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Looking to buy a flatbed printer

C

ChristopherHaas

New Member
I am looking into buying a flatbed printer for my company and Im looking to get some feedback before I make my purchase.

So far the only machine I have looked into is a Rastek T1000 and I have mostly heard bad things about it. I have a Vutek PV200 and my field service guy said they have gotten much better since EFI took over the series.

I would like to hear from people with experience on various flatbed printers on how you like them, speed, quality and versatility. Any input would be greatly appreciated
 
rjssigns

rjssigns

Active Member
No matter what you buy make sure the dealer is close, real close, and reputable. Doesn't matter who makes it or what you paid for it, it is gonna stop working at the worst possible moment. You want a rep like I have, he came out on a Sunday and didn't charge extra. Made the mistake once of goin' for the deal instead of thinking it through. I live in WI, bought from Texas. That ended up being a $15K mistake, learn from my experience.
 
10sacer

10sacer

New Member
Just do a search for "best flatbed" or "UV printer" and the answers will follow...

You can't ask that type of general question and get a real answer because you haven't provided any basis for a valuable answer that would mean anything to you.

You have to establish some gating items that need to be met before you even ask this question.

What is your budget?
What is your physical floor space?
How much sq. footage an hour do you need?
Do you need white ink/ Varnish? Light cyan or magenta (image quality issues)
How you gonna pay for it?
Do you want true flatbed, hybrid?
Do you need auto loading?
Do you want moving gantry or stationary head?
Are you concerned with UV lamp safety?
What is the printer control system?
What RIPs does it support?
Will it meet my current and proposed customer work?
WHat is service and support structure? What is service/support annual cost?
How much does ink cost? How is it packaged? How much ink (ml) does it use per square foot?

There's a thousand of them.

Your better question is which UV machines to stay away from... narrows down your list quite a bit.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
10sacer said:
Just do a search for "best flatbed" or "UV printer" and the answers will follow...

You can't ask that type of general question and get a real answer because you haven't provided any basis for a valuable answer that would mean anything to you.

You have to establish some gating items that need to be met before you even ask this question.

What is your budget?
What is your physical floor space?
How much sq. footage an hour do you need?
Do you need white ink/ Varnish? Light cyan or magenta (image quality issues)
How you gonna pay for it?
Do you want true flatbed, hybrid?
Do you need auto loading?
Do you want moving gantry or stationary head?
Are you concerned with UV lamp safety?
What is the printer control system?
What RIPs does it support?
Will it meet my current and proposed customer work?
WHat is service and support structure? What is service/support annual cost?
How much does ink cost? How is it packaged? How much ink (ml) does it use per square foot?

There's a thousand of them.

Your better question is which UV machines to stay away from... narrows down your list quite a bit .
Click to expand...


How in the world does that one work ?? You have a stationary head and the material gets bounced all over back and forth, up and down and all around ??
 
10sacer

10sacer

New Member
Gino,

You know I meant a head that is on a fixed rail and only moves right to left and back again, but doesn't move forward and backward on a gantry
 
C

ChristopherHaas

New Member
Thanks Sacer for that template


What is your budget?
150,000

What is your physical floor space?
we have a 20000 sq ft warehouse

How much sq. footage an hour do you need?
450+

Do you need white ink/ Varnish? Light cyan or magenta (image quality issues)?
We want CMYKLcLm and White

How you gonna pay for it?
Cash

Do you want true flatbed, hybrid?
we need something that can give us a true register, I dont know enough to answer this question

Do you need auto loading?
Not necessary

Do you want moving gantry or stationary head?

Are you concerned with UV lamp safety?
No, we have experience with UV printers

What is the printer control system?


What RIPs does it support?

Will it meet my current and proposed customer work?
Yes we want this machine to bring some of our small qty screen print work to. Improve our quality and speed. The ability to flood coat white or print white. Also a machine to register a 2 sided press sheet

WHat is service and support structure? What is service/support annual cost?
We would like to have a running annual support service. Right now I have a vutek PV 200 with a yearly support contract that covers all parts minus consumables + Field service. Something similar to that would be what im looking for

How much does ink cost? How is it packaged? How much ink (ml) does it use per square foot?
 
10sacer

10sacer

New Member
The first two answers narrow down your playing field ALOT.

450 sq. ft. an hour of acceptable print or high quality print?

My CET does everything you mention, just not the 450 sfh. with this model, but the new one will do it and its well under 150K.

Oce 350 Xt or 550 will do it.

I have a colleague who does overflow work for me who has the FB700 and I don't like the quality of it, but I am judging it against what I produce. My customers noice the difference pretty easily. Its all in what looks good to you and what you can sell.

If you are in FL - drive up to ISA next month and see 'em all in action.
 
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