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Mimaki JV-400 Latex
- Thread starter P Wagner
- Start date
BigfishDM
Merchant Member
There are a few real reviews on this user group below.
http://hpl25500users.ning.com/
Not looking good just yet
http://hpl25500users.ning.com/
Not looking good just yet
I recently had a 'full' demo of the printer at ND Graphics in Toronto with a rep from Mimaki and a local gent.
I went into it wanting this machine to make up for some of the deficiencies in the L25500 but came away generally unimpressed with the Mimaki.
PROS
-output was indeed beautiful...machine was running slow and at 1440 or something similar, but very nice on some adhesive vinyl
-machine runs about 15 Celsius cooler which should help with some of the media issues, but in the testing they had done, they still needed to get temps up to 70C or more so I don't know if this will fix all the temperature grievances we've all had
-this thing is as quiet as an aqueous printer, very quiet
CONS
-machine costs about $35K plus more for the white ink option
-if you choose the white ink option you will have a slow machine
-both the Mimaki rep and the local rep were discouraging people from choosing the white ink option
-Mimaki rep admitted they were still getting their ink 'right' even up to the launch date
-rep claimed 'huge' cost savings in ink, printheads (they are 'permanent' in the Mimaki), and electricity to justify the higher up front cost, but his numbers were based on a lot of messed up assumptions
-the guy couldn't stop slamming the HP machines which got tiresome after a while
I came away from it feeling like they were still figuring this thing out and I wasn't interested in being part of their real world beta (remember that HP had latex ink in use for a number of years in their larger machines before coming out with the DesignJet). Like I said, I do applaud Mimaki for getting into the market, but for our company, we're not ready to be a testing ground...I feel like we've been that for the L25500 ...we need machines now that can run and run until we break them and need new ones.
One last thing. I'm not sure where they came up with their pricing, but they are totally out to lunch on that IMHO.
That's my take. Go check one out if you get a chance. Pretty cool to see something other than HP in this space but I wouldn't touch it as a production machine.
I went into it wanting this machine to make up for some of the deficiencies in the L25500 but came away generally unimpressed with the Mimaki.
PROS
-output was indeed beautiful...machine was running slow and at 1440 or something similar, but very nice on some adhesive vinyl
-machine runs about 15 Celsius cooler which should help with some of the media issues, but in the testing they had done, they still needed to get temps up to 70C or more so I don't know if this will fix all the temperature grievances we've all had
-this thing is as quiet as an aqueous printer, very quiet
CONS
-machine costs about $35K plus more for the white ink option
-if you choose the white ink option you will have a slow machine
-both the Mimaki rep and the local rep were discouraging people from choosing the white ink option
-Mimaki rep admitted they were still getting their ink 'right' even up to the launch date
-rep claimed 'huge' cost savings in ink, printheads (they are 'permanent' in the Mimaki), and electricity to justify the higher up front cost, but his numbers were based on a lot of messed up assumptions
-the guy couldn't stop slamming the HP machines which got tiresome after a while
I came away from it feeling like they were still figuring this thing out and I wasn't interested in being part of their real world beta (remember that HP had latex ink in use for a number of years in their larger machines before coming out with the DesignJet). Like I said, I do applaud Mimaki for getting into the market, but for our company, we're not ready to be a testing ground...I feel like we've been that for the L25500 ...we need machines now that can run and run until we break them and need new ones.
One last thing. I'm not sure where they came up with their pricing, but they are totally out to lunch on that IMHO.
That's my take. Go check one out if you get a chance. Pretty cool to see something other than HP in this space but I wouldn't touch it as a production machine.
rjssigns
Active Member
Interesting. So this means the "Ricoh" unit will have the exact same issues. Seems like the same issue I went over in my post regarding the new Epson. Certain people took exception with that post, but I was vindicated as the truth came out. A manufacturer wants to capture a percentage of a specific market so it dives in head first without proper testing. Speed to market is only good if your product is "locked down" and ready to rock. Period.
cptcorn
adad
I would like to see this same report, just reversed for your L25500. Thanks for the input!
It's not the first time Mimaki has done a headfirst dive into a market with untested equipment. There are plenty of early JV5 adopters who will attest to that.
However, they do have perseverance. We recently got a JV5-320DS that works beautifully. But it took them until mid 2009 to resolve most of the issues -- considering that the JV5 was introduced in 2006, that's 3 years of buggy products...
Hopefully they've learned their lessons this time. A lot of the "issues" with new machines like this is simply lack of experience -- operators will apply what they already know, and when you have an ink that reacts differently from most other inks on the market, it makes for a steep learning curve.
Price point I would expect to drop somewhat as time goes on, however the Ricoh heads are more industrial than most Epson head based printers, so I'm not really surprised it's as high as it is. In fact, most big printers based on Ricoh heads are at least twice as expensive...
Price point I would expect to drop somewhat as time goes on, however the Ricoh heads are more industrial than most Epson head based printers, so I'm not really surprised it's as high as it is. In fact, most big printers based on Ricoh heads are at least twice as expensive...
The Mimaki dealer kept saying you will save all this $$$$ on eletric compaired to the HP. The HP can not be using that much more enery than the Mimaki. The temp was still jack up on their machine. I would think the HP ruinning on 220 would be more efficent than the 110 Mimaki.
edgegraphics
New Member
Mimaki JV160LX
Just curious what everyone thinks about this printer now. I understand they have fixed many of the problems they have been having. Any first hand experience with them. Thanks in advance.
Just curious what everyone thinks about this printer now. I understand they have fixed many of the problems they have been having. Any first hand experience with them. Thanks in advance.
P Wagner
--
Mimaki began to OEM their latex printers to Ricoh in early 2014. They are now branded as Ricoh Pro L4130 and L4160.
http://whattheythink.com/news/67417...-wide-format-printers-outdoor-indoor-signage/
http://whattheythink.com/news/67417...-wide-format-printers-outdoor-indoor-signage/