Trade in the Squid????

[signmancanada]

We are currently running a THS Squid 64" which supposedly is a private label Toucan LT, or Rockhopper, running bulk solvent inks. It was done by Treck Hall up here in Canada. While it's taken near on three years to get to this point, the lease is coming up shortly and we're trying to figure out if we keep the old girl, which is built well, and currently runs well, for something bigger, better and faster...

You might think we're insane, but understand, having a private label machine you are at the mercy of not just the manufacturer, but also the supply house. Parts appear to be coming slower and slower and while service has been good, support has been poor. Ink is really cheap at $129 - 149 / litre, and most of the time it does a decent job. It's when it doesn't that we find ourselves with no support. We have switched to exclusively running 3M products and the machine loves it, but we are limited, with our limited operating knowledge to adopt competitive medias. We have a couple of other good supply houses that rep Roland, and would perhaps think about getting a new lease going with one of their machines.

When I talk to one of our competitors he just raves about his new Designjet with all the bells and whistles it has, I do feel like we're a little bit in the stone age.

So, if you were in our shoes, what would you do????

 

[Valentino]

the toucan is a good machine, you can now upgrade the firmware to get the interweave pattern.

after about 3 years, you guys should be tech pros on that machine.

what is the trade in value?

 

[signmancanada]

fair market is about 15k, trade in on this orphan .....good question! Problem is, we know it fairly well, but it's been 'push the button and hope for the best' I want to deal with a supplier that will help us learn our machine so we'll be pros. Our current supplier simply doesn't do that.

 

[Valentino]

when you say the lease is up, are you talking about a buy out lease?

 

[Ken]

Yeah...lease is not in my vocabulary..
Buy it and deal with it.
Go to a big brand..pay the bucks ..and be happy!
Ken

 

[signmancanada]

Yeah, a lease with residual buyout option. A lot of pressure to keep the old girl rather than go into debt again for new machine. I'm personally thinking that things have come so far in the last three years that it may well be worth 'upgrading'.

Don't get me wrong, this machine is well built. When I compare to the new Mutoh valuejets, this thing appears to be built like a tank in comparison.

I am very disappointed in the support or lack thereof we've got from the supplier. I certainly envy some of the fellas on here that speak so highly of the service they receive from their suppliers.

 

[Valentino]

the Toucan, can actually be upgraded to have the same wave like print as the Valuejets. All you have to do is upgrade the firmware. personally I would keep the old girl and just get a tech manual from ebay or somewhere. Then be your own technician.

cmykparts.com has parts for most of the mutohs. if you need support, the guys at mutoh are really helpful, even if you dont have a existing warranty. It would also be a good idea to give them a call and ask if you can purchase a extended warranty through mutoh/gei calgraph. if your not satisifed with your dealer go above and beyond them with a different supplier or straight from mutoh.

 

[Valentino]

The Toucan doesn't even compare with the Valuejets, I mean the toucan can fire up to 900sf/h. the max a VJ can do is 150sfh

 

[randya]

FYI,
The Toucan LT (Squid) tops out at about 400 sf/h in 360x360dpi, and about 120 sf/hr in 720x720 dpi.

The ValueJets do not offer 360 dpi.

Both the Toucan LT and the ValueJets are Epson head technology.
With the ValueJet 100 and Toucan LT using the same technology Epson 2 channel heads and the ValueJets 48, 54 and 64's using the latest 8 channel Epson head technology.

The original Toucan uses Spectra heads, is a full solvent machine using the same technology as the Mutoh PJ series printer, and does have 180 dpi mode for much higher speed.

 

[Valentino]

Hey Randy, who do you think you are coming into this post and correcting me. geez you'd think you work at Mutoh or something.

lol.

thanks for the corrections, I dunno what printer I was thinking of, I must be thinking of the original toucan at 800sf/h. maybe the printer fumes are getting to me, lol.

in my personal opinion, depending if your looking at the VJ 54/64", I'd say buyout the lease on the Toucan LT. I'm not sure what your buyout is, some are 10%, but I would gladly pay 6,000 for a toucan LT.

keep her working and save up for something fancy like a Spitfire or Blizzard.

As for service, get your hards dirty knowing the ins and outs under the cover, you've always have the support staff at mutoh. if they ask if the printer is under warranty, always say yes, lol.

 

[Valentino]

Randy, do you guys still stock Toucan/Toucan LT parts in house?

 

[randya]

Randy, do you guys still stock Toucan/Toucan LT parts in house?

Yes, though I am not sure which parts and how many.

The Spitfire, is similar technology to the Toucan LT and does have an 800 plus sqft/hr capacity for meshes.
Toucan, Toucan LT, heck I get them confused at times, but they really are very different machines.

The ValueJet 100 is essentially a Toucan LT in a 103" version.

The wave is available for the Toucan LTs, the Falcon II Outdoors, the New PJs but not the original Toucans or the Falcon Jr or Outdoor.


Hey, I learn much from you guys, I just pipe in when I think I can help.

 

[signmancanada]

Listen, thanks for all the help fellas! Think we'll keep her around for awhile.