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Need help choosing equipment

J

Justinglinn

New Member
I am looking at two print/cut machines. Mimaki 54inch and a Roland 54inch. The ink deal looks great on the Mimaki and I am leaning that way. But Versaworks looks much better than the Mimaki RIP.

Another route is a separate printer and cutter but that is I bit more expensive.

Finally i I will not be able to afford a laminator at first. But I am told I can live without one at first. All thoughts are welcome. i am on a budget of $16K

FIY Both printer/cutters I have found new in my budget.
 
F

fresh

New Member
I have a Mimaki CJV30-130 and I love it. If I were going to do it again, I would NOT have gotten the print and cut. Its pretty useless since your likely to laminate most everything before cutting it anyway.

Since we already had a 54" graphtec plotter, the $$ we would have saved on not getting the cut function would have been better served on a laminator.

Additionally, I think that all the printers are equal in reliability and quality. I would make sure you buy from someone who can give you good support. I wish I had looked at Mutohs, because I think they are little less expensive than mimaki/roland (but maybe i'm wrong, who knows!)
 
B

BALLPARK

New Member
If you have 16k....

Purchase a used Roland XC-540 and a US Tech Pro C 65" laminator.

The Roland XC-540 is a workhorse printer!!! Try to purchase one that has the dryer/blower/fan as it will help a little bit with drying the prints. All in all... this is one of the better printers on the market when priced out in the 12k - 20k range (used). It sells for 32k new.

I just purchased a US Tech Pro C laminator and very happy with it to this point. I have only had it a few days, but no issues on the unit to this point. I had to tweak the alignment on the roller height, but once they were even the machine has had no issues doing long prints.

Versaworks is awesome and easy to add new profiles. If you purchase this unit and ever need any help send me a PM. I will be looking to purchase another XC-540 early next year. I will not purchase the new XR or XF units until some time has passed and the price drops down on some units in good condition.

I think Roland's are one of the best printer manufactures in the world. I have had plenty of experience using the SP-540, VP-540 and XC-540. I have seen the XR units in action and they are very impressive.

I will also say this... The XC-540 can print 1440 x 1440 dpi and some of the other units cannot do this. While this is not a feature that is needed often it is great to have when you need to print art reproductions.

Good luck with your hunt... If you buy an XC-540 in good condition you will not regret it!!!!
 
bob

bob

It's better to have two hands than one glove.
If you want to cut, buy a cutter. If you want to print, buy a printer. There exists a non-zero probability then one machine that does both doesn't do either as well as two single purpose machines.

If you're laminating you have to unload the media from your printer, laminate it, then load it back again. Easier with two machines.

As for a laminator, somehow I've managed to live a long and checkered life without ever owning one. Too late to start now. I somehow muddle through with liquid laminate and a Big Squeegee.

Liquid laminate properly applied is every bit as effective as vinyl laminate. The biggest difference is that vinyl laminate is thicker. If this is what gets you off, by all means spring for a laminator.
 
J

Justinglinn

New Member
Thanks so far...

I appreciate the information so far. I am going to an open house at tubelite in Charlotte, NC this Thursday to check on some demo units. Hopefully I can solidify my decisions there.

How much truth is there to the durability of both the Mimaki and Roland prints? They say up to 3 years without a laminate. Can you really get away without laminate assuming they aren't vehicle graphics?
 
J

Justinglinn

New Member
Yes...Mimaki 54 inch Printer/Cutter

The deal was just too good. Tons of ink, take up reel, great price and it has already been delivered. I put the stand together yesterday but Tubelite wants to finish the install for warranty and training reasons. I am still waiting on my new PC for the rip.

I still need a laminator but I cannot afford one as of yet. Hopefully I will be able to soon.
 
L

Laz0924

New Member
Mimaki cjv30-130

I did the same thing got mine delivered and setup Dec 6 price was unbelievable compared to others, as for the laminator I ordered a big squeegee.
Unfortunately Rasterlink only has 5 profiles with ecosolvent ink, maybe I should have gone with solvent anyway so far seems to hit the colors fine.
Joe
 
BigfishDM

BigfishDM

Merchant Member
There might be much better choices then those machines but it really depends on what applications you want to target, what markets are trying to serve?
 
BigfishDM

BigfishDM

Merchant Member
Justinglinn said:
The deal was just too good. Tons of ink, take up reel, great price and it has already been delivered. I put the stand together yesterday but Tubelite wants to finish the install for warranty and training reasons. I am still waiting on my new PC for the rip.

I still need a laminator but I cannot afford one as of yet. Hopefully I will be able to soon.
Click to expand...


Nevermind the above post lol I missed this message
 
Biker Scout

Biker Scout

New Member
Yeah, I know I was going to post something here to save them thousands, but I see they already bought their printer and this thread is months old.
 
Biker Scout

Biker Scout

New Member
As soon as mine arrives (in about a week) and I have it set-up and put through the paces, I'll be posting a complete breakdown of what I bought, how I got it and why.
 
3

31legen

New Member
interested?

Biker Scout said:
As soon as mine arrives (in about a week) and I have it set-up and put through the paces, I'll be posting a complete breakdown of what I bought, how I got it and why.
Click to expand...

Im very interested to hear what you have to offer. Im going to be pulling the trigger soon.
 
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