminate as with standard solvent prints that need to outgas.

We lam 5 minutes after printed for race cars, never had a problem!!! I have NEVER seen a dirt track car go a whole year without needing some body panel replaced...unless they are slow and stay low out of the way type racers.....We bend bodies as well as wrapping them for Mods and Late Models so I know this for a fact!!!
 

petesign

New Member
Why is this always started by race cars?

If I were a printer manufacturer, I would start advertising at race tracks.
 

printersales

New Member
solvent printers

Hello and welcome! I have sold solvent printers for around $5500 used but in good working condition. Just sold a JV3 S for 5000 and a HP 9000 for 6500. Either of these would be great printers for car wraps. There are deals out there that could get you started. You want to make sure that a used printer is in good operating condition. Good luck!
 

Mosh

New Member
I got one of my printers from a racer who though he was going to get the lettering cheaper by doing it himself. He bought the printer, but then found out about the laminator and software and the need to have some layout ability...so I ened up with a new printer for about 3/4 of the new price.
 

SlightlyChilled

New Member
Will they let you put the name of their race team on the printer also? I bet they would pay a little more for that as well... Look what they are all saying is that most racers are like crack heads they never pay and only come around when they need something... Or in your case just telling you what you would like to hear.

I will just leave it at that BUT if you dooooo get a printer GOOD LUCK and this place does rock.
 

njshorts

New Member
Sub it out. You can get a vinyl express package with a printer, lam and cutter for about 16k, but at your stage... sub it out. Race cars/teams are notorious for being cheap as mentioned. They'll be good customers for a month until they find someone cheaper.
 
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