SP(i) vs VS print+cut machines, real world differences?

[Haakon]

This is a question for you Roland dealers, techs or users.

If you look away from the added colours setups/choices on the VS range, what are the advantages/disadvantages of each range for day to day use?

I have read all the spec sheets, and the few reviews I have found, but some real world experience feedback is always appreciated. For the 30" versions, the price point on the VS-300 in about 35% higher than the SP-300i, at least over here in Norway.

For those of you who have some experience with both model ranges, maybe even for so long that wear and tear issues has come up, what are the pros and cons of each range in your mind?

 

[CS-SignSupply]

The biggest I see is the ability for the VS to print at high speed without any banding.

The newer head technology is also easier to replace and calibrate, while I think the damper replacement is much easier on the SPi.

Heads on SP - $1040 each OEM
Heads on VS - $2400 OEM

Vertical cartridges on the VS make for better space savings.

The media handling is much improved over the SPi as well

Wipers are much more durable and need to be changed every 3000 wipes or so (the rubber wipers). Felt wipers as needed on the VS.

2 Yr Warranty on the VS / 1 Yr Warranty on the SPi

The Cut Carriage Cable assembly seems to be more durable on the VS as well.

I do not like the way the Feed Motor/Grit Encoder is exposed on the VS...

 

[Salmoneye]

I think the 'SP' stands for 'Slow Poke'.

 

[Patentagosse]

+1 what CS said.
* they should get a shield over the encoder to avoid issues... the tech said it s**ks to way it has been designed. Grease spill all over, not to mention dust and other flying debris...

 

[CanuckSigns]

we just recently upgraded from a 4 year old Sp540v to a vs540, and here are the main differences I've noticed so far (3 weeks)

1. Speed, the VS is so much faster, the "high speed" setting on my old SP is slower than "standard" on the VS

2. the way the rolls are held on the VS are much better, media won't gradually drift off the pinch rollers on long runs the way it did on the SP

3. the order of the inks are mirrored on the VS, this means there is no banding at all, even on high speed because it is laying down ink in the same order on both head directions.

4. the VS is a bit smaller overall, so it takes up a bit less room.

Feel free to PM me any other questions you may have, I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[tomence]

we just recently upgraded from a 4 year old Sp540v to a vs540, and here are the main differences I've noticed so far (3 weeks)

1. Speed, the VS is so much faster, the "high speed" setting on my old SP is slower than "standard" on the VS

2. the way the rolls are held on the VS are much better, media won't gradually drift off the pinch rollers on long runs the way it did on the SP

3. the order of the inks are mirrored on the VS, this means there is no banding at all, even on high speed because it is laying down ink in the same order on both head directions.

4. the VS is a bit smaller overall, so it takes up a bit less room.

Feel free to PM me any other questions you may have, I'll do my best to answer them.

Have you printed vinyl in high speed mode without banding, and if so what's your settings.

Thanks

 

[CanuckSigns]

Have you printed vinyl in high speed mode without banding, and if so what's your settings.

Thanks

Yes, i've had really good luck with the "Generic Vinyl 2B" setting, I've found I can print a 4'x8' panel in high speed in about 18 minutes that is perfectly acceptable for any outdoor application.

 

[Haakon]

Thank you all for some great feedback!

I had a talk with my local (if you can call it that) Roland supplier today, and he also swayed towards the VS range for added performance and options. On their price list I found a unit not listed on Roland DGA's webpage, the VS-420. The price difference between the 300 and 420 was pretty small, about $1k. Asked if the price list was old, but they checked with Roland Europe and they were in stock as of a few weeks ago at least.

We also had a discussion about colour setup, he advised against going with white+metallic, but rather set it up for double cmyk or possibly with double white if printing white could be useful for my needs. But running metallic was more or less just asking for issues along the way. + metallic ink was 4x the price of the others.

Since I live on a small island a long way away from any supplier/service tech, a reliable machine is pretty important. Where I used to work they had a Mutoh Rockhopper (I or II), and it was just the worst.. Not reliable at all, I spent so many evenings and weekends reprinting jobs and trying to service the thing (had not even seen a eco-solvent printer in real life before I started there, and the two employees that ran it quit just before I started there, I replaced one of them.). So about all of my experience is with malfunctioning printers, they got a valuejet 1614 just before I quit, and even that had issues right from the start.

So getting a reliable machine is pretty important, both for ease of mind and also for future savings in tech support.

 

[Haakon]

I got a quote for the VS-420 today, about $19,500 with a full set of ink cartridges, shipped to my location. Also included a roll of 3M-LJ40 and installation/startup help via Teamviewer (remote desktop).

Are these machines hard to set up by yourself? Or should a tech do it? I would think that you learn more by doing it yourself?

 

[CanuckSigns]

I got a quote for the VS-420 today, about $19,500 with a full set of ink cartridges, shipped to my location. Also included a roll of 3M-LJ40 and installation/startup help via Teamviewer (remote desktop).

Are these machines hard to set up by yourself? Or should a tech do it? I would think that you learn more by doing it yourself?

the set up out of the box looks pretty easy, when we had ours delivered, the dealer set it up for us, but it looked pretty straight forward.