Roland vs Mimaki 63"

[Jesse_gvi]

Okay, so I've been searching this site (which has been a tremendous help) and as far as I can tell, the only real reason for picking a Roland over a Mimaki is that Roland has excellent tech support. Is this the only major reason? I'm asking because my boss is thinking about getting the Mimaki JV3 SP160 63" printer from Advantage. We've always had great support from them with other machines, but my boss wants to make sure we're making the right brand choice before making the purchase. Any input will help.

 

[Barry]

Both are great machines and you cannot go wrong with either one.. The big difference is with the Mimaki you will need ventalation equipment.

 

[iSign]

Advantage & their excellent support IS the main reason I went with the Mimaki over the roland. Although that is the MAIN reason... I have 3 or 4 other reason I chose the Mimaki also.

I just got off the phone 2 minutes ago from another participant here (to remain un-named) who was discussing his Versacam & the fact that the eco-solvent inks do not adhere as well as he hoped & probably not as well as mine do. I can't say if they are equal or not... mine also do not adhere as well as an edge print, but I think the solvent printers have a slight advantage there. Printing while I am also cutting has already been a plus I take advantage of & I'm nowhere as busy running this set-up as I expect to be when more people find out about it.

 

[DBrock5150-]

If you go with the Mimaki, wouldn't you also need another plotter to do cutting, where the Roland does both print and cut.

 

[Barry]

Advantage & their excellent support IS the main reason I went with the Mimaki over the roland. Although that is the MAIN reason... I have 3 or 4 other reason I chose the Mimaki also.

I just got off the phone 2 minutes ago from another participant here (to remain un-named) who was discussing his Versacam & the fact that the eco-solvent inks do not adhere as well as he hoped & probably not as well as mine do. I can't say if they are equal or not... mine also do not adhere as well as an edge print, but I think the solvent printers have a slight advantage there. Printing while I am also cutting has already been a plus I take advantage of & I'm nowhere as busy running this set-up as I expect to be when more people find out about it.

What inks were they running? The new Max inks and the Triangle Eco-sol inks should adheare pretty close to the same as full solvent inks. The older Eco-Sol inks did not adheare well and could be wiped away with just about any mild solvent or even your finger.

 

[iSign]

Ok... I'll revisit this post, just for a little friendly rivalry...

..well for those who have the roland, it is good to know that eventually you guys durability will be "pretty close" to mine. :Big Laugh (along with the size)

dbrock, I mentioned having 3 or 4 other reasons I chose the Mimaki... you hit on another of them... "If you go with the Mimaki, wouldn't you also need another plotter to do cutting, where the Roland does both print and cut."
actually the Roland can print OR cut. With my Mimaki bundle including the 63" cutter (for an extra 3K) I can print AND cut! And I find myself taking advantage of doing just that and saving time... I have no doubt the time I save will make me more then the cost of the cutter long before I've actually paid for it. We printed & cut 80 reflective 18x24's today, The printer was pretty busy today, so it was a good thing we had a seperate cutter.

 

[Jesse_gvi]

Thanks for the responses. My boss decided to go ahead and get the Mimaki. We went to another shop and saw one in action. They had the older 160S, so there were less fans, but I was impressed by the low odor. Unless you were right on top of it you couldn't smell a thing.

 

[Barry]

Ok... I'll revisit this post, just for a little friendly rivalry...

..well for those who have the roland, it is good to know that eventually you guys durability will be "pretty close" to mine. :Big Laugh (along with the size)

dbrock, I mentioned having 3 or 4 other reasons I chose the Mimaki... you hit on another of them... "If you go with the Mimaki, wouldn't you also need another plotter to do cutting, where the Roland does both print and cut."
actually the Roland can print OR cut. With my Mimaki bundle including the 63" cutter (for an extra 3K) I can print AND cut! And I find myself taking advantage of doing just that and saving time... I have no doubt the time I save will make me more then the cost of the cutter long before I've actually paid for it. We printed & cut 80 reflective 18x24's today, The printer was pretty busy today, so it was a good thing we had a seperate cutter.

WIth Roland if you want a seperate printer/cutter you can get the SJ-645EX (64" machine) or the SJ-745EX (74" machine). Neither of these machines have built in cutters. With Roland you can even go bigger with the SJ-1045 (104" Machine).

 

[iSign]

Good luck Jesse, I'm sure you will love having that printer at work. Inkjet printers do an amazing job to increase & enhance the capabilities of any sign shop.

Barry, I reluctantly concede.
Even though I would never buy a Roland... at a print width of 102".. the Roland printer you coulda had... IS bigger then the 98" Mimaki printer I coulda had :Big Laugh

 

[Barry]

Good luck Jesse, I'm sure you will love having that printer at work. Inkjet printers do an amazing job to increase & enhance the capabilities of any sign shop.

Barry, I reluctantly concede.
Even though I would never buy a Roland... at a print width of 102".. the Roland printer you coulda had... IS bigger then the 98" Mimaki printer I coulda had :Big Laugh

Doug both Roland & Mamiki make great machines and I would not say that one is better then the other in every circumstance. I would personally own either if the conditions were right.. I opted for Roland because of the eco-sol inks and the fact that I can run the machine in a small amount of space. (I work from home).

 

[iSign]

ahhhhh... diplomacy rears it's ugly head again... just when aggressive brand loyalty was getting fun

I agreeably agree