Mimaki JV33 for growing business?

[daenterpri]

I have the opportunity to buy a Mimaki JV33 printer for $4000. It's about 6 years old. The current owners are upgrading to a newer, faster latex printer. They say the print heads are good, but that in high production mode, it doesn't print very well. On slow print it prints perfectly.

I have a vinyl sign business and I also do web design. So right now I don't do vinyl work every day. My vinyl sign biz is certainly growing. But right now the big higher resolution prints I outsource to another company. Most my printing I do with my gerber edge 2... But I would certainly like to start doing bigger stuff myself. I honestly don't know how busy I could keep this thing, but I also feel like I can't try to get the bigger jobs and accounts until I have one... Right? I just got a Summa 54" plotter last week for my large die cut projects.

So, does this printer sound like a good deal?
It currently doesn't use ecosol, is that ok?
Will the printer be ok if it's not running every day?
Is this a good way to get my foot in the door for doing bigger work?

I greatly appreciate your opinions, advice and wisdom!

 

[artbot]

that is a ridiculously low price. really $6-7000 is low. at $4k you can make money even if you print three times a month. there are some daily routines that you will have to do. i'd ask around and compare what is best for the jv33. i like to wipe off the wiper, and put a little cleaning solution around the edge of the cap at the end of the day. keeps it moist and cleans off latent ink.

i print very very rarely so there is a way to do it.

 

[SightLine]

If it's really a JV33 for 4k yes - thats a super deal, even if it needs a new printhead. A used working JV33-160 should sell for between 8 and 12k.... However I'm thinking you mean a JV3 and not a JV33. Couple things make me think that. First of all the oldest JV33 out is only about 4 years old - the JV33 was introduced in 2007 so unless it is a factory prototype there is no way it can be 6 years old. http://www.signnews.in/index.php?op...oducts-of-the-year-2008-award-&catid=108:dump

Second you mention printheads with an s, as in plural or more than one printhead. The JV33 only has one print head while the JV3 will have 3 or 4 heads depending on the model. If it is actually a JV3 you are looking at - for 4 grand it better be near perfect and it better be a 4 head SP model. Regardless the JV3 series machines are getting to be pretty dated machines. Thousands upon thousands are still in use every day but every day more and more of them are being retired for the much easier to maintain and manage JV33 series. Dont get me worng though - the JV3 machines are excellent and solid machines. We ran one for years and actually are trying to get rid of it. Since we got a JV33 it has pretty much sat unused and is now in not so good shape anymore as it needs printheads and a firewire board to be brought back to life.

Also regardless of the model both can run ecosolvent or full solvent inks. Both will need to have an exhaust for the fumes. You will need a capable RIP for printing to it - one may or may not have RasterLink with it. Rasterlink is a capable RIP but somewhat limited in it's abilites and a bit clunky to use. Either machine will be fine if not run every single day but they do need to be run at least a couple times a week and the more they run the better they run. The older JV3 model is much more of a pain to do routine cleaning on and with 4 heads - alignment is much more complicated to the extreme. The JV33 is a single head, a little bit faster, better ink train design, much easier to to routing cleaning on, and little no no alignments to deal with.

Sure a wide format solvent machine opens the doors to new possibilites. You will instantly be able to direct print large banners, vehicle wraps, vehicle graphics, flat signage, fabric prints, canvas prints, tradeshow displays, and much more.

The Summa cutter is about as good as a cutter gets. It just better be a model with OPOS as you will need that for print/cut work. For print cut work a more capable RIP like Flexisign Pro makes a world of difference.

 

[daenterpri]

Thanks guys! I'm pretty sure they said it was a 64" JV33... Ill double check. I said print heads, plural, because I just assumed it had multiple

I'm glad to hear they can run ecosol. My summa is an opus machine, just so I would be ready to upgrade. I got the call about this printer the same day I got the summa. Weird.

I guess now I need to search for a good laminator. Any recommendations? They seem to be hard to find used.

Also, how long do you let your solvent prints sit before laminating?

 

[Rydaddy]

Jv3

 

[SightLine]

Seal or GBC for a laminator. Cant go wrong with either. Ive used both and both are good quality solid machines.

Generally try to let prints sit overnight prior to laminating....

Thanks guys! I'm pretty sure they said it was a 64" JV33... Ill double check. I said print heads, plural, because I just assumed it had multiple

I'm glad to hear they can run ecosol. My summa is an opus machine, just so I would be ready to upgrade. I got the call about this printer the same day I got the summa. Weird.

I guess now I need to search for a good laminator. Any recommendations? They seem to be hard to find used.

Also, how long do you let your solvent prints sit before laminating?

 

[daenterpri]

Thanks! Amazing how expensive laminators are! More than any piece of equipment yet.

 

[iSign]

Thanks! Amazing how expensive laminators are! More than any piece of equipment yet.

how you figure?

you have an Edge and Envision... those are both more costly than a laminator...

and it's rare to get a printer for $4K, but if you need even one printhead, and a service call (& you will, eventually).... that printer will end up costing more as well...

 

[daenterpri]

I think I got a killer deal on my Gerber Edge and Envision plotter. Wasn't near as expensive as these new laminators. Can't seem to find any good used ones either.

 

[daenterpri]

I called the company again this morning. It was a JV3-160 SP Bummer. Oh well!

 

[HulkSmash]

I called the company again this morning. It was a JV3-160 SP Bummer. Oh well!

in that case. 1.5-3k max

 

[daenterpri]

in that case. 1.5-3k max

Gotcha. That's what I was thinking. What's the print quality difference between a JV3 and a JV33? Is it considerable? Or is it just that the JV3 is old? If I got the JV3 for $1.5k, and it didn't have a decent enough resolution, I still couldn't go after the jobs that I want to since my competitors are using a lot newer machines.

 

[SightLine]

Properly aligned there is not really any difference in print quality between the two. The JV3 is just a much older machine along with the differences I mentioned earlier in the thread.

Gotcha. That's what I was thinking. What's the print quality difference between a JV3 and a JV33? Is it considerable? Or is it just that the JV3 is old? If I got the JV3 for $1.5k, and it didn't have a decent enough resolution, I still couldn't go after the jobs that I want to since my competitors are using a lot newer machines.

 

[artbot]

i'd be a little concerned about the issue of it not printing "well" in production mode. there really shouldn't be a discernible. at least on mine, i can't tell a difference at all. it just zings back and forth faster.

a used printer's value can be all over the map. if it is operating perfectly, i'd say it's worth $3000 to $3700. (reasonably fresh heads, very clean. keep in mind each head costs $800 to replace. that printer has $3200 worth of potential head replacement)

but with problems... $1500 to $2000 max. each "problem" will later on cost you about a grand to fix. and possibly be some ghostly issue that you never figure out.

by comparison, the jv33 is a very sweet machine. i might be THE perfect solvent printer. owning a jv3 is like owning a horse. it can do a lot of things for you, but you have to take care of it almost daily. it's not like a laminator or plotter that can sit dormant for a year and boom it's ready to go.

 

[daenterpri]

Thank you! I really appreciate everyone's help here. Such great information.