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Mimaki JV3 54" Good? Bad?

R

redline graphics

New Member
JUst getting into digital print. 15 years of cut vinyl so its time to move forward. Is this a good entry level machine? Is the print cost comparible to the new machines? Any pro's con's with that model? Kind of on a limited budget too. Thanks in advance!!
 
Letterbox Mike

Letterbox Mike

New Member
Very good machine as long as you get one in good condition with no head issues. Ask to see some of your own files printed on it if possible.

On our JV3 we observed print costs to be around $.20 p.s.f. on average for ink only.
 
R

redline graphics

New Member
Im getting it from a good friend. Its in full operation now. he is just upgrading. Computer, rip software, printer, the whole operating package. For the inks, do you buy Mimaki or is there another quality yet less expensive ink? BTW, thatks insignia!! for the info.
 
Letterbox Mike

Letterbox Mike

New Member
Personally, I'd stick with OEM, especially if you're not printing 24-7. You can get aftermarket inks that work just fine and you can get aftermarket inks that destroy your heads in no time. We print a lot but even then it's not worth the sacrifice in peace of mind so we stick with OEM.
 
signcrafters london

signcrafters london

New Member
That's a great printer -- if it is has good heads and you can get it for the right price. I bought one used in August and I love it.

Use the search function and read every single thread you can find about this machine. Learn to be your own tech. Lot of great info and great people on this board willing to help you.
 
R

redline graphics

New Member
OEM inks. Sounds obvious i guess. The information on this sight is fantastic. The help is also excellent. Helped me out of a number of problems!! Thanks Guys.
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
the oem vs. 3rd party ink can go both ways. regardless of paranoia about inks. if you very very seldomly use the machine (as in my case). the printer can toss a ton of ink doing cleaning cycles all week. you'll think..."i should do a custody wash". but that's not pratical. you know you'll be using the machine in about four days...maybe six? but during those days, the printer has dumped about $10-20 worth of ink. keep doing this for months and you will wish you had 3rd party ink. a liter of triangle ink (very good ink, better than oem in my opinion) is $115. compared to the price of oem, i can now afford for the printer to constantly throw away ink. for those printers that aren't used every day. you will. it seems strange, throw away five times as much ink as you print with. this is all on a curve of course... (during this response i just heard my printer do a clean...there goes more ink).
 
petesign

petesign

New Member
I used to print on a JV3 - that machine was a workhorse, and nearly indestructible... the person who was at that job before me never cleaned it, when I go there the wiper was frozen in place because it had so much ink caked up around it that I couldn't get it out... and it still printed just fine.

I liked it so much, that when I started my own shop, I bought a JV33. I use OEM inks, but went with ES3.. SS21 inks have more bite, though the fumes will make your head spin.
 
Letterbox Mike

Letterbox Mike

New Member
Wes Phifer said:
Hey Insignia. Just for comparison what is the ink cost on your new Epson or don't you have a JV33?
Click to expand...

Yeah, we have a GS6000 and a JV33. Ink costs on the GS6000 are a bit more but surprisingly not as bad as you'd think considering it's an 8-color printer. We've only had it for a few months but my best estimate so far is in the $.30 range so not terrible. Time will tell though. It does go through a lot more ink in cleanings than the JV33 so that's a factor, but it's just part of being in the printing business so I don't pay too much attention to that...
 
M

mortil

New Member
Nice thread. im looking for buying a new printer in 3 month time. but a 64" one and this has made my choise easier :D
 
M

mortil

New Member
insignia said:
what kind of volume are you looking at putting through the printer mortil?
Click to expand...

well for now its not that much, today i get 5-10m printed vinyl for stickers every week that i outsource but all the companies here is up to their heads in work so my friend is kind enough to print it after closing time at one of the bigger shops where he works. the same shop has asked me if i could work for them as a rent in company.

so for being true there aint not much printing now but i want to grow, and that dont seem to be hard as i payed off my graphtec fc8000-130 in 3 weeks work and work just comes in all the time. (no im not outpricing the other ones)
 
C

ColesCreations

New Member
We ran a 160SP for a couple of years. As mentioned, a lot of ink goes in the waste, more than onto the media, as we printed maybe 1 hr /day. Used OEM inks. Probably at least 1/2 liter / month in waste. ($100). Not enough of a cost to justify going to bulk. Also make sure the date is reset in the machine to keep the ink cartridges working after the expire date. Then you may be able to buy expired inks cheap.

We now have had an Epson GS6000 for more than a year, and only last week emptied the waste can, 2 liters in more than a year is not bad at all!
Only time we had heads clog were last christmas when it was shut down for 3 weeks... Not a good idea, but it cleaned up fine with a few cleaning cycles.

Conclusion: Ink cost is higher on the JV3, but a very good printer if you don't need photo quality. Stick to oem ss2 inks, and ventilate the room. The fumes are harmful, but not as bad as Triangle inks. Probably the best value for money, it's solid and a very good printer. Go with whatever ink is currently in the printer.

OH- You will also need a laminator. Not maybe. NEED. All printed vinyl needs to be laminated. And then you will probably need a new cutter, with some kind of optical eye to cut contours on your prints. I recommend a Summa T with OPOS, find one used.
 
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MikePro

MikePro

New Member
takes about $1k to put a fresh set of cartridges in your machine... triangle bulk inks, for the same volume of ink, costs nearly HALF! You'll save 25% by using their cartridges, as well.
Everyone swears by OEM, just like everyone swears by buying their HDMI cables from Best Buy.

regardless of inks... Mimaki JV3 is a solid workhorse of a wide-format printer. GREAT BUY!!! I'd even be tempted to buy a used one for backup parts to keep mine going for years longer. The quality is still great, despite new printers on the market having nearly twice the resolution, but wide-format printers don't exactly NEED to have the highest resolution out there anyways.
 
M

mortil

New Member
where do you buy these triangle ink ?and are they bulk so you gotto fill up the old ink container? or is it in a container already ?
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
the sp was the first to run white. i was printing white all last night with my jv3 160sp. you can set it up CMYKlmlcSS... i run my printer CMYKx2 and when i run white first passes i use my KK head with an auxiliary ink line.
 
SightLine

SightLine

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Also critical to white is having a RIP that can handle white that you just as importantly want to be sure you get.
 
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