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need some advice please

johnny_loves_amy

johnny_loves_amy

New Member
I have a chance to buy an older 30" printer/plotter from a buddy of mine. It is an older roland that has a thermal ink ribbon. Does anyone have any experience with these, and if so would $900.00 be a good deal? I know it is a dinosaur, but I know how well Roland makes their machines. I would use it mainly for printing if I got it. Is it feesable with todays technology, that a 600 d.p.i printer would be enough. I dont currently have a printer for outdoor stuff and need one badly. Any input would be GREATLY appreciated.. Thanks, Johnny
 
Pat Whatley

Pat Whatley

New Member
johnny_loves_amy said:
I have a chance to buy an older 30" printer/plotter from a buddy of mine.
Click to expand...

I'm calling bullshit on this one. If he was really your buddy he wouldn't be trying to sell you that damn ColorCamm boat anchor. There's a reason you rarely hear about anyone using one, the print heads were notorious for getting damages. I'm sure somebody is going to chime in about how much use they get from theirs but THOUSANDS of other people will tell you how much they sucked.

Ours spent more time in California being repaired than it did in our shop. We spent $800 on a new printhead once THAT WENT BAD WITHIN THE FIRST SQUARE FOOT OF PRINTING! The 1/2" ribbons were always a problem, too. It was painfully slow when the printer did work...and made one painfully slow plotter when we gave up on the printer part.

Sub out your printing until you can buy a real machine.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Regardless if it's a PC-60 or 600... if it prints without banding and cuts accurately.... $900 sounds like a very good price.

It will be expensive to print with, but compared to what ?? If you're not printing at all now.... how can you go wrong ??


Honestly, I had several of those machines and we did just fine by them. Got newer technology and sold them off, only to find out there are a few things these modern printers today can't do that those 'Boat Anchors' can do.... so I wouldn't hesitate to buy one with a good printing head.
 
BobM

BobM

New Member
Don't tell Pat, but I have a PC 60 that works just fine. Yes it does have an new $800 print head (The old one had 5,586 hours on it) but it does the quick little jobs for me. Anything large I sub out to Dennis at D&T Graphics.
 
johnny_loves_amy

johnny_loves_amy

New Member
BobM said:
Don't tell Pat, but I have a PC 60 that works just fine. Yes it does have an new $800 print head (The old one had 5,586 hours on it) but it does the quick little jobs for me. Anything large I sub out to Dennis at D&T Graphics.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the great input guys, it's like the devil and the angel on my shoulders. Maybe this round the angel is going to win.. I think I am going to get it. I guess there is worse ways to spend $900.00 huh? Who knows, maybe one day soon it'll be a collectors item...lol
 
W

woolly

New Member
i am with bobm love mine, about 11 years old, but you have to have a use for small stuff, it still adds to the co profit each month.
i have solvent and laser printers but the pc60 does what they cant.
do not try to use it for pictures etc. small spot colour stuff is where its at.

woolly
 
Craig Sjoquist

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
has a old roland 1996 pnc5000 color cam ...

only way to work it with XP it seems is keep turning the computer on and off... no printing just cutting ... to me it's a boat anchor

newer printing cost these days is way way low ....compared to older versions
thats what competing agaist

so any used print machine now is outdated

now your learning curve comes to mind

best to design then have someone print you install til you can buy new
 
towerlanelettering

towerlanelettering

New Member
I just bought a PC-600 used for $1800 shipped, works great so far! All I had was a 24" cutter and want to just get my feet wet in printing. I work a full time job and will be doing stickers and vehicle lettering on the side. I feel this machine will do the small stuff just right. $900 would be a good price for your first printer/cutter, better than what you got and better than buying a $20,000 machine and find out you can't get enough work to pay for it. Just a very early beginner's thoughts.
 
GARY CULY

GARY CULY

New Member
you could take that 900.00 and make 2 payments on a BRAND NEW roland[or other type]..that IS modern day technology...people can help you online ,have a techman show you how to run it.have a FACTORY WARRANTY.and have something that will last for years .....but better go buy a machine that costs a lot to run ,out of date ,no warranty ,no factory tech man and probly not have excces to parts before long ....yea angel wins huh?
 
Rick

Rick

Certified Enneadecagon Designer
I would not sell a ColorCamm to my ex-wife... okay I would but not in a good way.

I worked for a "consultant" that pushed the ColorCamm machine on people in articles and seminars. We also had an Edge, you find out real fast why that thing is being sold so cheap when you compare the 2. I remember a phone call where a person purchased the machine based on his recommendation and she printed a huge graphic and applied it to a trailer. Early fading within days and could not get it to stop fading or banding on large prints, his comment to her was "up to 3 years"... which means minutes after it comes off the printer to 3 years. Fufeehead! He or some Roland guy waere always messing with the thing.

The later models like the one you are looking at work a little better but still have enough issues that your 900 bucks might be better served sitting in a saving account till you can afford something that will give you a better return in your investment.
 
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Techman

Techman

New Member
You will be sorry... You will be sorry.

The ones that made money with one was long ago and when no one else had a printer. Today every one has a printer and selling their work for pennies. Your work will cost you more in materials alone that what some are selling their prints...
 
weaselboogie

weaselboogie

New Member
Use it for a cutter only. They work great as cutter only. Do you want to spend $900 for another cutter? We had one and had to send it to get repaired 3 times.

However I know someone who has had one for about a decade and has never had to repair the head.... BUT, he cleans the print head and sprays down the vinyl and wipes with alcohol before every print.
 
Sign Works

Sign Works

New Member
Johnny, contrary to popular belief the ColorCamm printers can be run successfully & profitably. My personal experience along with the actual prints off my PC-600 discredit all of these negative comments being made, especially from those that have never even owned the equipement themselves, that's merely heresay. There is more to the successful operation of a ColorCamm printer than buying a printer and clicking on the print button, just like there is more to successful computer graphic design than simply buying a computer and graphic design software.
 
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