Printer question

[stickitco]

I have been doing vinyl for awhile now. I keep seeing however the general direction is heading toward the shops with print capabilities. I can not blame the customer. Especially as how some of the stuff is really nice. I have a chance to pick up an Encad CHroma 24". Can anyone give me the ins and outs of the machine. Is it a decent starter in the print dept., Or should I continue to save for a newer, more widely used model?
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[Scott Reynolds]

.... Or should I continue to save for a newer, more widely used model?

Ya, do that.

 

[Scott Reynolds]

After thinking about it for 2-3 min. how much is this thing going to cost you? If it WORKS and is CHEAP, it would be great to get your feet wet.

 

[Scott Reynolds]

$500 is not in the 'too good to be true' range. Its about what its worth, If it works, and your ok with the 24" size. Look into replacement GS Ink & cartridge Kits. When it runs out of ink it will coat you $600 to refill (Kodak). Is the printer about out of ink now?

 

[stickitco]

nt 100% sure I am in the process of waiting a response on condition and all the details. what kind of resolution is this thing I realize it is a few yrs old but I also dont want to waste money. Can I still be profitable with it?
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[Scott Reynolds]

Do you have a rip?

 

[stickitco]

I am using flexi pro that has built n rip right?
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[Scott Reynolds]

yep.

 

[JMDigital]

nt 100% sure I am in the process of waiting a response on condition and all the details. what kind of resolution is this thing I realize it is a few yrs old but I also dont want to waste money. Can I still be profitable with it?

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Its 300DPI . Flexi is the best way to go with it. I had one for a while.

It got me into learning digital prints. As for ink.. dont be afraid to use ebay to find ink and cartrages for the 24.

Oh. and reduce the magenta in the advanced settings of flexi to about
-25% . It seems to use too much magenta?

 

[Bigdawg]

We just bought one - haven't received yet. Our main output will be oversize paper posters for my graphic design customers... not sure how this will incorporate into the overall sign end of things - anyone know if we can we print vinyl with it too? I know we would have to laminate, and I am assuming I can since they are shipping some printable vinyl too but is it practical?

 

[stickitco]

ok so heres the deal some extra inks, some banner material, and some vinyl to start with. It is mising a black and magenta cartridge. Which I imagine cant be to expensive. Can anyone balpark me on what it is worth. I figure the guy is legit but even then he could be asking much for an older model unit.

 

[stickitco]

He answers all my questions and has been great to deal with.

 

[Checkers]

Hiya Matt,
I may be too late, but I'll answer you questions anyway.
It's an OK starter printer, if you know nothing about wide format. It probably will teach you that can go wrong with a printer with a relatively low start up costs. Also, unless you know a little about profiling expect to spend a few to several thousand dollars to get it right.
YOur initial cost for ink cartridges and banner materials will probably run close to what you're paying for the machine. I'll suggest getting some Rapid Prep too. It's great for cleaning up dye and pigmented inks.
When you have it figured out and printing on a regular basis without issues, it will be time to upgrade.

Good luck,

Checkers

 

[stickitco]

Thanx

Hey Checkers, Thank you and everyone else for your help. I picked it up for $300 with a bunch of paper for it. I have to however get ink. any reccomendations for an inexpensive ink for me to start with. I cant see spending crazy money to just throw away with learning curve. Also the guy told me the cartridges are dried up. what is the best thing to use to clean them with so that I can refill them? The machine was purchased exactly for that reason. To learn the ropes with. I figure if I can get some knowledge and practice for say $700 it is worth it that way when I do buy the real deal it will be an easier transition. I am sure after I get it and get it up and running I will have loads of questions. Thank you all for the help.

 

[signage]

Dipping the print head part of cartridges in hot water until in comes out freely is what I was told by a printer repair person. If any circuity on that part of head dry off and wait awhile before installing and running printer.

 

[Bigdawg]

Hey Matt - we just bought an Encad 24 Chroma too - like you we want to get our feet wet and see if this is a direction we want to take. I will be able to immediately put it to use for my graphic customers for over size paper prints.
I have some questions too - they told me the ink is "indoor" ink... I am wondering if we can switch it over to GO ink and print for outdoor use. If we can, what would we use to laminate? It would be nice to add full color coroplast signs to what we offer. Since our cheapo cutter won't contour cut what I print, we would be pretty constrained to squares we can cut out on the table.

 

[JMDigital]

For cheap ink to learn with go to ebay.. do a CHROMA 24 search. you will find ink. Yes you can use the GO ink however you need new carts from what I am told. Back when I had my chroma 24 I had kinkos do a quick lamination and its still hanging on a wall 3 years later no fade. this was with the GS+ inks. Remember to lower the magenta output by 20% or everything will look too red....