Roland Unreliable and Expensive

[Wallhogs]

We purchased one of the first XC-540's when they first appeared a little over 7 years ago. Starting having issues from day one and it has never stopped. Even had one of Roland's Master Techs come out to take care of one issue because the local techs were unable to determine what the issue was. To date we have invested over $20,000 in parts, not to include consumable such as heads, dampers and cap tops. This machine has been through seven head boards ($1500/ea), thee main boards($2500/ea), two print carriage boards($220/ea), two carriage cables, multiple head cables, two limit sensors, two scan motors (only to find recently it was not the motors but the belt tension), two encoder module sensors and two pinch roller sensors.

This machine literally runs 10-12 hours, five days a week and is located in a temperature controlled and humidity controlled environment. Two techs have been in and even spoke with Roland - everyone is stumped as the machine seems to now have a cascade failure where you fix one issue and another arises. We are now in our busiest time of year and Roland has once again let us down.

I just wanted other users and potential new business owners to be alerted you may want to seek a much more inexpensive print manufacturer as opposed to Roland. For the premium prices on their machines the cost to maintain is exorbitant. Along with that many dealers have disappeared over the past two years and techs are very difficult to locate. Much better off with an Epson SureColor or Mimaki, or even Mutoh for half the cost.

 

[HDvinyl]

Your machine was probably built the day before a Japanese holiday.:Oops:

 

[threeputt]

Wow! Really sorry to hear that. We've had nothing but excellent printing and excellent service (when needed).

Our machine is old now, so yesterday I went to look at new equipment, mainly the VSi. But alas, they still don't have one on the floor. (the dealer)

 

[synergy_jim]

sorry to hear that.... We also bought one of the first XC540's

To date, we have replaced 2 capping stations and a few cutting strips. Thats it...

Sounds like you got a lemon and the dealer should have replaced it....

 

[MikePro]

$20k in repairs? Sounds bogus. I never woulda put up with endless tech visits, nor paid for the parts to repair while under warranty. For the amount of money you pay for a NEW wide format printer, it should be humming damn near perfect off of the crate or you better believe that they'd be replacing it ASAP.

On that note, love my Mimaki despite retiring it recently for my HP latex. I don't take your word against Roland one bit but I will agree that my printer is still way better than yours .
No offense, but I think there's more to your story here or we' have heard more from you 7 yrs ago, instead of posting now 4 times since 2011.

 

[player]

Call the president of Roland and let him have an ear full. have all you expenses, receipts etc. ready, tallied. Go get him! See if he cares. If he does not, set up a roland sucks site and publish your experience. Encourage other unhappy users to also post on your site.

 

[jasonx]

The irony of your post with a Roland banner ad to the right of it.

 

[kanini]

Sorry to hear about your story, but... seven head boards???!!! Geez, what did the tech say when you replaced the 3rd, 4th or 5th board? "Naah, it must be a bad board again, let's try another one..."

 

[neil_se]

Wow, what a shocking run. I'm not sure what your warranty is over there, but in Aus they're sold with a 5 year "heads and all" warranty. One of mine is over 6 years old and the other is 2 or so years old, and I don't think I've ever forked out for any replacement parts (a few heads is all they've ever needed). They don't run as many hours as yours though.

 

[hyperdrive]

Why would you have not contacted roland from the word go?? We had problems with an xr640..A few calls,tech visits and it was deemed necessary to replace unit.
It took some doing and holding my ground on the unit needing to be replaced... I would have contacted japan if necessary!!! With that being said, I felt roland could have done a better job of looking after a long time customer, but ultimately did resolve the issue.

I looked at the epson printers after my dilema,as well as mimaki, and mutoh.. The epson is really a top notch machine,but holds NO value for resale when you want to trade in sell for newer tech. The service....cant say. Not alot of people are using I suppose based on the forum activity. In the end I will remain a roland customer..As I simply cant find better..

In the end I blame you / dealer. You should have demanded the unit be replaced...7 YEARS AGO!!! No way roland will help you out now,as you have been utilizing and appartenly sustaining a viable buisness for 7 years with your ROLAND.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Sounds exactly like my experiences with Roland.

 

[Markus59]

We have had our Xc540 about 6 1/2 years, runs 5 days a week 6-12hrs a day, been a workhorse all along. Other than replacing 1 set of heads, an encoding strip, some dampers, cap tops, wipers, and having our service guy come in once a year and do a PM check is the extent of our service to this machine. If it keeps running like this we will get another 6 years. The same is true for our Xj640 that is 5 years old.

 

[Gino]

Sounds like you got a lemon. ALL manufacturers make 'em from time to time. Sounds like the problems were handled all wrong...... by all parties. You say it's running 10-12 hours a day, so it must be making money for ya. Sometimes it's just too easy to complain 7 years after the fact. I've had Roland products since 1995 and Roland has been a stand-up company for us when needed. Very little has gone wrong, but we're still going strong with their products. Intend to do so in the future.

 

[Andrew O]

Paul - I'm sorry you've had that experience with your machine. I've asked our service department to give you a call and review the situation. You will be hearing from us today.

 

[HDvinyl]

.


.
Being the Holiday Season, I have The 12 Days of Christmas running through my head.

This machine has been through seven head boards ($1500/ea), thee main boards($2500/ea), two print carriage boards($220/ea), two carriage cables, multiple head cables, two limit sensors, two scan motors (only to find recently it was not the motors but the belt tension), two encoder module sensors and two pinch roller sensors.

 

[SlightlyChilled]

He posted the same thing over in the Roland forums....

 

[MagnificentBastid]

With all the board failures you've had, i'm wondering if it has something to do with the electricity in your building..

My old Roland SC540 Pro II is still going strong even after 8 plus years, and we use it daily. We've had our issues over the years, but nothing insane like you. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that you've gone on with these problems and this printer for 7 years..

Why have you just now decided to share your story?

 

[Joe Diaz]

With all the board failures you've had, i'm wondering if it has something to do with the electricity in your building..

I was thinking the same thing. We experienced electrical problems early on when we got into digital printing, and had an electrician do some work on our building. it made a huge difference, not just with the printing issues we would have with our old printer but with our computers too.

It's worth a look. I certainly wouldn't put up with 7 years of hardwear failure. Something dosn't seem right about that.

 

[SlightlyChilled]

With all the board failures you've had, i'm wondering if it has something to do with the electricity in your building..

My old Roland SC540 Pro II is still going strong even after 8 plus years, and we use it daily. We've had our issues over the years, but nothing insane like you. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that you've gone on with these problems and this printer for 7 years..

Why have you just now decided to share your story?

I would bet they are looking for a new printer and are hoping to get a better deal..

 

[nashvillesigns]

your roland...

While i admire a man with patience, let me ak you a business question.
"In those seven years, how was your sales valoume out of that machine?"
i am going to say your patience was directly tied into this answer...

-Mosher

 

[Mosh]

I have been using Roland machines since 1990 and have nothing but good things to say about the products and tech support service I have needed.

 

[rjssigns]

I'm hoping we hear what happens with this. Always hate it when someone asks for help and then disappears.


I second the electricity feed being an issue. A simple line voltage transformer may have nipped it in the bud.