Suggestions for starting a Roland print shop with Caldera rather than VersaWorks.

[milchad]

I currently run a print shop for a large company and we have a Durst RHO 800 HS. The Durst came with Caldera and I love it. I have been presented with an opportunity to manage a print shop for another company and it will be up to me to decide what equipment to buy. (They are starting from the ground up). I want to run with Caldera as my RIP but the printer supplier isn't a Caldera dealer. He is pushing Versaworks and that's a road I'd rather not go down considering I already know Caldera. Any suggestions on the best way I can bring in equipment from one source and software from another? This will be in the Charlotte NC area and the obvious solution would be to find a Roland dealer that also sells Caldera but I haven't been able to find such a dealer.

Thanks!

 

[rfulford]

I am sure HP or Durst will be happy to sell you the rip. i do not know of any roland dealers that offer Caldera. Its no big deal to follow this route but beware, you have to be willing to fill in the support gaps between the rip and printers. Most noteably, this means being willing and able to create your own media profiles. Profiling is pretty easy in caldera and ultimately, you will want to do this anyway but be preparred to justify the expense of buying the rip and a good spectrophotometer versus opting for the free rip.

 

[milchad]

I am sure HP or Durst will be happy to sell you the rip. i do not know of any roland dealers that offer Caldera. Its no big deal to follow this route but beware, you have to be willing to fill in the support gaps between the rip and printers. Most noteably, this means being willing and able to create your own media profiles. Profiling is pretty easy in caldera and ultimately, you will want to do this anyway but be preparred to justify the expense of buying the rip and a good spectrophotometer versus opting for the free rip.

Filling in the support gap is the main problem I will be faced with. Having to justify the expense shouldn't be an issue since they have $250k allocated to the future print shop. I am concerned about the following scenario: The Roland dealer sets up the printers / cutters and when it comes time to interface with my preferred RIP they shake their heads and say "you're on your now pal". The good news is Caldera has a buyback or trade-in program where if you opt for their RIP they will sell a license for significantly less than MSRP.

 

[rjssigns]

Free is always good and VW is getting better. You can always upgrade at a later date. Boss may even give you a bonus for being frugal.

 

[rfulford]

I am concerned about the following scenario: The Roland dealer sets up the printers / cutters and when it comes time to interface with my preferred RIP they shake their heads and say "you're on your now pal".

Ultimately, this is exactly what will happen. Your roland tech may initially show some interest in your new rip but knowledgeable support from the roland dealer will be unavailable. Still, this may not be a big deal depending on your comfort level. Also, you will have caldera for support with setup. On the other hand, $250k is not a huge budget. Is this money set aside strictly for equipment or is it needed for inventory and operating expenses? When you are just starting, an exta $5-10k of inventory could be the difference between sinking and swimming. Tell us a little more about your shop, the equipment you plan on purchasing and the products you intend to offer?

 

[milchad]

Ultimately, this is exactly what will happen. Your roland tech may initially show some interest in your new rip but knowledgeable support from the roland dealer will be unavailable. Still, this may not be a big deal depending on your comfort level. Also, you will have caldera for support with setup. On the other hand, $250k is not a huge budget. Is this money set aside strictly for equipment or is it needed for inventory and operating expenses? When you are just starting, an exta $5-10k of inventory could be the difference between sinking and swimming. Tell us a little more about your shop, the equipment you plan on purchasing and the products you intend to offer?

The $250k is for equipment which will include a couple workstations, a RIP, two (maybe 3 XR-640 printers) and a Seal 62 Pro laminator. The office / work space already exists, so there will be no additional cost involved with that. The final product will be vehicle wraps printed on 3M controltac vinyl. There won't be the need for lots of profiles since we will be printing on the same material all the time. The future outfit already has sponsorship from 3M so getting the material at cost won't be a problem.
Here are my early numbers: (Feel free to fill in any gaps)
Laminator: $18000
Printers: $35000 X3 = $105000
3 computer workstations: $6000
Cutter: $8000
Weeder / Sheeter $1500
Light box: $3700
misc items like software and work tables: $10000
Total: $152200

 

[neil_se]

I'm surprised at your choice of printer for purely printing wraps. Having 2 Rolands and a HP Latex I would never bother printing wraps on the Rolands again, the Latex is much more suited in a number of ways.

It'd be worth speaking with ProWraps if you haven't already made a decision, I believe he runs an arsenal (17 or so) of HP Latex's with Caldera.

 

[anotherdog]

You have budgeted 250K for setting up this shop?

Why are you using up your capital when the cost of credit is so cheap?

 

[milchad]

I'm surprised at your choice of printer for purely printing wraps. Having 2 Rolands and a HP Latex I would never bother printing wraps on the Rolands again, the Latex is much more suited in a number of ways.

It'd be worth speaking with ProWraps if you haven't already made a decision, I believe he runs an arsenal (17 or so) of HP Latex's with Caldera.

We are open to other printer options. It would be nice if we didn't have to run 220V for the HP printers. We are also looking at Epson, Mimaki, and Seiko. Roland is at the top of our list due to their local support and popularity. We also would like the ability to print metallic inks.

 

[milchad]

I might have a solution. TyrrellTech, Inc. sells both Roland and Caldera. Done and done!