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Suggestions Roland GR 640 vs Graphtec FC 8600

N

nico

New Member
Hey guys!

As much as I would like to get a Summa there are no distributors in my country. So I was going for a Graphtec FC8600 54", but dealer is offering a Roland GR 640 64" for USD $2k less.
I know it may sound like an obvious one, a bigger machine for less money, but my only concern is if the Roland cutter will be as reliable as the Graphtec, or should I just pay extra and get the Graphtec if it's worth in comparison to.

*I am looking to do mostly die cut/perf of stickers with the cutter and hopefully make workflow as easy/automated as possible

Has anyone here worked with the GR 640?

All input is appreciated, thank you.
 
A

amw

Longtime Members
We have 3 Graphtec plotters and 1 Roland. No one uses the Roland. So we are obliviously partial to Graphtec. They are built to last and at least ours are very accurate/fast.
 
BVG

BVG

New Member
Go demo both, a lot of the feedback you're getting here is going to be comparing the Graphtec to the older GX series rather than the GR.

We demo'd both Roland and Graphtec and the new GR is night and day compared to the old GX series. Build quality and cutting performance were on par with the Graphtec, including tracking accuracy - we took along a custom print/cut test file with 500 objects over 2 metres that had 0 bleed to measure accuracy and repeat-ability. Results from both the Graphtec and Roland GR were neck and neck, both within 0.25mm at their worst.

At this stage the Graphtec is tried and true, but I think we'll see the GR pick up in time as it's only been out a few months. A big part is going to be down to what suits your workflow and how it integrates with your existing equipment.
 
N

nico

New Member
BVG said:
Go demo both, a lot of the feedback you're getting here is going to be comparing the Graphtec to the older GX series rather than the GR.

We demo'd both Roland and Graphtec and the new GR is night and day compared to the old GX series. Build quality and cutting performance were on par with the Graphtec, including tracking accuracy - we took along a custom print/cut test file with 500 objects over 2 metres that had 0 bleed to measure accuracy and repeat-ability. Results from both the Graphtec and Roland GR were neck and neck, both within 0.25mm at their worst.

At this stage the Graphtec is tried and true, but I think we'll see the GR pick up in time as it's only been out a few months. A big part is going to be down to what suits your workflow and how it integrates with your existing equipment.
Click to expand...
Hey BVG thank you very much, great advice, really helps. I am right now on my way to see the GR 640 for the first time, I'll let you know how it goes.

Yeah my only concern with the Roland was accuracy and margin of error compared to the FC8600, things that are difficult to test in demos because operators usually run small tests on them, I'll try pushing it this time. And the other thing is I've read several posts here and in other websites were users had several issues with the machine, firmware got updated but couldn't find any follow ups from the owners.
 
Gene@mpls

Gene@mpls

New Member
We have a GX500 and I have been impressed with it- accurate to 25' [maybe more- that is as far as I have dared] and plan to move to a GR-540 soon. If you are printing with a Roland printer and cutting the output... definitely get the Roland.
 
N

nico

New Member
Gene@mpls said:
We have a GX500 and I have been impressed with it- accurate to 25' [maybe more- that is as far as I have dared] and plan to move to a GR-540 soon. If you are printing with a Roland printer and cutting the output... definitely get the Roland.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the input Gene, if paired with another printer do you know of, or think it would have any kind of problems?
 
Gene@mpls

Gene@mpls

New Member
Thank you for the input Gene, if paired with another printer do you know of, or think it would have any kind of problems?

That I do not know- just it integrates well with VersaWorks [as you would think].
 
premiercolour

premiercolour

Merchant Member
Where are you located ? We are a Graphtec dealer from Southern California. We could demo the Graphtec for you today. Sales@premiercolour.com. Let us see if we could do something about competitor’s quote.


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