Opinions on JV100-160

[Felix Sepulveda]

I'm planning to buy a new printer in the upcomming months. Currently I have an Epson S30670 that have served me very well for 7 years, but inks and service is becommimng hard to find (I live in the Dominican Republic). The same vendor that sells Epson is going to bring the Mimaki line. Currently they are introducing the JV100-160, which has better ink costs than the Epson. How do you compare the JV100 Vs , let's say the Epson S40. In terms of printing quality and reliability. ? I know it is a fairly new printer and maybe there are not many users. Thanks a lot !!!

 

[Solventinkjet]

It prints great and is a solid machine but my customers so far absolutely hate the ink system. Instead of simply inserting a cartridge, you have to take the old one out, remove the empty bag, weight the new bag and input that into the printer, install the new bag into the cartridge, then install the cartridge. Then half way through the bag they make you take it out and weigh it again. This is a huge misstep on Mimaki's part in my opinion. Otherwise it does print beautifully and has all the bells and whistles of a modern large format printer.

 

[Felix Sepulveda]

It prints great and is a solid machine but my customers so far absolutely hate the ink system. Instead of simply inserting a cartridge, you have to take the old one out, remove the empty bag, weight the new bag and input that into the printer, install the new bag into the cartridge, then install the cartridge. Then half way through the bag they make you take it out and weigh it again. This is a huge misstep on Mimaki's part in my opinion. Otherwise it does print beautifully and has all the bells and whistles of a modern large format printer.

Thanks a lot for this answer !!!, well, here in Latin America (or in our market...) they are offering the 4 color version in bottles (the new CS250 ink), that is cheaper (probably less quality) and I think that doesn't have the bags.... maybe this is a "good" thing. Thanks a lot for your answer, it makes me feel more confident about the machine.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Thanks a lot for this answer !!!, well, here in Latin America (or in our market...) they are offering the 4 color version in bottles (the new CS250 ink), that is cheaper (probably less quality) and I think that doesn't have the bags.... maybe this is a "good" thing. Thanks a lot for your answer, it makes me feel more confident about the machine.

Oh yeah Mimaki's bottle system is way better! Hopefully they switch to that here in the US!

 

[gabagoo]

also if you use Flexi there is only 1 profile available.

 

[The Swedish dude]

We are also interested in buying a JV100-160. But then the model with 8 colors. If you are tired of weighing the cartridges, you can always update to MBIS, Mimaki Bulk Ink System. But this only works on the machine with 8 colors. the color range is larger with 8 colors than 4, why do you want one with only CMYK?

 

[Morten CHristensen]

We are also interested in buying a JV100-160. But then the model with 8 colors. If you are tired of weighing the cartridges, you can always update to MBIS, Mimaki Bulk Ink System. But this only works on the machine with 8 colors. the color range is larger with 8 colors than 4, why do you want one with only CMYK?

I guess different market that dictates a lower price maybe. Heck i am from Scandinavia an exclusively use CMYK in our FB500 and our old Latex 26500

 

[Felix Sepulveda]

I guess different market that dictates a lower price maybe. Heck i am from Scandinavia an exclusively use CMYK in our FB500 and our old Latex 26500

That's true !! in our market the vendor is only offering the four color version with bottles. I Went on Saturday to a live demo and I liked the color gamut and the unit was very well aligned, not that much grain even in four passes. Also the scratch resistance was better than I spected for a cost effective ink. I didn't like the rip (RasterLink), but maybe it is because I have 7 years using Onix. Dont know enough about the heads (Brother ???) and the technitinas were confused about who makes the head and what to spect in the long term with these heads.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Dont know enough about the heads (Brother ???) and the technitinas were confused about who makes the head and what to spect in the long term with these heads.

Mimaki is very tight lipped about the heads but all I've heard they're Brother heads from many other techs.

 

[Gauravh_24]

Mimaki jv100-160 I have heard is meant for heavy job works and not for high Quality job work. As heard from some users, as per them epson s60 is better than it. any opinions on this as I am still stuck between mimaki jv100-160 & epson s40 / s60

 

[Impact1]

If you are printing on 3M media you may want to request samples before you purchase the JV100. Prints on 3M media seem to come out super grainy. The cartridge bag replacement system is horrible but it does reduce the ink cost because of the 660ml bags. Make sure you take advantage of the current 3 year warranty promo. The printer comes with dual heads. The price per head once the warranty expires is almost 5k. So for the cost of 2 heads you could buy a whole new printer! It does have some cool features like automatic feed comp and Drop position correction. When you send jobs it automatically switches into remote mode which is a welcome change. Overall for 11k this is quality entry level printer and a step up in speed from the regular JV150’s.

 

[tbullo]

We have been using the jv100-160 since August 2021. After a warranty issue was fixed, it has been printing great. Has little quirks here and there that could be better like the Ink thing. Just have a scale on hand. But as far as print quality, we are very happy.