Taking the next step in printers...

[Yeahgor]

Global Garage
Signs101
Digismith
eBay
Searchtempest to search Craigslist

Perfect list! Thank you so much.

Wish you good luck in your research for future equipment. I saw your equipment current list and like the way you thinking about future grows, that’s awesome self confidence level.

 

[Troy Lesher]

Sorry that brakes so rapidly, I have a question about...
Where you are guys buying used/pre-owned equipment (Printers/cutters/laminators/CNC.. e.t.c)?
P.S. ...I'm in South California.

Global Garage, out of Denver Colorado, Call MIke ALtrueter, Pres- 303-996-1134 A real straight up guy, I have a great deal of respect for him. Trust his word and direction.

 

[Yeahgor]

Global Garage, out of Denver Colorado, Call MIke ALtrueter, Pres- 303-996-1134 A real straight up guy, I have a great deal of respect for him. Trust his word and direction.

Thank you for contact! I appreciate you.

 

[bowtievega]

I would definitely look into a flat bed printer. We have had our JFX-200 for close to four years now. That machine was our first large format printer we brought in house. The printer has been really good to us. Easy to use, very reliable, ink is pretty scratch resistant and can print at a high enough resolution for 99% of what we do. We are a custom sign company not a print shop so that does make a difference. We are able to keep up with our production with that machine but it is slow. We knew what we were getting into when we bought it and were ok with the speed it would print. We haven't had any issues with Rasterlink as far as production goes, its a little weird sometimes but it works for us. We also didn't have experience with anything else prior so i'm sure that helped lol. We will probably be looking at replacing that machine in the next two years. We could replace it with another Mimaki and will consider it but we will also be looking at Vanguard. Being able to print much faster and be able to upgrade at a later date is pretty attractive. We will also want a 5'x10' bed as well. With that being said, i wouldn't look down on anyone who purchased a Mimaki flatbed. That machine has made us alot of money without alot of problems. It might make sense for us to upgrade to a new Mimaki that is faster than what we have and then we don't have to learn a new RIP process, and we are familiar with the capabilities of the ink. We shall see.

 

[iPrintStuff]

I was in the “rasterlink is fine” boat until I tried onyx. Fair enough onyx has its quirks but rasterlink feels/works/looks like it was made by an apprentice on their first week.

 

[neutrinocv]

We run three Mutoh 1624x roll printers here, and have a CWT work table, GFP 563 and Summa F1612 and a D-140 to help with laminating/mounting/cutting prints. Just over the last 2 months, I have realized the bottleneck is no longer our finishing, but with our printers. I am probably just asking too much of them at this point as they pretty much run from the time I get in here to the time I go home and sometimes on weekends.

So, I beg the question, where do we go from here - or what is the smart thing to do? Unfortunately, it seems there is a big gap between a $15k-$20k roll-to-roll solvent or latex printer and stepping up to a flatbed or hybrid. With all the uncertainty with the economy right now, it's also worrisome to consider investing that much and then work slowing down.

However,, I have been researching several flatbeds for the past year and pretty much had it narrowed down to a Mimaki JFX200 series, or possibly a Vanguard VR5 - but then we still have a lot of stuff to print that requires a roll-to-roll machine. (Car wraps, lots of banners - both SINGLE and DOUBLE SIDED, posters, static cling, etc..) Now I am looking at the HP R1000 plus as a hybrid that can basically "do it all". However, the price point is roughly double what the Mimaki and Vanguard machines are, so that leaves me wondering is it smarter to invest in the HP, which seems to be a great machine with great reviews, or do I go with a dedicated UV flatbed and perhaps add a faster roll-to-roll like the Oce Colorado or even a couple of dual head solvents like the Epson 60600 or Mutoh 1638?

FWIW - I am scheduled to visit Grimco next month at their show room in Chicago to have a hands on demo of the R1000 plus. Have not seen the Colorado run in person either... I have also witnessed the Mimaki firsthand, but not the Vanguard. I have read about every review on these machines on S101 as well as videos on youtube users.

*I know I'll be asked, so here is what we primarily print;

1. Coro/foamboard/PVC and MDO panels (all of this is currently print and stick)
2. Car wrap material
3. Banners - standard 13oz, 18oz heavy duty (double sided) retractable and even indoor double sided for retail
4. Static Cling, and poster materials
5. Misc adhesive for decals, etc. (reflective, clear, etc.)
6. Canvas

Looking to hear from others who made the leap, or those looking to do the same thing and which way they are going.

Thank you.

If you are thinking to go with an Epson (excellent choice) I'd recommend 2X 40600 than just 1X 60600. They are the exact same machine except that the 60 is dual-head; but you already know that I assume. With two 40's combined you get more speed, more versatility and less "risk" per machine as the 60 has twice the heads and an extra dryer to deal with when breakage happens (should it be the case). The few extra $$$ would be well worth it.

We have a 40600 (on Onyx) and I remain impressed with the speed and the quality of the prints even at lower numbers of passes. The maintenance we have to put in the machine is almost counted in seconds per month instead of minutes or hours..! That is to be considered as well when one wants to speed things up.

Although speed is not an issue for us here; should we need to speed things up, I would not swap the 40 to a 60 but sell this 40 and get 2 new ones.

 

[FloraUSA]

We run three Mutoh 1624x roll printers here, and have a CWT work table, GFP 563 and Summa F1612 and a D-140 to help with laminating/mounting/cutting prints. Just over the last 2 months, I have realized the bottleneck is no longer our finishing, but with our printers. I am probably just asking too much of them at this point as they pretty much run from the time I get in here to the time I go home and sometimes on weekends.

So, I beg the question, where do we go from here - or what is the smart thing to do? Unfortunately, it seems there is a big gap between a $15k-$20k roll-to-roll solvent or latex printer and stepping up to a flatbed or hybrid. With all the uncertainty with the economy right now, it's also worrisome to consider investing that much and then work slowing down.

However,, I have been researching several flatbeds for the past year and pretty much had it narrowed down to a Mimaki JFX200 series, or possibly a Vanguard VR5 - but then we still have a lot of stuff to print that requires a roll-to-roll machine. (Car wraps, lots of banners - both SINGLE and DOUBLE SIDED, posters, static cling, etc..) Now I am looking at the HP R1000 plus as a hybrid that can basically "do it all". However, the price point is roughly double what the Mimaki and Vanguard machines are, so that leaves me wondering is it smarter to invest in the HP, which seems to be a great machine with great reviews, or do I go with a dedicated UV flatbed and perhaps add a faster roll-to-roll like the Oce Colorado or even a couple of dual head solvents like the Epson 60600 or Mutoh 1638?

FWIW - I am scheduled to visit Grimco next month at their show room in Chicago to have a hands on demo of the R1000 plus. Have not seen the Colorado run in person either... I have also witnessed the Mimaki firsthand, but not the Vanguard. I have read about every review on these machines on S101 as well as videos on youtube users.

*I know I'll be asked, so here is what we primarily print;

1. Coro/foamboard/PVC and MDO panels (all of this is currently print and stick)
2. Car wrap material
3. Banners - standard 13oz, 18oz heavy duty (double sided) retractable and even indoor double sided for retail
4. Static Cling, and poster materials
5. Misc adhesive for decals, etc. (reflective, clear, etc.)
6. Canvas

Looking to hear from others who made the leap, or those looking to do the same thing and which way they are going.

Thank you.

Hello my name is Dave Phillips and I'm from Florida USA. I have been reading the post on signs 101 regarding your potential interest and getting a new printer. I have attached a link to a YouTube video of an installation we did down in Maryland with the Flora Xtra2512 with three rows of KonicaI1024 heads.

We also just installed two of these printers at a customer in Long Island and I have numerous references I can share with you. If you have any further questions, please contact me.


Thanks

Dave Philipps

 

[CraigH]

I don't think I can get away from having at least 1 eco-sol printer for wraps specifically, and I am OK with that, as that machine could also be used for overflow when it's not printing wrap film or similar. The Colorado seemed like a good option for all the poster/static cling and banner material we run - which I wouldn't think would be an issue with ink type? Lastly, the amount of print and stick we are doing is getting ridiculous, even with a flatbed applicator. Spending the time to often laminate and then apply to a substrate is time consuming and if I took what I spent this month on laminate and cheap print vinyl for coro/foamboard/etc. it would easily make a payment on a big machine and then some.

I'm the type of person that likes to really think and talk things through when making equipment purchases to make sure I am getting what we need and not necessarily what I think I want...

I appreciate all the feedback so far - please keep it coming!

We just added a 1650 Colorado along side our 1624X. The Mutoh for wraps and the Colorado for everything else. The combo has worked great since July.

 

[MikePro]

top two directions on my wishlist, after recent pre-covid ISA show, were the HP R1000/2000 and AFGA's Jet Mira for their own reasons.

Loved the HP and its white ink capability, and the design that allows the white printhead to be disconnected, and placed in a rotating drum , while the white ink in system is cycled when not in use to keep the pigments from settling. Plus, the system is incredibly simple to maintain with plug & play printheads & maintenance kits, which is still my main praise for HP's print systems, but the hybrid platform of the R1000/2000 simply takes it to the next level with versatility.

As for the AFGA, holy cow at their texture capabilities.... with lenticular printing & woodgrain/stone/etc finishes, the sky is the limit in terms of versatility. UV Flatbed printing utilizing clear layering that's borderline 3D printing, you could print onto clear acrylic with combinations of transluscence & opaque stone textures, leaving you with an illumination-ready sign panel that appears chiseled out of a rock face....or simply print textured woodgrain onto dibond panels for a quick office wall decor or kitchen floor tiling.

Still, both of which require a larger footprint in both my budget and floorspace than I'm currently (but not indefinitely) limited to but you better believe my finger is hovering above that trigger.