-
I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...
Pros & Cons 30'' vs 54''
- Thread starter SpazSigns
- Start date
Cons = 30"
Pros = 54" or 60+"
You shouldn't even consider a 30" unless you do one specific and nothing else thing that a 30" will work for. If you're going to argue about the cost of a 30" vs a 54" then you should be in another business. What you should be considering is a 54" vs a 60"+. Even if you had a 60"+ machine, 80% of the materials you will use will be 54" but it's nice to have that extra couple of inches if you need it. Don't forget you'll need a plotter and a laminator in a matching size to go with it. A 54" machine will basically allow you to do 48" prints, big enough for most purposes and big enough to use with 4'x8' sheet materials. A 60"+ will allow you to do 5" banners across the width of the material, prints for 5" wide sheet materials, and one piece hoods if you are doing vehicle wraps.
Pros = 54" or 60+"
You shouldn't even consider a 30" unless you do one specific and nothing else thing that a 30" will work for. If you're going to argue about the cost of a 30" vs a 54" then you should be in another business. What you should be considering is a 54" vs a 60"+. Even if you had a 60"+ machine, 80% of the materials you will use will be 54" but it's nice to have that extra couple of inches if you need it. Don't forget you'll need a plotter and a laminator in a matching size to go with it. A 54" machine will basically allow you to do 48" prints, big enough for most purposes and big enough to use with 4'x8' sheet materials. A 60"+ will allow you to do 5" banners across the width of the material, prints for 5" wide sheet materials, and one piece hoods if you are doing vehicle wraps.
ThinkRight
New Member
From what little I know...
Bigger is always better.When you buy the 30" , a few months later you will be wishing you went bigger .You can use smaller media on a bigger machine,not bigger media on a small machine.
The Pro's here will tell you to research the service response and parts availability in your area.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
Bigger is always better.When you buy the 30" , a few months later you will be wishing you went bigger .You can use smaller media on a bigger machine,not bigger media on a small machine.
The Pro's here will tell you to research the service response and parts availability in your area.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
ThinkRight
New Member
What will you be printing ?
Plenty of people own print/cut machines and are happy with them. Personally I would never consider a combo machine and would only recommend seperates for a number of reasons. One, you want to maintain a very clean environment around the printer but when you are cutting with it, it has to contribute to a dirty environment around the print heads. Two, when one thing breaks down then both things are out of service. Also, plotters have a much longer life span then printers but when they are together, they both share the shortest lifespan of the two. One of the most important things is that you can't do both things at the same time when you have a combo machine, this is a great disadvantage.
Techman
New Member
I started with a 36. It was a good idea that turned sour.
I got a 60. Now I am cooking. There is plenty of work for at least a 36" printer but there is a ton of work for something more than 38. There is a definable need for the ability to print and have enough extra material to hem a 48" banner lots of the time.. 60 inches?,, not so much..
I got a 60. Now I am cooking. There is plenty of work for at least a 36" printer but there is a ton of work for something more than 38. There is a definable need for the ability to print and have enough extra material to hem a 48" banner lots of the time.. 60 inches?,, not so much..
houseofgrafix
none
From a 30 inch printer owner... Get the 54
yukon
New Member
I'm very happy with my Roland VP540. It prints and cuts. I agree you need a clean environment, but The heads don't travel out with the blade while cutting, they are parked during the cut. Have more issues with stray cat hair floating around! (and no, the cats aren't allowed in the office). Having a separate plotter takes up a lot of real estate we put to better use.
Yukon
Yukon
Stealth Ryder
New Member
My motto is always Go Big or Go Home... Everyone I know who has bought a smaller machine always regrets not getting the larger one after the fact...
BigfishDM
Merchant Member
Would love to agree with the 54"answers but I would be lying because there are a lot of profitable applications that can be done on 30" materials so it really comes down to what your target market is going to be. If your going to try and figure that part out later then yes bigger is better, but if you focus on applications like trade show graphics then starting with a 30" printer is feasible and more cost effective, do you have a laminator?
dhamlett15
New Member
I am happy with my 30" it is what I have room for and still use a merchant member here for the bit stuff.
I so enough small decals that it makes it worth having.
I so enough small decals that it makes it worth having.
thmooch
New Member
Having started in the world of Printed Graphics with a Gerber Edge(which means tiling less than 1' panels), having a 30" printer is more than feasible output. Heck, only having to line up 2 panels to make a 4'x8' is very doable. I went with a 38" printer which allows 3' banners in house. That being said, if you have the $ and space go big!
rjssigns
Active Member
SP540V is want we have and we pound it from time to time. Like a 21 hour print marathon a couple months ago.
If I were to do it over I would sub out and track costs to see if you can crack the nut every month with owning/leasing. We sub out a lot of product now as it makes more sense in many instances. This is from a purely numbers crunching standpoint. I have banners shipped to me for less than my input costs. My sub gets 3 to 4 truck loads of banner material per week. Along with ink in drums. I can't compete with the volume discount they get. We use our Roland for the fast turn, same day jobs.
The nice part about subbing out is you can be finalizing details with the new client instead of running a printer. You really need to look at your business model.
If you do buy/lease get the widest you can afford. Wider has more re-sale value if you buy.
Better to have and not need than need and not have.
If I were to do it over I would sub out and track costs to see if you can crack the nut every month with owning/leasing. We sub out a lot of product now as it makes more sense in many instances. This is from a purely numbers crunching standpoint. I have banners shipped to me for less than my input costs. My sub gets 3 to 4 truck loads of banner material per week. Along with ink in drums. I can't compete with the volume discount they get. We use our Roland for the fast turn, same day jobs.
The nice part about subbing out is you can be finalizing details with the new client instead of running a printer. You really need to look at your business model.
If you do buy/lease get the widest you can afford. Wider has more re-sale value if you buy.
Better to have and not need than need and not have.
thewood
New Member
Sure, you could patch together a boatload of 8.5" x 11" prints to make a 4' x 8'. But that doesn't make it the optimal production method.
In my experience, the only pros for a 30" printer are that they cost less and take up less room than a 54" or 60" printer.
CS-SignSupply-TT
New Member
WHEN to buy a printer?
+1 Whenever I receive an inquiry from someone interested in buying a printer, I simply ask, "...What are you doing right now?...What are your customers requesting that you cannot do in-house?...Do you say YES to all inquiries and sub-out the solution?..."
+1 Whenever I receive an inquiry from someone interested in buying a printer, I simply ask, "...What are you doing right now?...What are your customers requesting that you cannot do in-house?...Do you say YES to all inquiries and sub-out the solution?..."
We run several xc-540 and they are solid workhorses. We run 24/5 year round and they get beat on pretty good by the operators but they just keep on tickin'.