On the fence : Mimaki CJV30-60 or Roland VersaCAMM SP-300i

[pixelfairy]

Hi all,

I know this two models has been compared quite alot. But i want to know which is better for the kind of work i do.
Let me explain what I am doing for my creative art deco business, maybe it will be easier to advice me on which printer+cutter i should invest in. I'm more of a visual kind of person, so please bear with my technical incapabilities as a newbie.

I want to let the machine handle the printing and cutting autopilot, without me having to do any more steps in between.
The more automated and easy it is from start to finish, the better the printer+cutter it is in my humble opinion.
I don't care for the speed, accuracy and ease of alignment is most important.
Super accuracy in cut so lesser wastage of material and ink is also a plus.

I just want to devote more time in the creative side than the technical printing side. Less headaches on maintenance is always a good thing. Definitely need good after sales support, servicing and warranty from the company which i can rely on.
Am I being too idealistic or is there such a printer+cutter machine that will full fill my wildest dreams?

Budget :
Between $10k - $12k USD

Products I'm printing in terms of priority :
- Small to med size sticker labels
- Vinyl sticker Letterings (intricate fonts and design. )
- A3, A2 size Poster print on photo paper (is that possible? if not what kind of material for normal poster print?)
- May cut other materials like cardboard, paper stock, thin wood, plastic
- Perforated cut on paper
- Photo Canvas Prints

Very Experienced in (i come from a web-design background):
- Adobe Photoshop CS6
- Adobe Illustrator CS5

I'm looking at 3M Vinyl for vinyl material. I should get the 24" roll for my printer am i right?
Since the Mimaki CJV30-60 print width is 24.4" and Roland VersaCAMM SP-300i is 30".

Please be chill and patient with me. I'm very much a newbie so if i asked a stupid question, please just ignore it and get to the more relevant questions. Thank you so much!

 

[Turnergraphics]

I don't know which is better. My gut says go with Versacamm but I have found that you need to go with the company that is most ready to give you face/face and phone/phone assisatance when you have issues......so go with the closest company or most responsive......and now that I think about it, the Versacamm offers metallic inks. That's a plus.

Turner

 

[Laz0924]

Mimaki also has metalic and white ink, which I would stay away from unless you need it. In that price range it would be Mimaki.

 

[tadisch treehouse]

On the fence

I'm just a newbie here, but maybe hookup with somebody that can do your graphics print/cut, as so the ones that have invested in the equipment are here for people like you that are graphicly inclined and they can produce your desires , hope this helps.

 

[Solventinkjet]

People on Signs101 know I am a big fan of the CJV30 over the Rolands but in this case, you are going to be hard pressed to find 24"(CJV30-60) material for printing. 30"(SP300i) is a common size and widely available. That being said you could probably find a CJV30-130 for just a little more cost than the SP300i and it would be 54".

Edit: Also, you cannot cut anything like thin wood, cardboard or I would even say paper stock with either machine. You would need a flatbed cutter for those projects.

 

[particleman]

I can't comment on the Roland, but the CJV is a nice machine (basically a JV33). The cutter also works well, but quite a bit slower than a stand alone. On the material size issue, most companies (in the US at least) can cut down a roll of 54" vinyl to 24". A friend of mine has a CJV and has done this for years.

 

[31legen]

Cjv-130

I really like my new cjv. It's very easy to use. I cut a 14ft decal today with great accuracy.