Mimaki cjv30 series printer opinions wanted

[Portlandcustoms]

I am about to purchase a mimaki cjv30-160 printer cutter. I would love to hear the good and the bad from anyone with experience with this machine. I am also trying to decide between the 4 color, 6 color or possibly 8 color with white and metallic so any opinions about the ink options would be appreciated too.

 

[bloobird0]

great machine, I have nothing against this machine after more than 3 years except the following advices:

- don't use white/metallic ink unless you use it daily otherwise it is time/money consuming.
- only use SS21 ink, no ES3 (not resistant)
- on this machine 6 colors vs 4 colors does not add much so stay with 4 colors so that speed is double.
- if you go with white: do not expect white to be opaque
- if you go for metallic, laminating is absolutely required as ink goes away with fingers

Note: the included RasterLink RIP is not really user friendly, make sure you get trained when the machine is installed.

my 2ct

 

[Solventinkjet]

bloobird0 is spot on. I install a good amount of CJV30s every year. The one complaint I see on signs 101 is that the prints can have banding from the first print on. Make sure your installer does all of the required alignments. He/she should be trained by Mimaki and should know how to set up the printer so that it prints perfectly from the start. Make sure they show you how to do the user alignments for different thickness materials as that is important as well. CJV30s are great machines when installed correctly.

 

[Portlandcustoms]

inks

I noticed you said the ES3 ink isn't good because of being non resistant. What exactly due you mean? I have worked in the past on a roland ecosolvent printer and the ink was pretty good. With Mimaki do the ES3 inks not really last three years? I was hoping for the no ventilation.
Thanks

 

[Solventinkjet]

The ES3 inks are not very scratch resistant compared to the SS21. Normally you would have to laminate almost everything you print for outdoor use. SS21 inks do not require special ventilation but you would want a room with a window as it does have a nominal odor when printing full coverage. Compared to the Roland Eco-Sol inks SS21 inks are almost indistinguishable when it comes to the smell and harsh chemicals used.

 

[Portlandcustoms]

The ES3 inks are not very scratch resistant compared to the SS21. Normally you would have to laminate almost everything you print for outdoor use. SS21 inks do not require special ventilation but you would want a room with a window as it does have a nominal odor when printing full coverage. Compared to the Roland Eco-Sol inks SS21 inks are almost indistinguishable when it comes to the smell and harsh chemicals used.

I was under the impression that with ES3 no ventilation was required but with SS21 that you do need ventilation. Am I wrong in that assumption? Thank you for your advice by the way.