Jack Knight1979
New Member
Finally ditching my Roland Eco-Sol machines for two brand new HP 370's. I'm pumped! We're going to drive them with Caldera off a dedicated Mac Mini.
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Two 370's coming tomorrow!
- Thread starter Jack Knight1979
- Start date
Jack Knight1979
New Member
I was an eco-sol user for life, until the third generation of HP latex machines came out. I wasn't satisfied with the technology until now. I feel that HP has dialed it in with this third generation. The print quality is amazing, as are the print speeds. We run a lot of adhesive vinyl now, so the speed and instant dry is a huge bonus for us. I don't like having to store the material for a day waiting for the cure of the eco-sol. Also, our Rolands are becoming more and more difficult to produce dependable color. They can be tuned for certain prints, but as a whole they're just old a tired.
I had to come back to this post and add this point as it slipped my mind. The bulk ink on the 370's was a huge motivator for me. Being a slave to cartridges wasn't an option for our production style. I equipped our previous machines with very nice bulk systems which was a huge benefit. Being able to top off tanks before a large print run was a core reason why I didn't switch printers. Once I found that the 370's were coming with three liters, plus the 775ml carts per channel. I had to upgrade.
Hopefully I will be as pleased with the HP units, as I have been with the Rolands.
I had to come back to this post and add this point as it slipped my mind. The bulk ink on the 370's was a huge motivator for me. Being a slave to cartridges wasn't an option for our production style. I equipped our previous machines with very nice bulk systems which was a huge benefit. Being able to top off tanks before a large print run was a core reason why I didn't switch printers. Once I found that the 370's were coming with three liters, plus the 775ml carts per channel. I had to upgrade.
Hopefully I will be as pleased with the HP units, as I have been with the Rolands.
dypinc
New Member
It is alright for keeping printer calibrated but for profiling it leaves a lot to be desired. The problem is really the profiling engine built into the printer, but it maybe good enough for some uses but it does limit gamut over what good profiling software will do. If you can use the onboard spectro from the RIP and control your profile setting you will get a much better profile.
Robert Gruner
New Member
Jack,
Kudos! The demand for eco-solvent severely declining! Japanese built eco-solvent printers
are being replaced with HP Latex.
Good printing!
Kudos! The demand for eco-solvent severely declining! Japanese built eco-solvent printers
are being replaced with HP Latex.
Good printing!
Jack Knight1979
New Member
Unloaded the beasts off the truck today. Waiting for the tech to come tomorrow. Very exciting.
Jack Knight1979
New Member
Initial impressions and install report.
My tech came and setup the machines very quickly. Bulk systems had to be installed on the 360, and new firmware was installed, as well as 370 badges. Regretfully one of the machines was unable to start due to a bad heat controller board. HP sent out a second tech the following day, and both techs had the machine running in about a half hour. From there on, I was trained on the machines. I'm in love.
Print quality is amazing. The onboard profiling is amazing. The print speeds = insane. What took 24 hours + on my Rolands now takes about three hours. Really. I still can't believe there is NO ink smell and the ink is instantly dry. My whole world has changed.
I've only ran a few banners and some 3m wrapping vinyl so far. Once I get everything dialed in with my new Summa cutters (Summa has been amazing as well), I'll start running both machines at the same time. More updates to follow.
Thanks!
My tech came and setup the machines very quickly. Bulk systems had to be installed on the 360, and new firmware was installed, as well as 370 badges. Regretfully one of the machines was unable to start due to a bad heat controller board. HP sent out a second tech the following day, and both techs had the machine running in about a half hour. From there on, I was trained on the machines. I'm in love.
Print quality is amazing. The onboard profiling is amazing. The print speeds = insane. What took 24 hours + on my Rolands now takes about three hours. Really. I still can't believe there is NO ink smell and the ink is instantly dry. My whole world has changed.
I've only ran a few banners and some 3m wrapping vinyl so far. Once I get everything dialed in with my new Summa cutters (Summa has been amazing as well), I'll start running both machines at the same time. More updates to follow.
Thanks!
rdmdarr
New Member
post a video or its not true.
I will be getting a 370 as well hopefully in the next month, might trade in my seiko and get 2 370's and be just like you.
Behrmon
Pr. Bear-Mon
Would like to make the switch as well. I'm curious after some time of use what limitations you folks have found if any re substrates? We print a lot of adhesive/banner and a fair amount of reflective vinyl for municipalities. How is the front loading? Any real issues with this, have you run into any roll/weight issues? I like what I saw of them out at SGIA but they also seemed a bit less sturdy than the Rolands, are they?
Jack Knight1979
New Member
I'm very sorry for the delay on any updates to this thread. I've been busy. I will elaborate later, but the cliff notes version goes something like this.
I had some technical issues getting the printers dialed in. This is to be expected as the machines were new installs. Each time there was an issue, HP was out the next day with fixes. Multiple levels of their support teams worked on my problems and sorted them immediately. My two 370's have ran non-stop since they were installed. In the first six-seven weeks after installation they printed about 75,000 square feet between the two machines. Since September I have but on another 12,000 square feet. They run like clock work. Print quality that rivals offset lithography.
I recommend them.
I had some technical issues getting the printers dialed in. This is to be expected as the machines were new installs. Each time there was an issue, HP was out the next day with fixes. Multiple levels of their support teams worked on my problems and sorted them immediately. My two 370's have ran non-stop since they were installed. In the first six-seven weeks after installation they printed about 75,000 square feet between the two machines. Since September I have but on another 12,000 square feet. They run like clock work. Print quality that rivals offset lithography.
I recommend them.