Suggestions Solvent to Latex

[jfiscus]

What was the issues with the latex that you didn't like?

Color consistency. 99% of our work here is paneled large wraps/murals. I don't want to wonder what a replacement panel is going to print like when it is needed. Have a 54' truck lose a panel during install or lamination, then try to reprint that panel the same color.... and it doesn't match. Then, you have to replace the whole wrap.
Kicked that machine to the curb and went on to Epson Solvent.

 

[richsweeney]

Wow! What I love about our 360 and 365 and 25500 is we can print and and leave. We use the platen covers and leave them on all the time, and NEVER turn the machine off. Also just found out the heads needs to be stored standing up.
I am looking at the 560 and trying to determine what the upgrade is over the 365.

 

[ikarasu]

560 is great. The new losing mechanism is awesome.. No more core holders to load up. Because it's now enclosed...it does use a little more vinyl if you want to stick it past the heater, but we love it.

For the past two years we've been printing police cars on 680 with my home.latex 110. One got into an accident and needed to have a panel replaced.. Out of curiosity we loaded the 110s profile into the 560 and emulated it... And the panel came out exact.

As the heads wear, the colors do change a bit. Running a color calibration has always fixed this for us. Now if you don't run one for 6 months and all your prints are done when it's not calibrated... Of course when you calibrate the colors won't match. We calibrate everytime we open a roll now. Usually the first 3ft of a roll is garbage due to contamination, and color calibration uses like 6"... So we find its the perfect time to run one, whether it's asking or not. Then we're always on spec and haven't ever had to worry about panels matching.

Yes... It's an extra step you need to do that solvents don't need. But it takes a few minutes. Not sure how the Epson our... But we spent the first 20 mins daily doing maintenance and head cleanings on our solvent. So again... A case ofboth have their ups and downs.

 

[MachServTech]

I think it's been said pretty well already. Latex and solvent are both great tools in the toolbox, each with its own strengths/weaknesses.
All solvent isn't the same though. I believe Epson has it dialed in the best. Their color gamut is excellent and the dot placement is super precise. If you are doing fine work or are extremely color critical this is the printer for you. On the other hand, HP Latex is unmatched in a day to day sign printer that requires very little maintenance and the scratch resistance of the ink is absolutely fantastic. I would have both of these in my shop IMHO.

 

[jfiscus]

I just want to add one small bit of info to this thread that is not mentioned yet. When we had the full solvent Mimaki JV3 printers we did spend on average 20 minutes cleaning or running test draws and checking for clogged nozzles before prints. With the most recent generation of Epson (ours are 60600) we hardly spend 10 minutes every few weeks cleaning it. We run on average 2-3 full rolls through each printer every day. The maintenance is super quick and easy on these.

 

[BUCKY]

Is anyone running a Mimaki CJV300 series? Likes....dislikes?

 

[ColoPrinthead]

I really hate being told when to replace printheads, especially when they have fired less than 300ml . . . about to swap out my third this week.

 

[particleman]

I really hate being told when to replace printheads, especially when they have fired less than 300ml . . . about to swap out my third this week.

Which model are you using? This was an issue on my 26500 series which is well documented (condensation on print heads), however my 560 this has literally never happened again.

 

[SignMakeHer]

It felt like we had to babysit the HP a lot, startup time, power needs made it harder to reconfigure area. They are good machines and have a place however, after having 2 it was time for a change. We still have our 210 but we won't turn it on. It's not worth keeping all of the supplies in stock.

How difficult is the power configuration? I'm considering a Latex printer but the building I'm in is also shared with with other offices. Is there a simple fix to the power or do I need an electrician for this?

 

[StarSign]

How difficult is the power configuration? I'm considering a Latex printer but the building I'm in is also shared with with other offices. Is there a simple fix to the power or do I need an electrician for this?

We hired an electrician

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

With the most recent generation of Epson (ours are 60600) we hardly spend 10 minutes every few weeks cleaning it. We run on average 2-3 full rolls through each printer every day. The maintenance is super quick and easy on these.

My experience with our Mimaki CJV 150-130 is the same. We went on vacation around Christmas and New Years and let the printer sit for around 25 days. When we came in, I fired it right up with no cleaning cycle and it did a perfect test print the first time. I rarely have to do anything with it, maintenance-wise.

 

[SignMakeHer]

I switch to latex about 6 months ago. I do not regret it at all.

- We get great color
- Production times went down

Very glad we made the switch!

I'm about to make the plunge...was the electrical side of it a pain to deal with and has your electric bill gone up as a result?

 

[SignMakeHer]

Each have their benefits. The latex fanbois will swear by latex... The solvent will swear by solvent.

Ive ran all three. I love the latex the best... But that doesn't mean it's better than solvent. For every up it has, it has a down.

One is not better than the other... They're just Different.

What is it about the Latex printer that you like? What does the Latex do best?

 

[ikarasu]

What is it about the Latex printer that you like? What does the Latex do best?

Everything. We have solvent, Uv and latex. Each have their up and downs...

Latex heads are cheap. We've used it for 6 months and haven't had to replace a head...our solvent needed $30,000 in replacement heads after 5 years. That's a worst case scenario... Most people go through 1-2 heads in 5 years, if that on solvents. But I like the peace of mind in knowing if there is a bad head strike, it's not going to cost as much as a brand new truck to fix.

Latex is instant dry... You can overlam it right away. Solvents are getting better with a 4 hour dry time in some machines... But nothing beats laminating and sending to the next station right away.

People complain about color changes and tiling issues. We've done hundreds of vehicles and walls and never had an issue with tiling or Colors. We printed a police car on my home latex 3 years ago. It came in today to get half a side redone due to a crash... Our new 560 had a profile emulate option, for giggles we decided to try it. It came out a 100% match, including a gradient as my machine from 3 years ago.... No way a solvent can do that.

Latex can print on many more materials... Lots of reasons to love it.

Things to hate?

I hate the 2 min warm up time from hitting print to it starting to print... I hate the 2 min cool down and page ejecting time at the end of the print.

I hate how it doesn't do small sheets like our solvent did... Having to extend the media 6-10 inches out wasting it to not get a media Jam, where as our solvent could print right on the edge of a sheet.

Overall there's so much to love compared to the downsides. But again...They're all great Machines and it's a matter of preference. We're sold on latex, there would have to be a major advancement in solvent to bring us back.

 

[SignMakeHer]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post, ikarasu. I've been searching online forums trying to get this type of information. It's clear that most people are happy with Latex - but it's nice to know why.

I'm awaiting a call from a local-ish HP rep to see about the HP Latex 365 and if the transformer adapter will work in my shop space. The idea of hiring an electrician sounds daunting - but knowing there's a possible alternative with the adapter makes the 220v less intimidating.

My major concern is having a tech that can service my printer if need be. I'm curious to the warranty and the turnaround time for repairs etc. Have you ever had yours serviced?

Thanks again for your thorough feedback.

 

[ikarasu]

I have. Mine had a faulty sensor in it... we had a tech out the next day to replace it. Quick and painless - I believe it's a 1 year warranty... but dont quote me on that.

You're in NY so you should be fine. You're about an hour from Grimco... Their techs are usually pretty good.

HP is also great. We had an issue where our Maintenance cartridge was broken at 80%... a call into HP and they overnighted us a new one... It got here before our order from Grimco for a spare did. Same with printheads... Our printer came with 2 heads that were misfiring, HP overnighted us 2. HP stands behind their machines... Some do have glitches and issues, but we havent had any issues with fixing it.

electricians are also easy - At least in Canada.... we just had an electrician come out, run a wire and some conduit from our transformer and we were good to go. Of course every shop is different. I have a Latex in my garage at home also - I had an electrician come and wire 2 240V outlets at home even... super easy and cheap.

Great machines - HP will send you samples of whatever you want, if you want to see quality before making the plunge. Grimco may also have a demo unit setup where you can bring your own files and media and do some tests. It's always worth getting some samples of your own files made so you don't get a surprise when you try to print some neon green your last printer hit dead on, but your new printer cant.

 

[Bobby H]

I haven't seen any serious color control issues with either of our HP Latex printers. Their output is very consistent. On the other hand I do have to wonder about claims that solvent printers don't have any problems printing color consistently, as compared to Latex printers. The Roland VersaCAMM VP-540 we had would do okay on most colors but it really sucked at printing subtle tones like a gun metal or carbon fiber dark gray with acceptable consistency. I specifically remember a vehicle graphics job where we had nothing but headaches with this. You could take one end of the long print and hold it up to the edge of the other end and the gray tone wouldn't match at all. It was so bad that one edge might have a reddish cast and the other end was taking on a blue or even green cast. It was difficult to see with the whole print laid out flat. But put the left edge and right edge of the print up next to each other and the difference was appalling. The random gradient cast thru gray problem made any patching work impossible. We ended up s***-canning the graphics, changing the color scheme to something not predominately gray and re-printing the job.

 

[sonia]

solvent to latex issues

https://hplatexknowledgecenter.com/blog/hp-latex-vs-eco-solvent-5-things-to-compare-before-you-buy Please read this article to make up your mind. Please you see the benefits on being part of the HP Latex Community

 

[Dukenukem117]

Things to hate?

I hate the 2 min warm up time from hitting print to it starting to print... I hate the 2 min cool down and page ejecting time at the end of the print.

I hate how it doesn't do small sheets like our solvent did... Having to extend the media 6-10 inches out wasting it to not get a media Jam, where as our solvent could print right on the edge of a sheet.

I'm still getting familiar with my 560 (it was a second hand) and it would extend out about 4 feet of material the last time I loaded it. I couldn't rewind it beyond a certain point either so it all went to waste. How are you only scrapping 6-10 inches?

 

[hand851]

I would look at a UV printer. No head replacements, no electrician, no bigger AC unit to combat the heat (up side furnace runs less in the winter), no lamination requires other than wraps, no de-gas (solvent). UCJV300 if needed you can print white. Ink comes in liter bottles. Prints on more substrates (such as Polycarp.) Just a little more up front cost, but plotter is built into printer. Worth a look.

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