Mutoh branded Bulk Ink System

[jr_tech]

Hi,

Happy New Year to you all.

I was browsing the Mutoh Europe site and came across a bulk ink system by Mutoh:

http://www.mutoh.be/options-accessories/bulk-ink-system/page.aspx/5486

Bulk Ink System - Mutoh

Mutoh’s bulk ink system (BIS) has been specifically developed :

* for speed-intensive, volume-oriented and price-sensitive Rockhopper 3 Extreme Bio printers, Spitfire 65/90/100 Extreme & Blizzard mild solvent printer, Viper or Viper Extreme digital transfer printers and Viper TX, Viper TX 100, Viper TX Soft Sign, Viper TX Professional or Viper TX Extreme direct textile printers users requiring a high-volume ink delivery system

low cost ink refill system

The bulk ink system can be easily mounted on top of the printer. No extra footprint is required.

As such, the system will save space and will not disturb the operator during the print jobs.

The bulk ink system has a modular concept. A standard module of the bulk ink system consists of a metal housing, 4 ink bottles (ink capacity of 1.5 liter per bottle), 4 bulk ink feed cassettes with float sensor, ink tubings and valves.

Depending on the type of Mutoh mild solvent, dye sub or textile printer used, either two or 4 standard modules are required.

The 4 bulk feed cassettes include:
cassettes ink refill system

* Floater level adjustment to accurately set the proper ink fluid pressure to the print head

* Ink supply to the cassettes can be switched off

The bulk ink system offers long unattended printing options along with minimum user intervention (easy to refill, even during printing). Each 1.5 litre bottle can provide 1.2 litres of ink to the bulk feed cassette before requiring a refill.​

I would LOVE to have something like that for my printer! I am sure most of you would like something like this as well.

It is obviously possible and even produced by Mutoh. I understand that Mutoh America/Japan makes a killing here in the US by selling carts, but I wonder if anyone on the board might know where to buy the European solution and most importantly, how it might get around the hated smartcard padlock that we have to live with.

I welcome learning more about this or similar solutions.

 

[Mochistlan]

for what printer do you want the bulk system

for what printer do you want the bulk system?
The BIS is about $10K more or less. if you use ink cards you will continue to use ink cards with the bulk system. unless you don´t use ink cards or chips. the bulk system is only to fill up the cassettes and not go empty during a job.

I hope this help. try contact mutoh in phx. to see who can sell it to you.

 

[Mochistlan]

you can buy them in canada

you can buy that kind of bulk in canada for 1K.
I was talking about the automated bulk system from mutoh that is more expensive and is automated.
look for them in google or ebay.
I hope this helps better.

 

[FatCat]

If you notice they are only listing support for some of Mutoh's larger printers (65", 90" 100") which are machines that are meant to run large volumes of ink. Honestly, I'm not sure if it really makes a difference WHO makes the bulk ink system, but there are several manufacturers out there that offer them for nearly all Mutoh printers. Check out Fieldcenter who is a member here and should be near your area.

http://www.signs101.com/pp-classifi...ers-and-distributors/p452-fieldcenterinc.html

However, to me the two biggest factors in going to a bulk ink system are cost savings and quality of the ink. I've been looking for over a year for a reliable ink vendor who will stand by their product and offer a warranty if their ink ever causes a problem to the head or ink system. I have yet to find any that will currently do that.

 

[randya]

The Mutoh bulk system is designed for the Blizzard and Spitfires and still uses carts.

 

[jr_tech]

Hi randya, I understand that is uses carts, but are those carts chipped or has that feature been removed/disabled? The blizzard and spitfire look like my FII OD. I understand that the electronics change with time but did that include the smartcard readers? If not, what other reasons are there for this BIS to hypothetically NOT work in a FII OD (Rockhopper II)?

Fatcat, I have a 64" FII OD. I have no problem buying bulk ink from Mutoh, but I have not seen it offered here in the states.

The European Mutoh offers Mild Solvent inks in Liter size containers. Is Mild Solvent the same as EcoSolvent? Anyone know?

Mochistlan, thanks for the tip. I've actually seen similar looking Bulk Ink Systems from a few vendors here in the US. I've found the pricing to be about $600 or so for the system itself, sans ink or cards. It does me no good if there is not any Mutoh ink that I can buy in Liter containers at a lower cost than the ~0.30/ml that the carts run. Then there is the issue with the smartcards...

There is a Canadian company that offers a smartcard reader/writer that might get around the smartcard problem, but where can we buy mutoh ink in 1/2 liter to 1 liter containers at a good price?

I recently received what are reported to be problematic mutoh cartridges (they changed the seal from a metal foil to a rubber seal that appears to cause problems) and it has me looking even harder for alternative ink delivery methods.

Any good experiences with any alternative solutions are appreciated.

 

[randya]

Sorry typo, the bulk system still uses smartcards, there are versions of the BIS that should be able to be fitted to an FIIO.

We do sell mild solvent in bulk, but eco is not available in bulk.

There were some issues with some cartridges, they should be all resolved, if you are having cartridge issues have them exchanged at your dealer for newer carts.