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NEWBIE - Any BN-20 owners out there? Need advice

MakeMyGraphic

MakeMyGraphic

New Member
ok so I really want to get a BN-20 I saw how nice they print out however... I had a few questions since I am not insanely busy yet ( I am crazy busy but not insanely busy lol) so I can't justify the purchase unless I first get answers to my questions and concerns.

1. How well does the ink keep before it dries out Once it's been installed or opened for someone who might be using it maybe 2-3 times a week for an hour or so each time?
2. Does the printer have a STOP feature so that when it runs out of a certain color it will pause the job and resume it only after the cart has been topped off? ( I would hate to mess up a print due to running out of Cyan or yellow mid print )
3. How often must you purge the print heads or is there a maintenance protocol I am to follow to keep the print heads healthy and free from blockages? Does this process waste a lot of ink?
4. How well do the prints last without lamination in direct sunlight vs with lamination? (average time frames maybe?)
5. Can the machine take in material smaller than it's 20" capacity? or am I stuck purchasing only 20" rolls?

and finally

Does anyone offer a crash course for this BN-20 since this would technically be my first ink printer (I have thermal printers right now)

thanks guys!
 
mopar691

mopar691

New Member
Remember this only prints 10 sq ft a hour. So if your only crazy busy but anticipate being insanely busy is that going to keep up? If you run it 3 hours a week like you suggest it will take you almost 2 months to print 50 yrds of material.

All prints will need to be laminated prior to installation.

I would suggest getting a 30" printer, Much much faster, more refined and able to accept more jobs because of the size.
 
M

myersvinyldesigns

New Member
I too am a newbie but bought a BN-20 several weeks ago from Imprintables.com. They had it for a competitive price when compared to my local dealers. I got an extra ink set along with vinyl from them.

My learning curve was basically vertical because I had only ever used a vinyl cutter before. That being said, There is a video online of how to setup the printer. Watch that video and follow it step by step. The longest part or setup is the initial running through of the cleaning solution prior to being able to actually install the ink.

I have quickly learned and have so far done custom motor decals for two boats, full custom decals for one boat (TX Numbers, Boat Logos, etc...) I have also gotten the business of a boat manufacturer, and a fishing rod maker that makes custom rods for customers and puts their logo on them.

All of this business just because I bought this printer and put myself out there. I am laminating everything that goes out, just because it seems to be the best practice. I am using cold lamination with a Big Squeegee. I used CONVEX 6mil matte for the boats and motors with 8mil overlaminate and printed, laminated, and cut it with the BN20.

It has a draft mode (1440x720) that allows you to speed up the job, at a negligable loss in print quality.

I do not know how long prints last but it should be the same as bigger roland machines.

I heard a lot of buy a 30" machine, you will regret it, etc... I want to pay for this one, then I will know I have enough business to purchase and pay for a 30".

For the small decals, bumper stickers, t-shirt transfers that I do, This works well, and for larger stuff I intend to use the great resources available on this website to outsource until I can/need to purchase the larger machine.

Just my $.02
 
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Mike_Koval

New Member
First...these are great units for low volume applications for decals, heat transfers and small POP displays. If you anticipate running this everyday all day, you will want to consider at least a 30" model for sure.

1. The ink keeps very well in these units without use. It kicks itself on after being idel to run a small clean to keep ink from becoming stagnant in the print head.

2. Yes

3. Auto cleans do not use alot of ink. I would say 1 a week you should do a manual clean of the head and capping station to keep it up to optimal running conditions.

4. Inks a up to three years without lamination. If using metallic ink, it is a must to laminate them.

5. yes.

We offer extensive training upon install and also offer 2 day training courses in Albany, NY. We also have onsite technicians and knowledgeable sales reps and CSR's to assist over the phone as well.

Please feel free to contact me directly with further questions.
 
dcurtisroland

dcurtisroland

New Member
mopar691 said:
Remember this only prints 10 sq ft a hour. So if your only crazy busy but anticipate being insanely busy is that going to keep up? If you run it 3 hours a week like you suggest it will take you almost 2 months to print 50 yrds of material.

All prints will need to be laminated prior to installation.

I would suggest getting a 30" printer, Much much faster, more refined and able to accept more jobs because of the size.
Click to expand...

With all due respect to mopar,
I'm not sure where this spec keeps coming from. There is nothing published anywhere from Roland that says BN-20 only prints 10 sq ft per hour. There is a CMYK print mode that prints 720x720 that is much faster than that. There's also a BN-20 setup video on youtube:

http://youtu.be/T0_xVLUhahQ?hd=1

As for media, 20" is the widest but there are a number of smaller sizes that can be printed and Roland alone carries 8 different media in 20" wide.

-Dana
 
CS-SignSupply-TT

CS-SignSupply-TT

New Member
BN-20 sale, installation, and service

myersvinyldesigns said:
I too am a newbie but bought a BN-20 several weeks ago from Imprintables.com. They had it for $7495 with 2 years of warranty. I got an extra ink set along with vinyl from them.

My learning curve was basically vertical because I had only ever used a vinyl cutter before. That being said, There is a video online of how to setup the printer. Watch that video and follow it step by step. The longest part or setup is the initial running through of the cleaning solution prior to being able to actually install the ink.

I have quickly learned and have so far done custom motor decals for two boats, full custom decals for one boat (TX Numbers, Boat Logos, etc...) I have also gotten the business of a boat manufacturer, and a fishing rod maker that makes custom rods for customers and puts their logo on them.

All of this business just because I bought this printer and put myself out there. I am laminating everything that goes out, just because it seems to be the best practice. I am using cold lamination with a Big Squeegee. I used CONVEX 6mil matte for the boats and motors with 8mil overlaminate and printed, laminated, and cut it with the BN20.

It has a draft mode (1440x720) that allows you to speed up the job, at a negligable loss in print quality.

I do not know how long prints last but it should be the same as bigger roland machines.

I heard a lot of buy a 30" machine, you will regret it, etc... I want to pay for this one, then I will know I have enough business to purchase and pay for a 30".

For the small decals, bumper stickers, t-shirt transfers that I do, This works well, and for larger stuff I intend to use the great resources available on this website to outsource until I can/need to purchase the larger machine.

Just my $.02
Click to expand...

I am curious. For $7495 you received two (2) sets of five 220ml cartridges, shipping, and on-site installation and training from your Roland dealer?
 
M

myersvinyldesigns

New Member
I said I also got an extra set of ink and material from them meaning that I bought them from the same vendor. I should have also said that I got the extra ink, two rolls of 20" x 50ft white printable, two rolls of 20" x 50 ft clear printable, Transfer tape etc..

I did not need nor want a ROLAND tech to set it up. This thing is dead simple. All you do is watch the video and it will walk you right through it. Takes about 2 hours with all cleaning and everything but it is DEAD SIMPLE.
 
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J

jaycrowe

New Member
They gave you an extra year of warranty included in the price of the unit? BN-20's only come with one year.

Not to knock any company just wondering when it comes time to use the warranty do you send your unit back or have the guy who you didnt buy the unit from do the repair?
 
M

Mike_Koval

New Member
Should it need service, it will be serviced by one of our certified Roland technicians as any other warranty service call would be handled.
 
M

myersvinyldesigns

New Member
I seem to have put an Evinrude in the septic tank here... I apologize to the original poster for causing this hijack. I just hate to see people bash what is obviously a capable machine.

If you are already a big sign shop and getting into digital or already have other digital printers, then no this is not the primary machine for you. However if getting in and wanting to start small without a giant investment, then the BN-20 is a great machine.

I will continue to use my BN-20 until I have need for a larger machine and will upgrade at that time. Thank you
 
MakeMyGraphic

MakeMyGraphic

New Member
Thanks guys this is all very insightful :) I learned a lot from that set up video posted here, now I have to think of how to lay out my home print shop to accomodate yet another plotter (while on my learning curve that is)
 
mopar691

mopar691

New Member
dcurtisroland said:
With all due respect to mopar,
I'm not sure where this spec keeps coming from. There is nothing published anywhere from Roland that says BN-20 only prints 10 sq ft per hour. There is a CMYK print mode that prints 720x720 that is much faster than that. There's also a BN-20 setup video on youtube:

http://youtu.be/T0_xVLUhahQ?hd=1

As for media, 20" is the widest but there are a number of smaller sizes that can be printed and Roland alone carries 8 different media in 20" wide.

-Dana
Click to expand...

I was unaware of a 720 x 720 mode on these. Is this new or recently? When I looked at one of these for mobile production that was the best speed I was told by the rep that it would print. I never looked into it any farther than that and stuck it out with my current setup. If this is wrong or has changed I was unaware and need to re investigate this possibility.
 
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