Mutoh XPJ661UF - ADA sign printing

[Zendavor Signs]

We currently have a Vision engraver that we make ADA signs from. It works OK, but is labor intensive. It also requires a higher level skill than printing (we have a large flatbed printer). We don't have huge volume, but when we get a larger ADA sign job, it can really bog us down. Anyone switch from engraving ADA signs to this machine? Thoughts?

 

[SignGod]

We currently have a Vision engraver that we make ADA signs from. It works OK, but is labor intensive. It also requires a higher level skill than printing (we have a large flatbed printer). We don't have huge volume, but when we get a larger ADA sign job, it can really bog us down. Anyone switch from engraving ADA signs to this machine? Thoughts?

Man you are using old technology, you need to take a look at the new Quill Touch Braille printer that snaps right on the front of your engraver.

Quill ADA Resin Braille Printer

www.quillada.com

 

[InnoJet_cs]

The printing ADA world is wrapped around one company: Direct Color Systems. They have the patents for digital and UV braille printing and have sold the rights to Mutoh/Mimaki. The downside is that both M&M machines are not fast or capable of production (yet), so you still have to deal with DCS. I'd look around your area and see if you can acquire a used DCS machine or find someone in your area with one. Printing Braille and dealing with the CX afterward is not for the light of heart.

 

[SignGod]

This Quill braille printer attachment is new. It has three patterns on it, and is the fastest cheapest way to produce braille than any other machine out there. you need to check this out before you go buying a DCS machine. It also comes with a 30 day moneyback guarantee

Quill ADA Resin Braille Printer

www.quillada.com

 

[Zendavor Signs]

The printing ADA world is wrapped around one company: Direct Color Systems. They have the patents for digital and UV braille printing and have sold the rights to Mutoh/Mimaki. The downside is that both M&M machines are not fast or capable of production (yet), so you still have to deal with DCS. I'd look around your area and see if you can acquire a used DCS machine or find someone in your area with one. Printing Braille and dealing with the CX afterward is not for the light of heart.

I'm not trying to pump out 100 signs a day. The Mutoh machine will be plenty fast for us production-wise, from what I can tell. I am asking for user experience of this machine. Pros & cons of switching to printing vs engraver cut ADA signs. Can you expand on your last sentence? I don't know what "CX" means.

 

[InnoJet_cs]

I'm not trying to pump out 100 signs a day. The Mutoh machine will be plenty fast for us production-wise, from what I can tell. I am asking for user experience of this machine. Pros & cons of switching to printing vs engraver cut ADA signs. Can you expand on your last sentence? I don't know what "CX" means.

CX - Customer Experience.

Engraving is slow and labor-intensive. The occasional "bead" pops out, and replacement is expected.

Digital printing is becoming more called for due to its quick turnaround and cheaper process than ThermoForm or bead punching. The downsides are adhesion to the material, machine maintenance, and operational savvy.

As stated, I'd look for someone in your area who can print ADA. Talk with them about their experiences and determine if a complete machine that can print ADA, plus everything else, is a good solution for you.

Most individuals who install an ADA machine in their facility start with one or two signs, but with good marketing, an apartment complex, hospital, or school changes their attitude about printing ADA signs.

 

[ikarasu]

We currently have a Vision engraver that we make ADA signs from. It works OK, but is labor intensive. It also requires a higher level skill than printing (we have a large flatbed printer). We don't have huge volume, but when we get a larger ADA sign job, it can really bog us down. Anyone switch from engraving ADA signs to this machine? Thoughts?

As someone who does braille with a UV system... Braille is slow. The printers do 1 layer at a time, so to get the beads the right size it's doing dozens of passes. If just doing braille it's not too badmmm but adding tactile can make the signs take hours.

IMO, a vision engraver is faster than a flatbed. Our local wholesaler has a 4x8 that does braille... He'll load all the signs and print them overnight because it can take 10+ hours.


The quill printer is interesting, I've seen a few videos of it and thought about getting one for my CNC. Its a bit too new though, hard to tell the longevity of it compared to other technologies.

 

[Zendavor Signs]

Ikarusu - what machines are you referring to? The XPJ661UF was really made for ADA sign printing, whereas 4x8 flatbed printers are typically not. I believe it is 30 minutes to print an 18x22 size bed. Not lightning fast, but this is an entry level unit for like $30k. The Vision isn't exactly lightning fast either, and there is lots of clean up afterwards.....and then a separate process for doing the Braille. There is just so much labor with the Vision.

 

[SignGod]

We have been using the Quill in the field now for seven years and the durability is superb even in Arizona’s outdoor environment. The Quill is new to the public, but has been in development for well over seven years I know because I’m the developer.

 

[CanuckSigns]

I've been using the Quill system for about 8 months now, I'm pretty sure I'm the first customer in Canada!
We used to use the Raster system for years, and while it works, its slow and labour intensive, we always found that you would need to drill the holes twice, because if any little spec of drilled material got under the engraver nose cone, the hole wouldn't be the correct depth, and all it takes is 1 bead not fitting properly to make the whole sign garbage. Our other issue with the raster system is that my staff HATED inserting the beads, they complained that their wrists and forearms would hurt after a few hours, as a result, braille jobs would sit for far too long until either I did the braille, or forced my staff to do it.

With the quill system, the machine drops a small bead of UV gel resin, which you hit with a UV flashlight for 3 seconds to cure, once it's cured it sticks like crazy to acrylic. and if there is a mistake, just wipe the dots off before you cure them and try again. We had an order for 300 stairwell signs to do about 2 months ago, each sign had "Stairwell X Level X" in braille, with the raster system it would take about 3 days to drill and insert the beads, plus I would need to hear about everyone's aches and pains, with the quill, we were able to complete the braille in just over 1 day.

There have been a few small hiccups along the way, but Jack, the owner has been extremely responsive, he gave me his Cell number and picks up every time I call, he also makes sure if there are issues that cause me to not get full yield out of the resin cartridges, I get replacement ones shipped out.

The quill system has increased our braille production 5x-10x, I can't imagine ever going back to the raster method at this point.

 

[InnoJet_cs]

Ikarusu - what machines are you referring to? The XPJ661UF was really made for ADA sign printing, whereas 4x8 flatbed printers are typically not. I believe it is 30 minutes to print an 18x22 size bed. Not lightning fast, but this is an entry level unit for like $30k. The Vision isn't exactly lightning fast either, and there is lots of clean up afterwards.....and then a separate process for doing the Braille. There is just so much labor with the Vision.

Printing UV braille will always win over labor. Reprints are fast vs. is that guy sick again?
On a DCS UV-84 G2 4x8, A full bed of CA-compliant tactile and braille will take about 1.75-2 hours. Since they have the Patients, their machines are about 4x-5x faster than the non-patient machines/software.

SignGod, I would love to see four Quills loaded on a CNC machine, working in unison, and fed by a robot arm from a 4x4 UV printer.

 

[Zendavor Signs]

I've been using the Quill system for about 8 months now, I'm pretty sure I'm the first customer in Canada!
We used to use the Raster system for years, and while it works, its slow and labour intensive, we always found that you would need to drill the holes twice, because if any little spec of drilled material got under the engraver nose cone, the hole wouldn't be the correct depth, and all it takes is 1 bead not fitting properly to make the whole sign garbage. Our other issue with the raster system is that my staff HATED inserting the beads, they complained that their wrists and forearms would hurt after a few hours, as a result, braille jobs would sit for far too long until either I did the braille, or forced my staff to do it.

With the quill system, the machine drops a small bead of UV gel resin, which you hit with a UV flashlight for 3 seconds to cure, once it's cured it sticks like crazy to acrylic. and if there is a mistake, just wipe the dots off before you cure them and try again. We had an order for 300 stairwell signs to do about 2 months ago, each sign had "Stairwell X Level X" in braille, with the raster system it would take about 3 days to drill and insert the beads, plus I would need to hear about everyone's aches and pains, with the quill, we were able to complete the braille in just over 1 day.

There have been a few small hiccups along the way, but Jack, the owner has been extremely responsive, he gave me his Cell number and picks up every time I call, he also makes sure if there are issues that cause me to not get full yield out of the resin cartridges, I get replacement ones shipped out.

The quill system has increased our braille production 5x-10x, I can't imagine ever going back to the raster method at this point.

Are you inserting the beads by hand? We have a tool on our Vision that puts the beads in automatically. Honestly, the applique is more of a pain than the Braille.

 

[CanuckSigns]

Are you inserting the beads by hand? We have a tool on our Vision that puts the beads in automatically. Honestly, the applique is more of a pain than the Braille.

We were inserting beads by hand, you are the first person I've heard of that has not had issues with the auto inserter either jamming or not quite aligning with every hole and not working 100% plus since we always had to drill the holes 2x, I'm not sure how the auto inserter would fit into that workflow.