Recomendations for new printer (HP or Epson)

[Felix Sepulveda]

Hello !! I run a Decor/Photo printing business in my country (Dominican Republic). I have an Epson S30670 that have serve me really well since 2014. I want/have to upgrade to a new printer and I have a couple of options here. One is an "open box" HP Latex 365 and the other one is also an "open box" Epson S40670. I print mostly canvas, wallpaper (PhotoTex, General Formulations 229 and wall vinyl) and some deal of vinil, photopaper and windowperf material. I also us a fineart paper from Lexjet for ecosolvent ink. Any recommendation from users of these machines will be greatly appreciated !!!

 

[balstestrat]

If you are now happy with your Epson and you can do all your jobs with that, continue with Epson.

 

[Felix Sepulveda]

If you are now happy with your Epson and you can do all your jobs with that, continue with Epson.

Thanks !!! I'm mostly happy, a couple of things I will like to improve, like scratch resistance (specially for the wall material) and also printing costs. I think the HP can help with the scratch thing, but being a different technology I have several concerns....... thanks again, wise advice.

 

[ikarasu]

HP is way more scratch resistant. HP is great for canvas and wallpaper... For photopaper/photo printing your quality will drop and be grainy on the HP. There will be a downside/upside to either printer for you! Is buying the 365 and using it for wallpaper/canvas/non photo quality prints for its scratch resistance, and keeping the S30 around for photo stuff an option? That would be the route I'd take if I were you.

But... I dont know the quality of the s30 compared to the 365, I'm basing it on the S80 which is newer technology.... you could get equivalent to what youre already outputting, using the 365. Can you bring a test file to your vendor and print samples?


One other thing to consider is speed. The 365 is almost double the speed of the S40... If youre printing 30-60 ft at a time.



Pros:

Epson -

Better color gamut / More vibrant colors
Better quality for photos / etc


Latex -
Scratch resistance
Twice the speed
Instant dry - Epson is a wait 6 hours, Latex is a laminate the second the print is done kind of thing.
Onboard profiling, so more accurate print results if you dont have a spectro.

 

[Mal Ross]

I love my HP LATEX 360

---

Fast silent/scratch resistent and INSTANTLY DRY ....no cure time and NO lamination needed on many signs, even outdoor... and impeccable quality, every time.
I have had, over my 35 years of signage for Corporates, Councils and National Parks
Gerber sprint , GerberScanner , Gerber Edge , Roland 1375mm wide format waterbased ink (not bad but needed lamination),
2 Mimaki 1375 wide formats......One True Sovent and one Ecosol (both bad news with VOCs) AND 2 days drying before lamination
Both NEEDED a white border on all stickers, no ink to edge (which curled up anyway)
Gerber and Mimaki cutters ( both great cutters)
I still use the 20year old GerberEdge for a couple of clients.
To this day I find the HP360 superior in every way !
SAFE latex waterbased inks and HPs faultless green credentials.....which now have become mine... for safety and quality, they can never be surpassed.
HP's service is impeccable and any backup needed is met with enthusiasm and absolute competence and speed every time!
Also bear in mind that HP heads are easilly replaced by operator in seconds, .....saving wasted hours and huge expense ,waiting for an expensive tech.....,
the LATEX inks last for ages ,and have zero smell/toxicity.....perfect up to 5 years in many cases (Qld Australia)
HP's are pretty much devoid of trouble ( DOT )
I would not look at any other brand after my 7 years using 2 HP's .... particularly after my experience with the others (Gerber excepted)

 

[Felix Sepulveda]

Well, thank you for all your input. Certainly it will be a very tough decision. I would like to get the HP and keep my old Epson if possible as Ikarasu suggested. Certainly, Mal, your reasons are also strong. I feel that I might loose some visual quality with the HP and gain many things in terms of durability and safety. If it is only one printer …. still not sure if the HP is my printer..... Nobody has mention two things about the HP that I keep hearing:
1. Not very good for small runs (waste more paper)
2. Power consumption

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

Epson now has a resin/latex printer (R5000), however I haven't seen any first hand reviews on it yet. It should match the HP in durability, but have the print quality of an S80 apparently.
I would definitely be testing one at a reseller before going down that path though. They are still new to market.

 

[balstestrat]

Well, thank you for all your input. Certainly it will be a very tough decision. I would like to get the HP and keep my old Epson if possible as Ikarasu suggested. Certainly, Mal, your reasons are also strong. I feel that I might loose some visual quality with the HP and gain many things in terms of durability and safety. If it is only one printer …. still not sure if the HP is my printer..... Nobody has mention two things about the HP that I keep hearing:
1. Not very good for small runs (waste more paper)
2. Power consumption

I think the L365 is the absolute best latex model so far. If you want latex you can't go wrong with that.
Now if you keep searching for issues and whatnot, you will definately find those on anything.
1. Is true. You can't really print sheets and you do waste material if you only do small jobs.
2. I guess if your electricity is very expensive it can play bigger part? When it's only $0.1/kWh it's not too big of a cost. And it heats room in winter

 

[brdesign]

I've used a HP 560 Latex and it was great for printing canvas and wallpaper except for one HUGE problem, color consistency. Had to reprint quite a few wallpaper jobs because of color shifts from one panel to the next. One job the first panel came out an exact match to the dark blue pantone color the customer requested, but the 5th and final panel came out purple! with a gradual shift on the 2nd and 3rd panels. Constantly installing new print heads and recalibrating the printer was the only thing that seemed to minimize the problem.

 

[Roper1967]

I've been in this business over 35 years and I have both (3) Roland and (1) HP 560. I do a lot of show quality wraps and I love the HP it prints super fast and it is ready when it comes off the printer which is a big deal for me. The Roland Solvent are awesome machines they are faster to load and instant to print and you can do sheets... there are pro's and con's on both sides. But the longer I have the HP I find myself using it more and more for everything . I do a lot of canvas and the HP is great it will print on a lot more substrates . The only real downside on the HP 560 is you are going to have about 5' of waste on each print job for me time is money so the increased print speed and no out-gassing is the trump card. Now for me I save the 5' cuts and use them with my Rolands for decals. From what you describe as your print range ... I think you will like the HP.

 

[AGCharlotte]

why are you losing 5' to the machine? Unless I'm running something heavy like 15oz+ banner or window perf, I'm seldom advancing the material out ahead of where it loads on my L310.

 

[Roper1967]

I've tried several times to start it without attaching it to the take up reel .. I have not had good success. Plus I've got other stuff going on usually and it's just easier to attach it to the take up reel and forget about it. I don't like it but I don't like having to pull vinyl off the heater either it's a real pain in the AZ$G#. Also it's probably only 4'

 

[Felix Sepulveda]

I think the L365 is the absolute best latex model so far. If you want latex you can't go wrong with that.
Now if you keep searching for issues and whatnot, you will definately find those on anything.
1. Is true. You can't really print sheets and you do waste material if you only do small jobs.
2. I guess if your electricity is very expensive it can play bigger part? When it's only $0.1/kWh it's not too big of a cost. And it heats room in winter

Thanks a lot !! , Electricity is high in my country....and in terms of heating a room in winter....well it is always summer here...., but thanks for telling me the 365 is the best latex model from HP.

 

[Felix Sepulveda]

I've used a HP 560 Latex and it was great for printing canvas and wallpaper except for one HUGE problem, color consistency. Had to reprint quite a few wallpaper jobs because of color shifts from one panel to the next. One job the first panel came out an exact match to the dark blue pantone color the customer requested, but the 5th and final panel came out purple! with a gradual shift on the 2nd and 3rd panels. Constantly installing new print heads and recalibrating the printer was the only thing that seemed to minimize the problem.

Well, this scares me,...I do lots of custom wall papers for houses, offices and hotels....if consistency is an issue with panels, that will be a real problem for me. Any solution for that ? besides changing heads and recalibrating ?

 

[Roper1967]

Well, this scares me,...I do lots of custom wall papers for houses, offices and hotels....if consistency is an issue with panels, that will be a real problem for me. Any solution for that ? besides changing heads and recalibrating ?

Maybe I'm lucky I've never had a color shift problem. My shortest runs are probably around 50' . I use panels on almost every job and so far so good. On my Rolands I used to flip my panels ... But I really never had a issue it was just being cautious.

 

[ikarasu]

I've never had color consistency. We've had a 560 for about 5 years now. We do all the fleet vehicles for our police force, roughly 10 new ones a year as well as replacing panels when they get dinged up. We've replaced panels with gradients and full color bars from years ago and it matches perfectly.


That said, I'll say this. I had a 560 and a s40 at home. Once I got the s40 I stopped using the 560 all together... I just sold it Infact.

Both are great machines. Either machine is an upgrade to your current one .. so I think you'd be happy with either. If you mainly print wall coverings and unlaminated stuff .. I'd go with the latex without thinking twice about it.

 

[Val47]

Well, this scares me,...I do lots of custom wall papers for houses, offices and hotels....if consistency is an issue with panels, that will be a real problem for me. Any solution for that ? besides changing heads and recalibrating ?

 

[CC-CMYK]

I've used a HP 560 Latex and it was great for printing canvas and wallpaper except for one HUGE problem, color consistency. Had to reprint quite a few wallpaper jobs because of color shifts from one panel to the next. One job the first panel came out an exact match to the dark blue pantone color the customer requested, but the 5th and final panel came out purple! with a gradual shift on the 2nd and 3rd panels. Constantly installing new print heads and recalibrating the printer was the only thing that seemed to minimize the problem.

I have the same problem. We have 2 HP latex printers. I’m in the process of selling one and buying an epson S80 for murals.