Suggestions New Printer/laminator

Do some searches on here but none of those are the best option. Epson S40600 S60600 or S80600 and a Summa or Graphtec are the best combo's right now.

 

If you want a productive printer with extreme high quality, color accuracy and consistency plus reliability and versatility I highly recommand you to go with an Epson SureColor 60600 Print and Cut bundle (Espon SureColor S-Series + Graphtec FC8600 54" vinyl cutter).
You can find it at Grimco and Equipement Zone. They also have good laminators.

https://www.grimco.com/Catalog/Products/EPSONSURECOLORS60600PRINTCUTEDITION
https://www.equipmentzone.com/epson/promotion/

 

Definitely another vote for the Epson S80600 or any printer in that series. We have an HP 370 we are in the process of getting rid of.

 

I'm using the HP 365, Summa T2 160, Onyx Thrive, all very good, I would swop the HP Printer out and get something else, (delamination on dark coloured prints not good) (wax in there inks)

 

What does the dealer in your town sell and service? I know I sound like a broken record, but just like a house is location, location, location. Your printer and cutter is all about service, service, service.
Doesn't matter what you buy they all break/stop working at the worst possible time. Don't put yourself in a black hole of service by trying to save a few bucks.

 

Summa and Graphtec make plotters, not laminators.

Anyway, I suggest the GFP 563TH for a laminator.

 

I didn't say they make laminators or suggest one like you didn't suggest a printer.

Anyway

 

I understand your theory but in real life even if the dealer is next door there can be a wait all depending on schedule and some of these techs are 3rd party contracted. Maybe you have the perfect tech situation but closest doesn't always mean best for everyone.

Epson doesn't operate like Roland Mutoh Mimaki and HP from my understanding, maybe someone has a different experience they can share though. You call the call center and they target to have the machine repaired within 72hrs but execute a tech within 24hrs with having a tech onsite with parts in hand with 48hrs. I can't find any Roland Mutoh Mimaki HP dealer who can give that guarantee not to mention their rules for just replacing the printer completely if they can't fix it on sight asap. A quick search on here will show you how long dealers leave people hanging.

From Epson:
"On-Site Response: If the printer needs hardware repair and you are within Epson’s on-site service territory, an Epson Authorized Servicer will be contacted to make the repair at your facility. Epson will usually dispatch repair parts and a technician to your location for the next business day if determination that repair is required occurs prior to 1 PM, Pacific Time. If that determination is made after 1 PM, dispatch will usually be for the second business day. An adult must be available to accept the parts delivery and be present at all times while a technician is on-site. Epson’s shipment of service parts does not imply that replacement is required."

 

Good information regarding Epson.
Roland was my first printer. If there were issues a tech was usually on site same day. New printer is a Mutoh. So far I've only had one tech call and he was on site within hours. Ink drain tube wasn't quite right and leaked.

Something I always look at after my first printer fiasco is after warranty repair cost. What is the trip charge? Closest Roland tech to me charges $400 just to leave the shop. Then it's $180 per hour. I believe my original Roland dealer went out of business. Not sure.

I'm close enough to the Mutoh dealer there is no trip charge. Tech is $150 per hour with no minimums. Parts if needed are on the shelf. Worst case I can run by the dealer and print my files. Nice perk. It was the same with the Roland.

I suppose we could go round and round on this. Comes down to personal preference and ones tolerance of being down until help arrives.

 

OP asked about Printers and Laminators and you suggested 2 plotter brands, so, yeah, I can read.

 

Eatadicks you can troll all you want, it makes no sense to side step. No one busted your baIIz for recommending a huge 63 inch laminator size when she/he didn’t ask for a size recommendation and may have not needed that size at all. In other words no one cares about splitting hairs. I only offered from my experience with all the models we have used and worked on. Cutters are maybe not the original intent of their post but everyone knows they get pushed heavily by sales people, so I see them as the same even though OP wasn’t asking. Roland’s main landing page is a printer cutter for example. Maybe you are still upset about my RGB thread diversion, who knows. I think the GFP laminators are good, but people need to take into account what their business needs. As an example if they come with a take-up system or not in the price quote they obtain. I have personally seen sales people quote companies for a machine and omit the take-up system isn’t included but show a picture with one attached with fine print stating sold separately. To which buyers don’t realize until the machine is out of the crate at their place of business less the take-up that was shown in the advertising photo.

Anyway

Personally I like the Royal Sovereign for their price point with a take-up… and quality is reasonable. However there are also post on here about others having tracking issues with the older models that I too have had so I think it’s best to use the search function for that avenue. I have used Seal, Royal and GFP laminators for what it’s worth, hopefully you are ok that I mention that or should I start another thread? I have also used Roland Mutoh Mimaki machines as well as buy and sell them in addition to Epson. Hopefully eatadicks that’s ok with you as well….let me know if I am not conforming to what you deem appropriate to post in a sign forum that is here to discuss whatever each member feels appropriate. You can help out by staying in your lane, qwerty warrior.

 

I think you are absolutely right about everything you said and take into consideration. That is a really good scenario when you can run jobs at your dealer on their dime if there is a warranty issue, I have heard of this before and if you can feel like you buy one printer but have a fleet down the road with excellent tech service I would probably go with the Mutoh as well in your case even if it's not the most technically up to date printer, it still prints very good and downtime is extremely critical.

 

Your childish name calling is really funny. I never called you any derogatory names, or slammed you for posting anything. I don't even know who you are. But thanks for showing what a bitter childish person you are.
If the OP would like more insight, they can message me directly and even call to discuss lots of brands and options as I have used many. And I won't even call them childish names!

 

You are right. Stay in your lane. Maybe you are reading what you wrote differently then I am but for me I don't need what appears to be condescending help with my words and I don't need a translator to what the OP said in regards to what I wanted to contribute. I am cool if you want to deem what I say wrong, half wrong or not pertaining to topic altogether....because I am not always right and think we all should learn from each other and just focus on that. Summa makes printers too NOT just plotters if hairs are going to be split about facts.

 

I purchased the Epson S40600 and I was happy with it until the price hike on the inks. Epson increased the price of their GS3 inks for no reason at all, no formula improvement, just price gouging. I suggest going with a printer that has cheaper inks and the option for third party inks. If you decide to go with an Epson, I highly recommmend going through Grimco as the purchase and setup with their team is absolutely seemless.

 

I agree the price increase sucks. Did you ask about the bulk discount ink cart packs through Grimco? Also I believe Epson just brought out a new bulk ink system so maybe they are trying to push a larger divide to get people to buy into the bulk system? IDK. Also they do have 3rd party ink for the machine now on the internet.

Just out of curiosity how many head strikes have you had on your Epson roughly? What other solvent / eco-solvent machines have you used besides the S40600?

 

It looks like we're getting a bit off-topic, but I'l throw my opinion in now also.
I recommend the Epson also, a 40600 if you have low volume (like OP mentioned) or a 60600 if you have a higher volume or anticipate it. The speed is awesome, and color and consistency are also excellent.
We are 3M MCP certified so we use the 3M/Epson MCP Inks, and they sure aren't cheap, but there is also the "Epson Rewards" points that goes along with their inks. We purchase enough inks to get free Silver Level service plans; 2 free visits / print heads per year. Epson dispatches their techs for next day service and all parts are over-nighted to your facility. Their warranted service is great.

I also would recommend the GFP laminators, we have a couple 563th models here and use them all day every day. We also mount substrates with them. Never had any issues besides eventually the core holders on the older models wear out from use.

 

Here are some facts:
If you are looking for SPEED, HP Latex will win because there is no OUTGASSING. It doesn't matter what anyone in here tells you, you still have to wait multiple hours with any other machine before you can laminate and install.

Everything else is up for debate. I think the reliability of Latex crushes everything else, I think for best color output you should look at the Oki Colorpainters. The Latex is the #1,2, and #4 printer in the ENTIRE industry, all the others make up #3 COMBINED. HP has a ton of tech support available. I sell them all and I have a branch in SLC if you would like to have an expert available to you just call me. 714-878-7989

 

I have checked out the bulk ink but I'm still very disappointed in Epson for hiking the price $15 per cartridge after just purchasing this printer a few months ago. I don't trust a company that hikes prices when they actually haven't changed the formula and when they are making a ton of money on the inks to begin with. I will for sure switch to 3rd party inks after my warranty is up. Is it the InkTec ink that you're referring to?

I've worked with Roland, Mimaki, and the Gerber Jetster many years ago. The Jetster was just a massive paper weight of a lemon - the printer failed weeks after it was purchased and Gerber did nothing to back up their product so I haven't purchased anything from Gerber since then. I run an old Gerber Edge 2 with SAI software because I refuse to give Gerber any money.

I get a decent amount of head strikes considering this is a new machine. Any time I print full color I can expect head strikes.

Thanks for reaching out!