Roll to Roll UV Printer Purchase

[Notarealsignguy]

just a heads up, we did end up purchasing the LG-640 and it's a good machine but they are having issues with the red and orange ink. we have been waiting for like 6 weeks for roland to ship out the new ink. the did give us a work around by putting cleaning cartridges in those two slots but i am disappointed in roland. we have had 7 roland printers over the last 20years, this is our 8th and they have gone down hill in my opinion. the machine it self prints great and versaworks is easy to use but the speed of their new solvent/eco-solvent machines is not up to par for production and now the issues with the red/orange inks is a problem.

Is it slower because youre running more colors on it maybe? At least they acknowledged the issue and developed a fix for it, that's more than most nowadays.

 

[petepaz]

Is it slower because youre running more colors on it maybe? At least they acknowledged the issue and developed a fix for it, that's more than most nowadays.

the current roland eco-solvent machines are slower than machine like the xc and xr (xr might be the best machine they ever made) the UV machines are generally a little slower than the solvent machines. we were looking to replace the first truvis machine we bought like 4 years ago when they first came out and that was a piece of crap. they really didn't test that machine enough, i think we got ser.no 00001. we went like 2 years of our vender and roland coming out to fix the machine. i feel like the issues the new UV machine is another untested issue. if you are putting out a new ink formulation you should run it in your machine for a while to make sure it's solid before putting it out to market. now we bought the machine and paid for CMYKWRO and only printing CMYKW for over a month now and if i get rerun jobs once the machine is running a t full force with the new red and orange inks we will have problems matching colors on the jobs run CMYK

 

[Goatshaver]

the current roland eco-solvent machines are slower than machine like the xc and xr (xr might be the best machine they ever made) the UV machines are generally a little slower than the solvent machines. we were looking to replace the first truvis machine we bought like 4 years ago when they first came out and that was a piece of crap. they really didn't test that machine enough, i think we got ser.no 00001. we went like 2 years of our vender and roland coming out to fix the machine. i feel like the issues the new UV machine is another untested issue. if you are putting out a new ink formulation you should run it in your machine for a while to make sure it's solid before putting it out to market. now we bought the machine and paid for CMYKWRO and only printing CMYKW for over a month now and if i get rerun jobs once the machine is running a t full force with the new red and orange inks we will have problems matching colors on the jobs run CMYK

Hearing these things help my decision. My local dealer is really pushing as much info to me to get me to buy one over the Mimaki. I just don't want to have any issues like this cropping up for me. They are so close in what they do it makes it hard and it's the little things that will sway a decision. Also I know nothing about their service but I know both my machines would be serviced by local techs from the dealers I buy them from. I got samples from the Roland and they look great. Going to demo a UCJV300 next week and I'll see what that looks like.

 

[petepaz]

Hearing these things help my decision. My local dealer is really pushing as much info to me to get me to buy one over the Mimaki. I just don't want to have any issues like this cropping up for me. They are so close in what they do it makes it hard and it's the little things that will sway a decision. Also I know nothing about their service but I know both my machines would be serviced by local techs from the dealers I buy them from. I got samples from the Roland and they look great. Going to demo a UCJV300 next week and I'll see what that looks like.

i would demo them both and see which unit will best fit your needs with the least amount of headaches. when you demo the roland see if they mention the issue with the inks and if not then ask, see what they know about it. we have a mimaki solvent machine also and it's a great unit but it has its issues also (i believe they all do now days. they just don't make equipment like they used to) our mimaki had a leak in the bulk ink system they had to fix then we had some issues with the sheet cut all things have been under warranty and our techs are good but it's the inconvenience and down time that are a problem.

 

[Goatshaver]

i would demo them both and see which unit will best fit your needs with the least amount of headaches. when you demo the roland see if they mention the issue with the inks and if not then ask, see what they know about it. we have a mimaki solvent machine also and it's a great unit but it has its issues also (i believe they all do now days. they just don't make equipment like they used to) our mimaki had a leak in the bulk ink system they had to fix then we had some issues with the sheet cut all things have been under warranty and our techs are good but it's the inconvenience and down time that are a problem.

I don't think I'll be looking at the Roland. I was just turned off by the sales guy not even know anything about how it prints. I asked him 2 questions about the multi layer printing and the ink and he couldn't answer either of them. Just doesn't instill a lot of confidence in me. The mimaki dealer was able to answer every question I had without hesitation. The demo was great and they show me all the capabilities of the machine with a Mimaki tech there as well. I'm sure the machines are both very similar in what they do, so it really comes down to service and my local Roland dealer just didn't give me a good feeling. They have one tech and that's it the Mimaki dealer has 3 plus phone support if I need it.

 

[petepaz]

I don't think I'll be looking at the Roland. I was just turned off by the sales guy not even know anything about how it prints. I asked him 2 questions about the multi layer printing and the ink and he could answer either of them. Just doesn't instill a lot of confidence in me. The mimaki dealer was able to answer every question I had without hesitation. The demo was great and they show me all the capabilities of the machine with a Mimaki tech there as well. I'm sure the machines are both very similar in what they do, so it really comes down to service and my local Roland dealer just didn't give me a good feeling. They have one tech and that's it the Mimaki dealer has 3 plus phone support if I need it

sorry to hear that but definitely agree with you. it's not just buying the printer it's what happens after you buy the printer. local reliable tech service is as important as the machine itself.

 

[Goatshaver]

I'm really leaning towards getting the UCJV330 machine if the lead time isn't too long. From what I know it's about 30% faster than the 300 model. Updated UV lamp system, updated ink injection system that can print 4pl dot down from 7pl on the 300 model.
Is it worth the extra costs? possibly, but my experience in printing is you have to stay ahead of the curve with tech or fall behind and the reason why I'm getting UV is because I've lost lots of customers to someone else with a UV machine and will continue to unless I adopt newer tech. Printing from my experience has always been a cutthroat industry.

 

[White Haus]

I'm really leaning towards getting the UCJV330 machine if the lead time isn't too long. From what I know it's about 30% faster than the 300 model. Updated UV lamp system, updated ink injection system that can print 4pl dot down from 7pl on the 300 model.
Is it worth the extra costs? possibly, but my experience in printing is you have to stay ahead of the curve with tech or fall behind and the reason why I'm getting UV is because I've lost lots of customers to someone else with a UV machine and will continue to unless I adopt newer tech. Printing from my experience has always been a cutthroat industry.

Agreed, but don't forget that new models usually rely on users to beta test them, then iron out the kinks.

Faster version of the UCJV300 would be nice. We've considered switching ours over to dual CMYK to speed it up a bit as we barely use the white.

 

[Goatshaver]

Agreed, but don't forget that new models usually rely on users to beta test them, then iron out the kinks.

Faster version of the UCJV300 would be nice. We've considered switching ours over to dual CMYK to speed it up a bit as we barely use the white.

Agreed, which has me hesitating slightly on the 330. (I've gotta make a decision this weekend to take advantage of their financing promo.)
I read in one other thread one guy said the 330 is having issues, but I can't go based on one person opinion, and either have to be in that first round adopters or go with trusted tech that's seen lots of real-world production.

 

[Goatshaver]

So I've been doing some digging and I think the UCJV330 model is using the Epson i3200 heads, hence the new ink delivery system and the 4pl droplet size, and moving away from the Ricoh Gen5 heads that are in the 300 version. If I had lots of volume I'd probably go for the 330 model but I think I'll be more than happy with the 300 model, gotta make a decision by tomorrow on it. It's a shame they didn't do a configuration that is C, M, Y, K, CL, CL, W, W that probably could've added some speed to the 300 model.

just a heads up, we did end up purchasing the LG-640 and it's a good machine but they are having issues with the red and orange ink. we have been waiting for like 6 weeks for roland to ship out the new ink. the did give us a work around by putting cleaning cartridges in those two slots but i am disappointed in roland. we have had 7 roland printers over the last 20years, this is our 8th and they have gone down hill in my opinion. the machine it self prints great and versaworks is easy to use but the speed of their new solvent/eco-solvent machines is not up to par for production and now the issues with the red/orange inks is a problem.

Do you know what the ink droplet size of the Roland is by chance? I can't seem to find any info on it.

 

[micadesign]

So I've been doing some digging and I think the UCJV330 model is using the Epson i3200 heads, hence the new ink delivery system and the 4pl droplet size, and moving away from the Ricoh Gen5 heads that are in the 300 version. If I had lots of volume I'd probably go for the 330 model but I think I'll be more than happy with the 300 model, gotta make a decision by tomorrow on it. It's a shame they didn't do a configuration that is C, M, Y, K, CL, CL, W, W that probably could've added some speed to the 300 model.


Do you know what the ink droplet size of the Roland is by chance? I can't seem to find any info on it.

UCJV300-160 as CMYK CLCL WW ink setup. 1 head is for CMYK and the other head is for CLCLWW. i print a lot with white but not too much with clear. would love is the printer was faster... quality is great with the right profiles.

 

[Goatshaver]

UCJV300-160 as CMYK CLCL WW ink setup. 1 head is for CMYK and the other head is for CLCLWW. i print a lot with white but not too much with clear. would love is the printer was faster... quality is great with the right profiles.

Now I see my quote it is setup for that CMYK CL CL W W setup. I'm still contemplating he 300 series but it's a new head and it's only about 30% faster than the 300. I guess any sped increase is a good one.

 

[Goatshaver]

Placed an order the the UCJV330-160 today. Hopefully I'll have this settled in a couple of months and can report back on the machine. Very excited to get this thing in here and start learning how to use it.
I appreciate everyone's input and feedback here to help give me food for thought.

 

[BenE]

Placed an order the the UCJV330-160 today. Hopefully I'll have this settled in a couple of months and can report back on the machine. Very excited to get this thing in here and start learning how to use it.
I appreciate everyone's input and feedback here to help give me food for thought.

Which dealer did you buy your UCJV330 through? My company is also looking at ordering a 330 through Glantz.

 

[Goatshaver]

Which dealer did you buy your UCJV330 through? My company is also looking at ordering a 330 through Glantz.

I'm getting mine through ITNH. Hopefully should arrive in about 2-3 weeks.

 

[BenE]

I'm getting mine through ITNH. Hopefully should arrive in about 2-3 weeks.

Thanks! I'm new to the printing world, but the UCJV330 looks like it will meet all of our needs. I wasn't aware of ITNH as a potential dealer until today and had only considered Glantz. Have you worked with ITNH before? Are they a solid dealer?

 

[Goatshaver]

Thanks! I'm new to the printing world, but the UCJV330 looks like it will meet all of our needs. I wasn't aware of ITNH as a potential dealer until today and had only considered Glantz. Have you worked with ITNH before? Are they a solid dealer?

I have not worked with them before. My other machine I got through Grimco, but ITNH is fairly local to me (2.5hrs away) and they answered every question I had about the UCJV machines and gave me a good demo on the 300 version. So far everything has been pretty smooth, next will be delivery and install and I'll see how that goes.

 

[BenE]

I have not worked with them before. My other machine I got through Grimco, but ITNH is fairly local to me (2.5hrs away) and they answered every question I had about the UCJV machines and gave me a good demo on the 300 version. So far everything has been pretty smooth, next will be delivery and install and I'll see how that goes.

Awesome. Thanks for the reply! Glantz has been super helpful with answering every question I have, which is a good sign (pun intended). But I might look into ITNH as another potential dealer. I hope everything goes well for you with the 330!

 

[Goatshaver]

Everything for my UCJV330 has arrived and ready to get this baby installed and making some money! I still have only seen videos from dealers or trade shows on this so far. Hoping for a smooth install this week and will report back!
Only issue I'm having is finding help to get this thing onto the stand. Hopefully everything will work out smoothly.

 

[Gary Wiant]

Check out the Mimaki UJV 100 - 160 if you have room, I had a jv300 for 9 years and we recently replaced it with a 100, I looked at the 330 but I wasn't sure we would go through 2 liters of inkbefore they would expire. The 100 isn't as fast but the colors seem much smoother, we are running cmykx2 and I think (not offically tested) seems as fast as the the 300 with CMYK LtM LtC Lt B & Orange. Granted these are all Solvent & not UV but I'm very happy with my 100.

Plus our color tech said he has proven the JV100 has better output than the 330