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Ordered an HP LX 800
- Thread starter cdiesel
- Start date
SignManiac
New Member
Dang that's a big ass printer! Congrats.....
National Sign Co. - Print
Merchant Member
You will be pleased with your purchase.
Be sure to tell them you want the Caldera Grand Rip and not Onyx. Caldera blows Onyx away. You just need to get a PC and run Linnux....
Be sure to tell them you want the Caldera Grand Rip and not Onyx. Caldera blows Onyx away. You just need to get a PC and run Linnux....
300mphGraphics
New Member
Sweet! Too bad it can't print directly on aluminum. 
ForgeInc
New Member
We are considering buying one too. Am curious of those who've bought one, what you thought of the smaller 104", LX 600 machine? We were pretty set on the pulling the trigger on the 800, but our costs are adding up quickly as we set up our shop from scratch. Any generic advice on your decisions between the 2 machines, pros/cons would be appreciated!
supersignmart
New Member
Be sure to tell them you want the Caldera Grand Rip and not Onyx. Caldera blows Onyx away. You just need to get a PC and run Linnux....
He should be able to run Caldera on a Mac. We had to run on a PC with Linnux because of the videonet on the FB950.
He should be able to run Caldera on a Mac. We had to run on a PC with Linnux because of the videonet on the FB950.
cdiesel
New Member
I don't use Macs... One of my designers has one, but we generally use PCs, and I've used them my whole life. How does Linux compare to Windows? I guess it really doesn't matter, as it would only be a RIP station, but still...
Also, it might be nice to run both the FB950 and the LX 800 on the same RIP station.
Also, it might be nice to run both the FB950 and the LX 800 on the same RIP station.
ForgeInc
New Member
That's good info, as we are actually looking at purchasing an fb700 in addition to an LX600 or LX800 and I've been wondering if we need 2 rips or if 1 would bottleneck. In regards to the 10' question, that is what we are torn about. We like the idea of being able to run 10' x 10' or longer along with 2 rolls up also an option, but in actuality are pondering if it's worth the $80k price difference. Decisions decisions...For you guys that have the 800, have you found 2 rolls up to run fairly smoothly across media types? How often do you use the 2 rolls?
National Sign Co. - Print
Merchant Member
Heres my 2 cents..
We have been running the LX 800 for a few weeks now.
The current project and main reason we bought the machine will keep the machine fed 24/7 until April with a total of 850,000 s/f of print. The requirements for the project would not allow Solvent or UV cure printing as we have done in past and Latex was the only way to do it and meet requirements.
http://www.piworld.com/article/merr...ntal-demands-hp-scitex-large-format-printer/1
This project requires to print 2 rolls up of 51" x 450' foot media.
The dual roll system on the LX is not as user friendly as some of our other machines and takes a bit longer to web up also. It is also very particular to the weights of materials. Part of the problem is on our end using such big heavy rolls the other part of the problem is the differential system on the dual cores which could and I am sure will be upgraded over time.
The quality coming off machine is amazing but speed is slower than what we have run this job at in the past on our Vutek. That is the trade off we went from running at 1800 s/f/h to right around 650 s/f/h on the LX. With that being said we did get 6 extra weeks to meet this deadline.
I would not suggest a 104" machine the size is going to limit you. You cannot run 10ft goods and even if you were going to run 2 up on the machine you cannot run 54" rolls or 60" rolls just 48". If you are gonna make the investment by the bigger machine. You will most def grow into it and expand capabilities.
As far as rip stations go I have or will never run two machine off of one rip. Not only for bottleneck bust it is just plain counter productive. Each machine should have a dedicated rip station. Also running Caldera on a Mac is foolish also. Why use a $4,000 Mac that should be in pre press to rip the same files a $1,200 PC can do? Yes, Caldera is well worth it over Onyx...
All in all the LX and latex technology is great and we are pleased so far. The machine is also super easy to run and way less of a learning curve than any Grand Format machine we have ever had. My 3rd shift LX operator guy never ran a printer before just did finishing. He was running on his own with no issues in 2 days...
THE MACHINE WILL MAKE YOU $$$$
Hope that offers some help. Feel free to hit me up if you have any other questions.
M-
National Sign Co. - Print
Merchant Member
supersignmart
New Member
good grief how are you finishing all those banners?
National Sign Co. - Print
Merchant Member
Zund Cut and bulk packed on 4x8 skids and then packed into 2 shipping containers. No other finishing needed.
Do not want to pirate post...
Nice Purchase Chris... I know AZ Pro will run the wheels of the machine. As always call me if I can bee of any assistance.
I would wish you best of luck but you do not need it!!
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Sticky Signs
New Member
Are they going to a priest in Africa by any chance?
GAC05
Quit buggin' me
Make sure you order the fully loaded model like Merritt did.
wayne k
guam usa
Attachments
Large Format
New Member
Chris, thanks a lot for recommending this website, lots of great info, I hope we can contribute some of the experience we have learned over the last 15 years. Thanks again for the HP order. We are looking forward to the installation, Greg (LFP Tech) is drooling over the tech manuals.
Large Format
New Member
Same ink different containers
