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Looking to upgrade from 25500 to 560, need advice
- Thread starter jmag215
- Start date
P Wagner
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Moving from the L25500 to the 500 Series will be amazing. Printer warm-up time goes from around 10 minutes to 2 minutes, print speed is about 2x faster, better media handling, more scratch resistant ink, the list goes on and on.
You may need to update your RIP to drive the 500 - your re-seller should be able to answer this.
P. Wagner
You may need to update your RIP to drive the 500 - your re-seller should be able to answer this.
P. Wagner
I agree with the others - made the move myself 18 months ago and it is night and day difference even though the 25500 was good for a first gen product.. One other suggestion, we use the supplied teflon covers for the heat unit (supposedly for banners) for everything, as we find that many vinyls feed more smoothly over them. I would also note MUCH longer printhead life even though they appear almost identical to the 25500, and MUCH less ink usage in our experience. We run almost everything at 6 pass except large solids at 8 and canvas at 12. Might even say this was my best equipment purchase I ever made in terms of workflow, speed, reliability, cost.
ddarlak
Go Bills!
I went from a 25500 to a 315, a much cheaper option. I paid $9999 for the unit and got the take up reel as a free option. (took a few months of haggling between Grimco and LexJet but I had the time and one of them caved)
The 315 is shorter, only 54" instead of 60", but 75% of my prints are on 30" rolls anyway. I maybe printed 60" rolls twice in the 6 years I had the 25500. I don't miss the 60" option.
I debated going bigger and faster but I am very happy I went with the 315. It suits me well. I have had it for a year and no issues at all. Can't beat the price. This time I will not wait 6 years to upgrade, as soon as this one starts acting up I will upgrade. Nothing like a new machine, carefree living!
I love the app, I wish it did more, but it's nice to be out of the shop and be able to see the machine is still printing.
The 315 is shorter, only 54" instead of 60", but 75% of my prints are on 30" rolls anyway. I maybe printed 60" rolls twice in the 6 years I had the 25500. I don't miss the 60" option.
I debated going bigger and faster but I am very happy I went with the 315. It suits me well. I have had it for a year and no issues at all. Can't beat the price. This time I will not wait 6 years to upgrade, as soon as this one starts acting up I will upgrade. Nothing like a new machine, carefree living!
I love the app, I wish it did more, but it's nice to be out of the shop and be able to see the machine is still printing.
MI Bearcat
New Member
I have the HP 260 latex. Is it basically the same generation as the L25500 and I would see the same improvements? I know the warm-up time is drastically reduced but I did not think the quality of the prints was that much different.
eahicks
Magna Cum Laude - School of Hard Knocks
YES. When profiled correctly, I get the best reds ever, and I can achieve MANY shades of grey that don't appear greenish or purplish. I won't even print anything that has grey in it on my L260.
mlackerman
New Member
We went from an L26500 (L260) to the L560 about one year ago. I agree with everything said so far and that it is a worthwhile upgrade. One thing I wanted to add is that the 25500 is at the end of support from HP's perspective. I am not sure exactly what this means but according to this blog post (https://blog.lexjet.com/2018/10/08/hp-announces-end-of-life-for-l25500-products/), HP will no longer be selling print heads and ink cartridges for the 25500 after December 31, 2018. If true then this is something to strongly consider.
particleman
New Member
Just about everything from the 25500 -> 560 is a complete fix or improved over the original series. I moved from a 26500 to the 560 and most of my daily issues are addressed. The warm up time just isn't a concern anymore. There are really too many improvements to list. We had a lot of issues with head condensation and overheating print heads, I think that is mostly fixed now (hasn't happened since upgrading). Colors are noticeably better and I have no issues with hitting colors. Take up system is great.
My biggest nag and it has been mentioned in this thread is the amount of material you need to run out to consistently avoid a head strike.
My biggest nag and it has been mentioned in this thread is the amount of material you need to run out to consistently avoid a head strike.
Carlos Valencia
New Member
Since, you are also considering a budget, you might consider trading in your L25500- that will save you big bucks, you might also consider trading it in on a refurbished 360 for example. thx
Last edited by a moderator:
Carlos Valencia
New Member
Hi, The L25500 is discontinued by Hp. All parts are no longer manufactured since Nov of last year. They will stop making the supplies in december of this year. You can use the same rip usually. We like Flexi rip. The improvements are light years ahead of the L25500 which is the first generation of Hp Latex. You are moving to machines that have better inks, better printheads, better drying system, better waste ink systems, better at working with the rip. We have both new and refurbished. So the price of moving up to newer models is a lot easier. thx Plottermaster