The Colorado 1630..

[iPrintStuff]

So canon released a 4 head model of the 1650. I believe they’re making it a more entry level model to try compete with HP.

As far as im aware, the print speeds are about 50% of the 1650, it has slightly smaller ink tanks (guessing the price per ml is a touch higher) and any/all things you’d expect from the 1650 are modular.

Basically the thing comes as a 1650 but you have to pay extra to unlock certain capabilities. Such as Matt mode, double sided.. even as far as using roll 2! All upgrades can be bought and turned on remotely.

What do you guys think? (Other than that canon is NOT very imaginative with naming their machines)

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

Top print speeds of 1630 vs. 1650 is 111sq.m/h vs 159sq.m/h so it's still 70% of the speed which is still very quick compared to the competition.
In the launch video they claim that output quality is identical across both so I would imagine the head setup to be the same.

The only thing I'd like out of this would be the FLX finish so we could do matte prints. Gamut won't be as good as our Epson, however the strength of the inks is a huge plus.
Is there any indicative pricing on the base model available yet?

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Top print speeds of 1630 vs. 1650 is 111sq.m/h vs 159sq.m/h so it's still 70% of the speed which is still very quick compared to the competition.
In the launch video they claim that output quality is identical across both so I would imagine the head setup to be the same.

The only thing I'd like out of this would be the FLX finish so we could do matte prints. Gamut won't be as good as our Epson, however the strength of the inks is a huge plus.
Is there any indicative pricing on the base model available yet?

From what I was told it would be just under $40,000.

 

[Pauly]

It's basically a 1650 that has all the featured turned off. (possibly 4 heads) Makes sense for a cheaper entry VS HP latex.
They're either barely making money on the 1630 or making a lot on the 1650...

Also has smaller ink bottles.

on the 1650 the max speed is 159 and high speed is 114. (both 1 pass modes)
111sqm on the 1630.

Top print speeds of 1630 vs. 1650 is 111sq.m/h vs 159sq.m/h so it's still 70% of the speed which is still very quick compared to the competition.
In the launch video they claim that output quality is identical across both so I would imagine the head setup to be the same.

The only thing I'd like out of this would be the FLX finish so we could do matte prints. Gamut won't be as good as our Epson, however the strength of the inks is a huge plus.
Is there any indicative pricing on the base model available yet?

Nah the gamut won't be as good as your epson, but it's still pretty damn good.
Probably right up your alley. but you'd want matte mode 100%.

 

[FireSprint.com]

I just had out Colorado rep tell me that pressure sensitive vinyl should be run in their Specialty mode, about 200sqft per hour. Any other 1650 owners seeing such slow speeds for vinyl like 3M IJ 35?

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We run on Quality or Production for most of ours.

 

[FireSprint.com]

I think we got a lemon. Have had nothing but trouble with ours. Waiting to see if Canon will do the right thing or not. I'll let you know.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

I think we got a lemon. Have had nothing but trouble with ours. Waiting to see if Canon will do the right thing or not. I'll let you know.

What are you running in to?

 

[FireSprint.com]

Inconsistent banding. Well run 10ft perfectly, then banding will start for a few feet, then correct itself.

Mostly shows up in colors with heavy cyan or black ink usage.

It's almost as if the corrective steps the machine takes to prevent banding while printing (nozzle replacement, step correction) work intermittently.

We are missing nozzles in black and cyan for some reason and Canon seems to think they don't need to be replaced.

I'm not the operator, and not well versed with the Colorado, but we do run around a million dollars worth of equipment and this is the most inconsistent printer we have.

Every other printer we run either bands or it doesn't and when it does, there's a clear reason for it.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Inconsistent banding. Well run 10ft perfectly, then banding will start for a few feet, then correct itself.

Mostly shows up in colors with heavy cyan or black ink usage.

It's almost as if the corrective steps the machine takes to prevent banding while printing (nozzle replacement, step correction) work intermittently.

We are missing nozzles in black and cyan for some reason and Canon seems to think they don't need to be replaced.

I'm not the operator, and not well versed with the Colorado, but we do run around a million dollars worth of equipment and this is the most inconsistent printer we have.

Every other printer we run either bands or it doesn't and when it does, there's a clear reason for it.

If it's missing nozzles, I would make them repair it (we did). There is something wrong with yours if you can't run the "invisible" markers and it keeps somewhat in line. We get banding on some materials but it's consistent on all modes and limited to those materials.

 

[Pauly]

Inconsistent banding. Well run 10ft perfectly, then banding will start for a few feet, then correct itself.

Mostly shows up in colors with heavy cyan or black ink usage.

It's almost as if the corrective steps the machine takes to prevent banding while printing (nozzle replacement, step correction) work intermittently.

We are missing nozzles in black and cyan for some reason and Canon seems to think they don't need to be replaced.

I'm not the operator, and not well versed with the Colorado, but we do run around a million dollars worth of equipment and this is the most inconsistent printer we have.

Every other printer we run either bands or it doesn't and when it does, there's a clear reason for it.

i've had some weird banding while printing in gloss mode after a meter or so. but after a quick maintenance, it's gone. otherwise ours has been pretty good.

the obvious question, does the operator do weekly maintenance?
one thing i've added to my weekly maintenance is to use a swab with iso and clean the matrix plate around the heads. they get a heavy film of ink and crap on it. keeping note ours is on daily running non stop.

 

[iPrintStuff]

We also do weekly maintenance and I tend to run an auto clean with the mini nozzle optimisation before running a roll of material if I like the customer.

Also silly but make sure the little AAC unit that reads the marks gets the plate cleaned weekly too. Gathers all sorts of dust and ink and stops it reading the marks.

 

[pxbrands]

Inconsistent banding. Well run 10ft perfectly, then banding will start for a few feet, then correct itself.

Mostly shows up in colors with heavy cyan or black ink usage.

It's almost as if the corrective steps the machine takes to prevent banding while printing (nozzle replacement, step correction) work intermittently.

We are missing nozzles in black and cyan for some reason and Canon seems to think they don't need to be replaced.

I'm not the operator, and not well versed with the Colorado, but we do run around a million dollars worth of equipment and this is the most inconsistent printer we have.

Every other printer we run either bands or it doesn't and when it does, there's a clear reason for it.

We're a new owner of a Colorado 1650 and experiencing the exact same issue - completely inconsistent banding.

Tried all above suggestions - printer is immaculate. Canon have come out once and thought it might be because the printer wasn't level but haven't seen a change since adjustment. Using Normal AAC as standard - have tried Enhanced to see if this helps but no difference. Also tried Robust vs Normal print modes - better on Robust, but inconsistent banding prevails. Printing everything Matte Speciality.

FireSprint.com - did you ever work out how to mitigate this issue?

 

[edcooleyar]

We recently installed the 1630 and love it. We’re not a high volume shop so the speed hit was not a problem for us. The matte mode on satin media has a nice glow to it. No banding problems as of yet.

 

[Pauly]

We recently installed the 1630 and love it. We’re not a high volume shop so the speed hit was not a problem for us. The matte mode on satin media has a nice glow to it. No banding problems as of yet.

On the 1630, does it have 4 or 8 print heads?
I was told it's identical to the 1650, but the specs say it's 50% of the speed.

 

[edcooleyar]

Only 4 heads to worry with. Nozzle status, alignment and head cleaning are all automated.

 

[Pauly]

Only 4 heads to worry with. Nozzle status, alignment and head cleaning are all automated.

I have the 1650, i was just curious as i've been told different things regarding the specs from the 1650 vs 1630.

 

[KEYSER SOZE]

We're a new owner of a Colorado 1650 and experiencing the exact same issue - completely inconsistent banding.

Tried all above suggestions - printer is immaculate. Canon have come out once and thought it might be because the printer wasn't level but haven't seen a change since adjustment. Using Normal AAC as standard - have tried Enhanced to see if this helps but no difference. Also tried Robust vs Normal print modes - better on Robust, but inconsistent banding prevails. Printing everything Matte Speciality.

FireSprint.com - did you ever work out how to mitigate this issue?

Howdy Guys,

I've had a 1650 for almost 2 years now, I probably don't print anywhere near as much as most of you on it, only about 50 to 100 metres a day.
The 2 vinyls we run most that seem to suit the printer and us best are - Oracal 3551 polymeric (High Quality or Superior modes), 3M IJ1810 cast (Specialty mode).

First up, no one on here has mentioned "Superior" mode (about 30m2 hour), do your printers/firmware have it ?
We only use the Robust settings in some Matte modes, we usually get better results in Normal.

In the early days we had the banding issues you speak of, but once we started regularly polishing the platten (Canon's Cleaner A is best for this) quality improved dramatically.
It mostly gets around the fundamental design flaw of the friction/static buildup that occurs with the strong platten vacuum fighting against the feed motors pushing the vinyl through.
(The media ever so slightly compresses then releases causing inconsistent feed and banding).
We do it roughly every 100 metres, takes about 5 minutes.
Does everyone do this ?

Our local Canon technician also mentioned Canon has suggested the application of Teflon tape to the entry and exit surfaces behind front and back of the platten, to further reduce friction.
Ours is being applied next week.

All in all, after 20 odd years of (mostly happy) solvent printing the 1650 has been life changing.
(That and the discovery of Kala Mistral's staggeringly accurate roll to roll laminating).

Cheers.

 

[pxbrands]

Howdy Guys,

I've had a 1650 for almost 2 years now, I probably don't print anywhere near as much as most of you on it, only about 50 to 100 metres a day.
The 2 vinyls we run most that seem to suit the printer and us best are - Oracal 3551 polymeric (High Quality or Superior modes), 3M IJ1810 cast (Specialty mode).

First up, no one on here has mentioned "Superior" mode (about 30m2 hour), do your printers/firmware have it ?
We only use the Robust settings in some Matte modes, we usually get better results in Normal.

In the early days we had the banding issues you speak of, but once we started regularly polishing the platten (Canon's Cleaner A is best for this) quality improved dramatically.
It mostly gets around the fundamental design flaw of the friction/static buildup that occurs with the strong platten vacuum fighting against the feed motors pushing the vinyl through.
(The media ever so slightly compresses then releases causing inconsistent feed and banding).
We do it roughly every 100 metres, takes about 5 minutes.
Does everyone do this ?

Our local Canon technician also mentioned Canon has suggested the application of Teflon tape to the entry and exit surfaces behind front and back of the platten, to further reduce friction.
Ours is being applied next week.

All in all, after 20 odd years of (mostly happy) solvent printing the 1650 has been life changing.
(That and the discovery of Kala Mistral's staggeringly accurate roll to roll laminating).

Cheers.

Thanks for the suggestion of cleaning the platen - we clean it once a week right now but we will give this a shot and start polishing it daily!

When you say Canon Cleaner A - do you mean the Cleaner MB/methyl benzoate, or IA/Isopropyl Alcohol? We've used IA as per manual up until now.

We've had mixed results from Robust vs Normal modes - generally have found Robust to be better as you have said but in some instances - mostly large areas of flat, dark colour - we sometimes find Normal mode is better (though only when using Enhanced AAC as well).

 

[jasonx]

We apply polish daily. Find it helps alot.