Mimaki Latex printer

[genericname]

Mimaki's guarantee is one year on them.

HaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHAHAHAHAHA!

So far we haven't been among the lucky few, but I know there are some here that can go a year before replacing a single DX4 head. How the hell is $4,500 acceptable? That thing better print actual rainbows and consume wishes instead of ink.

 

[SightLine]

I bet you will not see that part cost in any marketing materials. Wowza. If you get a head strike on one I bet you will feel horrified beyond recognition until you determine if the head took any damage. That head better have about 2 ounces of gold in it for that price. That way you could at least melt it down and recoup some of your cost.

 

[Jack Knight1979]

@sightline

I like where yer heads at.

For 4500.00 that head better be able to be used as a sanding block to buff out a car, then go back in the printer and keep running.

 

[jayhawksigns]

As much as I loved our JV3, I'll keep with my HP and the $110 heads I can replace in under a minute.

Definitely going in the wrong direction with the costs of the heads, they were even doing that with the DX4 heads too the last two times we had to have one replaced.

 

[genericname]

I see the world's first sign forum meme making out into the mainstream.

"For $4,500.00, that head better..."

-walk my dog!
-slice, dice, AND cut this penny!
-not fall apart the moment lint so much as grazes it (like the bloody DX4)

 

[jhanson]

Everything I've heard about the Ricoh print heads has indicated that they're pretty damn tough. Since it's a relatively new generation, the adoption hasn't been too widespread but they're already in use in a number of Chinese printers (and some UV printers from other companies too, apparently).

If it's not an OEM build head for Mimaki, expect better pricing once people figure out alternate sources.

Also, remember the Spectra Nova 256 heads? Big stainless steel base plate... it took a LOT to knock one of those heads out of action. You'd practically have to head strike on sandpaper to do permanent damage. Otherwise a quick manual cleaning and flush and the head was pretty much reconditioned. The only time those heads died permanently was if the internal electronics shorted out, and 9 times out of 10 that was due to operator/tech error.

 

[artbot]

fespa mimaki jv400

"this printer has ink, .... and ............ buttons. also, ............
it (read notes) uhm... the wheels stay in contact with the ground/i mean floor. and films, like poly-whatever. and this printer... did i mention the buttons?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfz1G9FH8IU

also, did anyone get a look at the white ink opacity?

 

[rjssigns]

Yay artbot for telling it like it is. I watched the vid. Liked the part about listening to what our clients want and needing to change.ROFL

Nooo...more like HP was beating the skin off of us and we had to do something or go out of business. (wieners)

Less talk, more print.

 

[SqueeGee]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfz1G9FH8IU

Yikes, that was painful to watch! 30 seconds worth of info spread out over 5 minutes.

 

[P Wagner]

Is the LX printer behind him printing as he is speaking? If so, that is not 18 square m/hour. Closer to the 18cm/ hour he mentioned by accident...

 

[artbot]

yeah i noticed that the printer was crawling. any word on the white latex!?!

 

[SightLine]

Well - I guess Mimaki has always been known nearly as well for their Engrish as well as their quality machines. Apparently that guy only took a cursory glance a the Engrish presentation. lol - yeah that was painful to watch and they probably should have not had the printer running some max quality mode while bragging about it's speed

Time will tell - I'm sure a lot more will come out next week at the ISA show as far as details and pricing. Really was planning on going down there but I've had to cancel - way too busy. I really wanted to grille them on ink costs, see what the "sellable" production speeds will really be, ask about heads, and overall get a really close look at them. Looking at what little documentation is available it has 2 heads, 2 capping tops, couple of ink pads, wiper. It also has some info about air pressure which can cause problems and there is a user adjustable air pressure valve for the ink system. Looks to use the same old excellent media load and takeup system, same waste ink tank, menu systems looks about the same.

 

[moggle]

I got word this morning that the replacement cost of the "permanent" Mimaki print heads in this new machine are $4500 per head to replace (in Canada anyhow).

Mimaki's guarantee is one year on them.

Local price in oz is expected to be around 2.5...

 

[artbot]

meanwhile i'll be running latex in my encad flatbed. head price $8.


also, here's a new article.

http://www.wide-format-printers.org...eviews-evaluations-problems-pros-and-cons.php

 

[rjssigns]

Hmmm... kinda like I thought when HP latex was all the rage. Give it some time and you will be able to buy a printer that uses tap water mixed with food coloring. And it will print a bazillion square feet per hour on anything, and require no lamination, ever.

They did bring up a good point about letting Mimaki launch first. Makes you wonder what the others have up their sleeves.

 

[Ditchmiester]

Isa 2012

Sitting in the airport after going to ISA 2012 today. Spent some time looking at the Mimaki Latex Printer. First thing that jumped out was how nice and opaque the white ink was. Very impressed. Also took a sample printed on some clear material, not sure what kind of material it was but doing a good scratch test produced good results with their adhesion. Also was told that the smaller size was 32K.

 

[tomence]

Was the printer printing when you were there and if it was how was the speed. Do you think it is worth buying the Mimaki over the New HP L26500, because i got a quote for a brand new HP L26500 delivered and installed plus set of inks and Caldera Software for $17,500 if i gave them one of my broken HP 5500 which is half the price of the Mimaki.

 

[Ditchmiester]

No it wasn't they were working on the roll to roll trying to get a new roll of material on it and besides the HP booth it was definitely the most crowded. As for is it work it compared to the HP for me personally I would say yes because of the white ink option. It will come down to if you want to have that option or not.

 

[Robert M]

SureColor

Ditchmiester

Did you happen to see one of the new Epson SureColor printers. the Epson folks say it is as good or better then the quality of the GS6000 but is only four color. Ten channel print head with a one inch width is also new to the solvent printers.

 

[Ditchmiester]

SureColor

I did get a chance to look at the print quality. It was absolutley amazing. They had a very large banner printed and I got a very close up look and it looked stunning. I wish I could have gotten to see it actually printing so I could have seen the speed but just from print quality I think it is worth the 15K or so they are asking for it.