Mutoh vs. PrismJet

[knucklehead]

Signwarehouse seems to have a pretty good deal on the 48" PrismJet, which I believe is a re-branded Mutoh. My question is, if anyone knows,what does the PrismJet "NOT" have, that the Mutoh "DOES" have. I know when a company rebrands something, they almost always modify it, or take something off, etc. to make it their brand, and sometimes a little cheaper. Thanks Mike

 

[Sign-Man Signs]

Same machine. Signwarehouse Branded. No mod's that I know of other than the label. Call them and ask. Great people to work with.

 

[SE SignSupply]

No banner 4 mode, drops the top speed from 145+- to around 120 sfph.

 

[Jackpine]

I would not let that stop a good deal. 120sfph is fast.

No banner 4 mode, drops the top speed from 145+- to around 120 sfph.

 

[steiny]

First, I am a Mutoh reseller and you should know my bias up front. The PrismJet is as stated above a private labeled version of the Mutoh 1204 but if you ask me, it's a dummied down version. Currently on their website, SW says you can "upgrade" the speed on the PrismJet for an additional $995. I suspect they have altered the firmware to drive it at a slower speed and are charging to bring it up to it's top speed of 145 sf/hr.

For my money, I'd go with the Mutoh 1304 (they discontinued making the 1204 a year ago) for the following reasons:

1-you cannot print a full 48" width on the 1204 (close in uni-directional mode but no cigar)
2- you will find it difficult to locate 48" and 50" material to print up to 47.64" You have a much wider choice of material in 54" widths which the 1304 can accomodate.
3- when you factor in an ONSITE warranty cost for the PrismJet PLUS the fact that Mutoh has a promotion right now giving you a FREE second year of warranty, the cost between them is negligible. The free second year would normally cost $2500.00 for a full service contract.
4-with a Mutoh you will get local service from one of their authorized dealers, not some third party company with hired guns.

 

[JBarraxSW]

PrismJET VJ48.

The PrismJET VJ48 is based on the Mutoh 1204. It's an excellent printer that offers the same features as the 1304 (54") in a more compact footprint.

One of the advantages of buying a PrismJET is exceptional value. We buy LOTS of printers from Mutoh so we get great prices and pass that savings on to you so you can get the equipment you need for less. That volume also enables us to offer more choices.
We offer the version with the speed upgrade, which comes with FlexiSign Pro RIP software for only $12,995.00. It's an excellent value and prints at up to 143 sf/hour @ 720 x 720 dpi. By the way, that price includes a one year on-site warranty. (which you probably won't need because these are very well built machines).

In order to offer a more affordable, but still high quality outdoor printer, we also offer a slower model at a lower price for those who don't need or just can't afford the full 143sf/hour output. They can buy at the lower price and earn enough money to purchase the speed upgrade later. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Lots of people will tell you shouldn't buy a 48" printer because there's no 48" media. Nonsense. The VJ48 accepts anything up to 50" and there's plenty of compatible print media readily available that's 50" or less; including intermediate and economy calendered vinyl, backlit film, photo paper, artist canvas, 2mil cast vinyl from Avery, 3M, and Oracal and more.
If someone can convince you that you really NEED a 54" printer, they can justify the $18,000 you have to pony up to buy one.

As Steiny says, he's a competitor so his opinion is not necessarily objective. And his words should be taken in that context.

 

[JBarraxSW]

What the PrismJET has that the Mutoh doesn't

Signwarehouse seems to have a pretty good deal on the 48" PrismJet, which I believe is a re-branded Mutoh. My question is, if anyone knows,what does the PrismJet "NOT" have, that the Mutoh "DOES" have.

Hi Mike. Sorry, I didn't see your original question.
There's nothing the Mutoh has that the PrismJET doesn't. The opposite is true. The PrismJET VJ48, at the $12,995 price, includes Flexi-Sign Pro, a full production design and RIP software suite. The Mutoh ValueJet's come with FlexiPrint, which is a reduced content version of PhotoPrint (fewer features, with no drivers for any other printers).

So the PrismJET offers the same firmware, same quality, and the same output with the added value of a $4,295.00 graphic design and production software package.

And it comes with the support of SignWarehouse tech support. We have the biggest tech support staff of any distributor in the sign industry and they're extremely good. They handle 500 live calls per week on average and, despite that volume, our customers satisfaction rating is over 90%.

So by choosing a PrismJET you get more, not less. You just don't get to pay as much for it.

 

[MVIP]

And it comes with the support of SignWarehouse tech support. We have the biggest tech support staff of any distributor in the sign industry and they're extremely good. They handle 500 live calls per week on average and, despite that volume, our customers satisfaction rating is over 90%.
:

These guys have always done a great job for me!

I have bought three printers and my first plotter from SignWarehouse, Always gave me a great price and great equipment.

-Matt

 

[trakers]

We too are in the market for a WF printer.

Meeting with our local SBA fella next week and hope to have financing ready to go soon, thanks to the 2009 Recovery Act.

We are a small shop in a small market so a purchase like this is a huge deal for us, one that demands a lot of research before we leap.

Our Graphtec cutter came from SW and we have been happy with it.

The PrismJet, even the gelded one, would be plenty fast for us, but like others we worry about the media size and number of vendors of said media being an issue in the future, particularly if SW were to go tits up. Also long term service options have me a bit nervous on the PJ.

The final item of concern is the shipping. I spoke in length with a SW sales person recently and was told there would be a $400 “printer prep” fee even if I personally pick up the printer in Denison. Not certain I understand what that's about.

 

[NazGraphics]

First, I am a Mutoh reseller and you should know my bias up front. The PrismJet is as stated above a private labeled version of the Mutoh 1204 but if you ask me, it's a dummied down version. Currently on their website, SW says you can "upgrade" the speed on the PrismJet for an additional $995. I suspect they have altered the firmware to drive it at a slower speed and are charging to bring it up to it's top speed of 145 sf/hr.

For my money, I'd go with the Mutoh 1304 (they discontinued making the 1204 a year ago) for the following reasons:

1-you cannot print a full 48" width on the 1204 (close in uni-directional mode but no cigar)
2- you will find it difficult to locate 48" and 50" material to print up to 47.64" You have a much wider choice of material in 54" widths which the 1304 can accomodate.
3- when you factor in an ONSITE warranty cost for the PrismJet PLUS the fact that Mutoh has a promotion right now giving you a FREE second year of warranty, the cost between them is negligible. The free second year would normally cost $2500.00 for a full service contract.
4-with a Mutoh you will get local service from one of their authorized dealers, not some third party company with hired guns.

hello
i have a 1204 i never printed 48' so u are saying it want print 48"?
you are rigth on #2 i was looking for 48" banner had a hard time to find one but finaly signware house had one for me lol
'

 

[Biker Scout]

48" & 50" material easy to find. Also, find out if your local sign supplier has a slitter... I've got two companies that I can deal with that will slit down any 54" material to 50" for me at no charge.

Sometimes, I buy 60" rolls of vinyl and slit to 48" and end up using the 12" quite a bit for the never ending small jobs that used to waste up my materials.

 

[knucklehead]

Thanks for all the Great replies. I've had nothing but good service from SW for the stuff I've gotten from them. The speed isn't such a big deal for me right now, compatable media is. I've seen some 50" in my researching, and any of it can be cut. I'm like trakers, small shop and budget, and this will be a HUGE investment. But I'm thinking with the economy kinda in the dumper right now, these suppliers are sitting on a lot of hardware they need to move, might be just the time to get a really good deal, from SW or any other. Thanks again, Mike

 

[SE SignSupply]

If someone can convince you that you really NEED a 54" printer, they can justify the $18,000 you have to pony up to buy one.

Current 54" valuejet pricing is $14,995 OR LESS from any Mutoh distributor. This includes software (Mutoh Flexi Print SE),take-up and 1 year onsite.

 

[JBarraxSW]

The FlexiPrint SE software that comes with the ValueJet is a reduced content version of PhotoPrint SE, the base level RIP from SAI. It has very few features, no text editing capability and no support for contour cutting.
The PrismJET package which is available for $11,995 includes FlexiSign Pro, SAI's top of the line, design and RIP package.
They're both great products. We just feel ours is a better overall value.

And, if you really feel you need a 54" We have them on sale for $14,995...with FlexiSign Pro.

 

[bob]

I've been printing for some years now and have never, as in ever, in all that time wished I had a printer larger than 48". Sometimes, rarely, I wish I had a cutter larger than 30" but never a larger printer. The vast majority of the printing I do other than banners and art canvas is on 30" media.

The PrismJet/Mutoh Valuejet 1204 has a maximum media width of 51.2", not 48". How they came to that number is a mystery but it does have the charm of giving you 3.2 inches of slack if you're trimming down wider media.

True the maximum print width is 48" only in unidirectional mode and 47.25" in bidirectional mode but even if you're doing a full bleed 48" banner you only need a 47" wide print for a standard 46" finished size.

As far as Sign Warehouse's speed package and this or that setup fee, if you insist they throw all that in for nothing they will. These things don't cost them anything, the speed thing is just firmware and the setup fees are completely gratuitous. Don't take no for an answer, they'll see it your way.

 

[schurms]

Why is it that the only offering for RIP packages are Flexi ? That Rip is over priced and marginal.

 

[kirkbedtelyon]

I've been printing for some years now and have never, as in ever, in all that time wished I had a printer larger than 48".

Wish I could say the same...Many times now I have wished that I would have purchased the larger printer....Just curious, what banner material do you use when printing a 48" banner? I always have to slit mine out of a 54" roll. Sucks. Also - Not many hoods under 48" so one piece hoods are out of the question.

 

[JBarraxSW]

Hi Kirk.
We have both Freedom 13oz and GMI Regal 13oz, and 10oz SuperSmooth banner in 48" finished widths.