Mimaki UV vs HP Latex

[Splash0321]

Update to the 700w.

After almost a year long battle with my 700w they agreed to provide me with a brand new one. I’m assuming the latest firmware and other updates/upgrades made to the 700w since it’s inception have improved it. I’m noticing a faster “first print of the day” start time…seems to warm up and begin printing within a few minutes rather than 5-6 minutes. I print on black or clear for most of what I do so this improvement is very noticeable for me.

It’s also quieter when printing. The first one I had sounded a bit clunky when printing while the new one has a much smoother sound to it when the carriage is moving left and right.

I was close to giving up on hp latex but this new printer has renewed my faith that I made a worthwhile investment. It’s only been running for a couple weeks but I’ve had none of the problems that I was having before.

 

[Scotchbrite]

Does the heat assist laminator actually really make a difference on laminating UV? I recently got a UV printer and the first thing we laminated was black and I was so disappointed. I talked to my Mimaki rep and he siad "i guess I should have told you that you needed a heat assist laminator". I don't mind springing for one if it actually works well. But I also worry about the laminate stretching because it is heated, and then as it cools and shrinks back that it will pull the print. I had one shop owner tell me that within a week of installing the vinyl, the laminate pulled all the way off the print.

You can definitely put too much heat into the laminate. Haven't ever seen any kind of shrink back issue, but have seen too much heat cause the laminate to stretch and distort while running thru the laminator.

Can't really speak to the necessity. You'd have to test it out both ways to really know for sure.

 

[nolanola]

Update to the 700w.

After almost a year long battle with my 700w they agreed to provide me with a brand new one. I’m assuming the latest firmware and other updates/upgrades made to the 700w since it’s inception have improved it. I’m noticing a faster “first print of the day” start time…seems to warm up and begin printing within a few minutes rather than 5-6 minutes. I print on black or clear for most of what I do so this improvement is very noticeable for me.

It’s also quieter when printing. The first one I had sounded a bit clunky when printing while the new one has a much smoother sound to it when the carriage is moving left and right.

I was close to giving up on hp latex but this new printer has renewed my faith that I made a worthwhile investment. It’s only been running for a couple weeks but I’ve had none of the problems that I was having before.

Hello. Please share your experience dealing with HP. We got a 700w a year ago and it's very bad. Sometimes it takes 45 to warm up. The inks scratch off easily. The colors are off. Very upsetting.

 

[balstestrat]

Hello. Please share your experience dealing with HP. We got a 700w a year ago and it's very bad. Sometimes it takes 45 to warm up. The inks scratch off easily. The colors are off. Very upsetting.

Wow you have a problem or a few there mate. Why fight it and not get it serviced??
Should take about 45sec to warm-up if it's not the first job of the day... What does it do the whole time, cleaning? If so you have printhead problems.

 

[nolanola]

Thank you for your response.
I've had it serviced already when ink started leaking. The technicians said I should have bought a 300 series instead. I already have 335 at my other shop and have been happy with it for 6 years.
At this point it's too many problems with 700w. The maintenance cartridge at 65 percent and there's some amount of ink dried on the two rolls preventing them from spinning and it throws an error from time to time. I remove the cartridge and clean it with a rag. All together 20 minutes or so.
I wanted to print 24" x 24" vinyl. It started warming up, circulating, after 45 minutes it printed.
wanted to print grey, got pink instead.
I scratched the ink off with a soft squeegee.
Sometimes it feels like I work in a testing department for HP.
I don't trust this equipment anymore. And I don't trust HP tech support as well. The warranty plan is $3600.00 per year. It takes several 40 minute phone calls to get the visit scheduled.
The sales manager I bought the printer from quit. The technician who installed the printer doesn't work there anymore. I read about people returning them and I want to do the same. There's no way I can make this machine pay for itself.
I wouldn't call this a fight. I'm concerned I bought a piece equipment that doesn't do what it's supposed to do.