Printhead Cost

[CanuckSigns]

OK, time for a stupid question that has been bugging me, On printers like the HP latex and Epson Resin machines, the print heads are considered consumables and are relatively inexpensive at around $200 each or so, but on a solvent machine like my epson s60600, they are around $3500 each. From a engineering perspective, what is the reason for the large price difference? is there something about the solvent heads that make them 20x more expensive to manufacture? they both perform similar tasks, and to my uneducated mind are likely constructed in a similar way.

Anyone with some tech knowledge able to shed some light on this? or is it just a matter that solvent heads are more expensive because they can be?

 

[balstestrat]

HP heads are thermal heads. I think it's fairly simple construction and includes everything in it, nozzles, damper etc.
Most if not all other heads are piezo which is more complicated. I'm not sure what Epson is doing with their resin head, maybe just compensating with the price against HP to make it seem more equal. But so no, it's not all constructed the same way.

Also if something costs $20 to make and ship etc. you could buy it for $100. Something else that costs $1000 for the same marks up quickly to $2000. Just another way to make money besides the ink.

 

[ikarasu]

I've had an Epson resin since they came out, they're not consumable heads. They're user replaceable heads.... And at a cheap cost. I think it was like $600 Canadian and user replaceable? Compare it to their eco solv heads... I think we paid $1800-2000 for the head then a few hundred for install... So it's 1/3 the cost, not as cheap as latex heads, but also way more durable.

They're supposed to last as long as their solvent heads... I used to change latex heads a ton because I kept the machines in my garage where it was cold, so them constantly heating and going super cool wasn't great for them. The Epson head doesn't seem to have that issue - I've probably only doing 30-50,000 sqft in the machine.... But the heads are all firing at 100%. Not sure if they just die all at once or slowly go out like latex, so maybe they're nearing end of life.


As for price difference... It's all a money grab. It's a consumable, and a way for them to make money - you go through more, so the price is cheaper. Look at ink.. it costs them pennies to fill an ink cart, but they charge hundreds... Heads are the same, only difference is they can get away with charging $2000 for a non consumable head since it happens to rally... If they charged $2000 for a latex head no one would buy it.


I think last time I looked we were spending $1-2000 on head changes a year on our work latex.... But that's with printing on traffic materials, and no matter how careful you are traffic material destroys heads... A bad strike can take out 5 heads. We've had heads go to 7-8 liters and they printed perfect... The only time weve had to swap a head was from head strikes on traffic materials.

That's of course an over simplification.... People replacing heads faster means they're constantly being produced.... How many puezo heads do they keep in stock? If the average user changes heads every 3-5 years.... They don't produce too many heads, so manufacturing costs and all parts of the product chain are more expensive.

 

[unmateria]

Just because they can. For example, u can use a dx5 from a water based machine like an Epson 4800, replace just the top plastic manifold and run it in ecosolvent during years. I bet they even do those shitty cables and conectors and printhead plate glued without protection at purpose

 

[victor bogdanov]

The new solvent epson is using the same $700 head as the Epson resin. These are not disposable heads but they are user replaceable. My guess is that newer manufacturing techniques and design make Epsons newest heads cheaper to make compared to the previous generation.

Looks like epson is changing most of their printers over to the PrecisionCore TFP 12 channel head which is great since it is cheaper than last gen heads and user replaceable.

 

[Solventinkjet]

From a tech standpoint, there are a bunch of reasons as some have stated above. Between the HP and Epson heads, the Epson solvent heads last much longer. Since HP uses heat to push ink out of the nozzles, it causes many cycles of expansion and contraction which deteriorates the physical structure of the small head mechanisms over time. The Epsons use piezo crystals that vibrate to shoot the ink out of the nozzles which causes less damage per cycle. They both have advantages and disadvantages. While some with the HP machines would say the user changeability and cheap cost of the HP heads has worked well for them, the guy with the Epson head that lasted 10+ years would say the same. Although the guy who only gets a year out of an Epson head for whatever reason would beg to differ (cough cough Chinese dye sub inks).

As others have stated above, there are of course economic reasons as well. The reason you used to be able to take a DX5 head out of a Epson 4800 or R1800, and change the manifold to a solvent one for much cheaper than buying one from a manufacturer is because Epson's business model for the desktop models is to sell the printer at cost or a loss and then make the profit on the ink. With the solvent DX5s, Manufacturers like Mimaki, Mutoh, and Roland licensed the Epson head to use in their printers. In that case, Epson is much more motivated to raise the price. Sort of like the NFL wanting 30% of your revenue if you license their IP. So when buying the same head from a manufacturer, the price is higher. We also pay higher prices just for being in America because of all the middlemen. For example, Mimaki Japan will buy the heads from Epson, sell them to Mimaki America at a markup, then Mimaki America sells them to the dealer at a markup, and then it's finally sold to you at a markup. It's the same with Mutoh and Roland. So I would agree with the above that the head price is inflated for reasons that have nothing to do with the value of the technology of the head itself. That being said, if you want a warranty on your printhead, the only place to get one is at full price from the manufacturer and installed by one of their techs so you have to take that into consideration as well.