New mid volume printer choices.

[Adam Bennett]

Hopefully Randy will chime in with some real numbers

 

[Dice]

Every print from a Mutoh I've seen looks muted and dull at trade shows. Our Mimaki puts them to shame.

We are in the same boat as well. Looking for something faster. I have my eye on the Seiko h-74s

100 SMPH, if that is true.

 

[randya]

Make sure you're comparing apples to apples. Mutoh doesn't list speed per mode, just an "up to" speed. I guarantee you won't be printing 720x720 at 480sf/hr!

From Epson's Spec Sheet

Print Engine SpeedsA

1440 x 1440 dpi, 16-pass32 SFPH
1440 x 720 dpi, 8-pass71 SFPH
720 x 720 dpi, 8-pass91 SFPH
540 x 720 dpi, 6-pass122 SFPH
720 x 720 dpi, 4-pass180 SFPH
720 x 360 dpi, 2-pass340 SFPH

Here is the speed chart per mode for the VJ-1618

http://www.mutoh.com/pdf/ValueJet/VJ-1618 Speed Chart.pdf

And BTW we build the Epson GS6000 and all of Epson's large format printers.
As well as large format printers for Xerox, Oce', Fuji and others.

 

[randya]

Every print from a Mutoh I've seen looks muted and dull at trade shows. Our Mimaki puts them to shame.

We are in the same boat as well. Looking for something faster. I have my eye on the Seiko h-74s

100 SMPH, if that is true.

We use the same Epson eco ink that Roland and Mimaki use.

Do you think these look 'muted'?

http://www.360wraps.com/360_Wraps_Dallas_Texas_Vehicle_Wraps/Vehicle_Wrap_Portfolio.html

 

[Bly]

The Roland has to be the fastest for the buck, and why change hardware?

Then you gota run another rip in most cases and learn how to run a entirely different piece of equipment and believe me they all are different in the way they do things.

Chris is the V64 running a variable dot head or fixed at 100" ?

When most company's add equipment of course you take into account the price, but you really should be focusing more on production and through-put. If you are a Roland user then in my dealings with production print shops that run roland when they go to another brand it is a bit more difficult especially when you got that big job and you end up running 1 job on 2 different types of printers.

I CALL THAT HEADACHE CITY ..... You gotta live by the K.I.S.S. theory

You're making sense although I already run a few different printers and can just plug another one into Onyx.
So the new Rolands with IPC run quicker with no banding than the old Soljet II's?
It's starting to look like to get real performance you need to go up a category to the Seiko H74S/H100S.

 

[digitalsolutionsok]

In your case you already run a multi-printer shop with a good rip so you can go in any direction. RIPC is cool, I would say pass control on all solvent printers is somewhat different, but has gotten better than in the past (obviously) b/c if you had enough money then you would just end all the mess and get the HPScitex ....

 

[Bly]

I think I just need to go out and kick some tyres now.
Cheaper ink would be handy and is a factor.

 

[Driving Force]

I have a seiko colorpainter and a mimaki JV5. I would go with the mimaki if your looking for speed along with quality. That thing kicks some serious but when it comes to speed even in a fine print quality. They arent overly expensive either, and we have very little issues.

 

[Bly]

After seeing all the offerings at the print show in Sydney on the weekend I've decided to get a Roland XJ-740. Matches my 745-EX so I will only need to stock one type of ink and am up to speed with their workflow. Same width too. I got a real good price on a demo unit.

I liked the Colorpainter but not the fact there is only one distributor in town so am at their mercy with ink pricing and service. Seems like a really short warranty period too.

The new HP 60" latex printer was there. Interesting but I'm wary of new technologies.

 

[astro8]

I liked the Colorpainter but not the fact there is only one distributor in town so am at their mercy with ink pricing and service.

I know who your talking about and I don't blame you..you need to have a built in escape plan like 3 or 4 different suppliers of the same product or service...or your screwed.

You made the right choice anyway...if there's one thing I've learnt it's to keep your workflow, learning curves and consumable needs as simple as possible.

 

[Bly]

Amen brother. I like to reward poor service with a nice lonnnnng boycott.
That's a bit hard to do when there's nobody else to turn to.

Roland dealers are everywhere and ink pricing is competitive.