Things they don't tell you about UV flatbed printers

[WinGraphics]

DoubleDown: The Oce 250GT is 5 years old but with very low hours. It has not been used as a high production machine. It will produce 4 to 5 boards an hour depending on the quality mode that is selected. You said that you use the "harder ink set". I think that is the 255 ink. I know that the original ink (255) prints great but is not know for it's adhesion. Oce says it more for higher quality indoor prints, while the 256 "outdoor" ink has greater adhesion but some issues with "banding". Are you using your Oce's prints mostly for indoor applications?

DoubleDown: What UV flatbeds do you print with?

The main factor i am concerned with though is if the Oce 250GT was a dependable machine. These UV printers are like race cars. If they are not designed well they Crash into the wall at 100 mph and require major outlays of cash to get them back on the track.




We use the harder ink set, better trust me.

 

[Tom Dalton]

I clean it throughly with a 50/50 water/denatured alcohol mix

We have a Gerber cat-UV. We would have issues with printing on finger prints if we didn't clean the material with the right solution. Gerber specifies 99.9% Isopropyl alcohol (not diluted 50/50 water mixture). They also have their own branded Surface Cleaner solution.

-Tom
SignsDirect.com

 

[ElJay]

Thanks for all the help and advice. Don't get me wrong, the Oce is a well-designed, reliable piece of machinery. We've been pushing it hard from day one and heavy usage will tend to magnify the inherent issues in any printer. Got some homework to do. Thanks again everyone.

 

[Nate1n22]

Been dealing with adhesion problems lately with our Acuity. We have resorted to printing white under just about everything due to all the scratches/etc.
I used the ZE1000 today for a double sided sign and still had ink peeling of.

 

[DoubleDown]

Read my post before, ink adhesion issue is lamp issue and every media has recommended start points. Have you cleaned your reflectors every time you change bulbs, have you cleaned the glass under the lamps. The ONLY things we use promoter on is some acrylics and aluminum, period.

You can have lamps too high which will bake the ink or too low which won't cure it.

 

[DougWestwood]

OCE Arizona 250 GT

I'm in the market for a used machine. I screwed up 4 years ago when i bought a Colorspan 5465 and i want to trade up to a solid, quality used machine of which i have found several. The Colorspan was a first generation machine with lots of problems. I know that Oce 350GT is a good machine, however, the one i am looking at is the Oce 250GT. The 250 is the first one in the GT line and I was wondering if that one was a problem child or a solid machine? One mistake was enough for me and i really cant afford to make another. Any feedback is appreciated.

I am also curious about the 2 ink sets that Oce has. One has better adhesion but slightly lower print quality. Does anyone have experience with that in the older machines? Some people have commented about their Oce's being finicky when printing on some materiels. Which inkset are you guys using?

Thanks for the help!

We have used the OCE 250 GT (no white ink) for approx 5 years. Styrene is tough, but just print with margins on the edges (at least 3 inches) and you can avoid most hand prints. Prints fast and clean, but the prints are temperature sensitive, cold making the ink flake off. We use adhesion promoter on coroplast and that seems to be successfully battling the weather.

We also use 70-90% alcohol on some dirty substrates. Tough to not polish areas, which will then look different in print. Just a gentle wipe, with a few minutes drying time, seems to work and not leave streaks.

Keeping the heads clean is very important. Not too much of a pain, since the cleaning time is more than made up in shorter production times. That's a good trade-off.

Have had good OCE results, not really needing the white ink feature, not needing the static bar, using cheaper 3rd supplier bulbs, and using the 256 inks, which is all they sell now. If you are getting this used, make sure the bulbs still have some life in them. They fail slowly, giving less quality over time, rather than a regular that either works or doesn't.

Good Luck!
- Doug
FastSigns Vancouver, BC

 

[Plopez210]

We just bought the first CET xpress 500

does a 4x8 in like 5 mine bro

wear latex gloves and use some iso

 

[aaronmgd]

Marks on finished product

I would suggest you clean the sheet thoroughly even if it looks clean to you with alcohol prior to printing. The sheets have oils on them that affect the ink adhesion. we now clean all our material prior to printing using 100% alcohol and the results are positive. Hope this helps

 

[Pete Moss]

We clean with 70% alcohol and microfiber cloths. I do anyway, the other printer usually just cuts off the outside portion of whatever rolled media we are using. We both always clean flat sub-straights. We have a Oce 250 GT. It's been running solid for five plus years. I am going to check on the UV setting for you and will re-post. I have to say it is one of the if not the easiest printers I've ever used. It's purged in the morning and the coverage is so saturated (bidirectional) most imperfections get covered adequately. I am used to roll fed, Mimaki, HP, Rolland, etc this machine is much more maintenance and hassle free.