Oce 360/550

both excellent entry-mid level flatbeds.
I operated one of the first Arizona 350 gt's for 4 years. Went down maybe twice, tech guy flew out the next day and had it fix'd.

You are paying for the name brand though. Their Service is next to none.

 

We have a 250 GT that is a work horse, and my service tech is the best around!

 

We recently went to Chicago to look at the 360 & 550. The 360 produces some amazing images but it's pretty slow. The 550 is faster but can have some challenges with banding due to the two rows of print heads trying to line up. It can be done but I've heard it can be tricky keeping it in alignment. Even if you print on the 360 at one of it's higher quality modes (161sqft/hr), you can print up to 5 boards/hr so you won't have any trouble printing your project in 5 days (assuming no interruptions). If you can print at a quicker profile, no problem at all. For what it's worth, we went with the FB700 over the Oce machines. We needed faster production and better ink adhesion. If/when we buy a second flatbed, we will probably buy a 360 for the quality.

 

We operate a 550 XT (double bed) and it runs fast. The quality is second to none too. They recently updated and supplied a number of 'screenprint' modes that use a crosshatch but still look really good.

Their service here in the UK is excellent too, usuall getting a technician to you by the next day.

I can't give you an accurate read but I think we average about 4/5 minutes per sheet of 8x4 and,with the double bed shuttling back and forth, there's no set-up time. Even faster with the 'express' and 'production' modes. 'Express' is ridiculously fast but produces a lawnmower effect where the different head directions are visible.

I'd highly recommend them but if service to our area is slow or crappy then think hard on it because when it goes down, it goes down hard and will need a tech, it's never an over the phone issue.

 

Oce 550 / Acuity Advance HS

Below is a copy of post I just made on a different thread.
Very happy we could get the increased speed of the 550 over the 360. We already run the machine at least 8 hours a day and have only had the machine for 4-5 months - with a 360 we'd have to run 2 shifts to keep up. Prior to this purchase we did not have a flatbed. Well worth the extra $, if you can afford the double-bank of heads.

We have had an acuity advance HS (Same as Oce 550) for about 5 months and have found the machine to be reliable with fantastic image quality. I am very happy with the printer and highly recommend it. In production mode it does about 10 beds per hour. White can be a bit pesky, with frequent nozzle outs that require cleaning. We also have a mysterious coolant level issue that hasn't been resolved yet. Fuji service here is Winnipeg, Canada is fantastic.

The roll option is also very good, but requires close attention to the media advance correction settings to avoid banding. Tracking is great, we can run 50 yd banner rolls unattended without any problems. Wish it was 96" instead of 86" wide.

Here are some random thoughts & comments

We haven't had many banding issues, except with white.
Never had a need to use adhesion promotor.
Great wide ink gamut.
Printing white ink is pretty slow.
The vacuum hold down is pretty weak. This could use some improvements.
Required daily maintenance is easy and quick.
Uses about 1.5 L ink per month in waste ink for cleaning.
Anti-static bar works. Never had a static issue.
The latest version of colorgate RIP was pretty buggy when first installed. Our software support fixed it, by using a slightly older software build.
Getting replacement parts from Fuji is pretty slow because they source them through Holland (even though the factory is in Vancouver, Canada). I have heard that if you buy the Oce machine the parts delivery scenario is better, but at our location there are no local service reps, which is why we went with Fuji.