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Vinyl Express III 72" eco solvent

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chris190

New Member
Greetings,

My first post here :) .... I have a couple of questions as I'm about to drop some money on a solvent printer printer.

I have in mind this brand new Vinyl Express III 72" eco solvent printer (made in China) .... and I know it's a knock off brand, but I looked it up and it uses the Epson DX5 print head (used in mimaki jv33 series), so print quality / resolution should be pretty nice but I'm wondering more or less if someone has one of these and could tell me about how reliable they are..... or what could go wrong with them. I already got some princes on the main board, printhead board and motor which are not that bad if they go out.... plus it supposely comes with 1 year warranty on parts (good feedback seller)

I have my mind set on this which will cost me $7000 for everything including shipping and it also comes with 4 litters of eco solvent ink and the Maintop RIP software.......but I could also try to look for a used Mutoh, or Mimaki jv33 64" printer used for hopefully the same about of money....

I am technical person so if I need to fix/replace stuff..I could perhaps do it.....but I would like an opinion from the pros if this vinyl express II printer with a brand new Epson DX5 head will do justice for the $7000 or not ?

Any help / suggestion would be welcome :)

I will intend to use this mainly for banners, canvas and self-adhesive prints.

Thanks in advance!!!

Chris
 
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chris190

New Member
Also I here are info for it :

Features:
* The upgraded version! Advanced technologies in printer control system, movement system, auto clean&protect system and ink supply system.

*Epson DX5 printhead with 24.5mm width and 8 lines nozzles,Max 1440dpi.

* Double 4-color ink supply which outputs delicately and colorfully.

*Nice appearance, Simple structure design, convenient operation and easy maintaince.

* Imported HIWIN linear rail and high quality motors, more stable,,and lower noise during printing.

*.All control boards carry high quality electronic components, with solid tantalum capacitances to extend the piezocrystal lifespan, inbuilt ARM chips, much lower the CPU& Memory usage rate.

*.Work with Maintop 5.3 RIP software can RIP meantime print.

*.Printhead can be adjusted up and down for different thickness medias.

*.Advanced variable dot print technology(VSDT), the minimum dot reach 3.5pl,maximum 27pl.

*.With automatic ink pumping and head cleaning&wipping.

*.Control program is built in RIP, more easy operation and high compatibility.

*.Error code hints system tells you where the problem is.
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
it looks okay. i did a lot of research (weeks that is) and from what i can tell, the best built (other then the major OEMs) dx5 printer is the ultra9000 made by wit-color. wit-color is a korean OEM and there is a lot of info about the printer out there. there was even a review on a russian message board.
 
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chris190

New Member
artbot said:
it looks okay. i did a lot of research (weeks that is) and from what i can tell, the best built (other then the major OEMs) dx5 printer is the ultra9000 made by wit-color. wit-color is a korean OEM and there is a lot of info about the printer out there. there was even a review on a russian message board.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info :) ..... I looked up on the site and couldnt find a price .... Is this model 64" or 72" or different?

I will do more research....

Thanks again
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
all i know is the 82" model was $8500 for the dual dx5, i'd figure the 72" is reasonable. asian companies are unusual. they prefer to message over email, and you need to message them in very simple (almost broken) english. you'll find yourself typing in chin-english after a while. avoid pronouns. in the 72" range there are tons and tons of models. search under 1.8m. from $3500 for a single crude dx5 to heavy duty dx5 printers. there's even a printer called that neo-jet that is a dx5 eco-solvent printer based on the encad 750 chassis for $4200.

mostly be patient. such as wit-color has major distribution in s. america and russia and of course china. a single dude in the US (believe it or not other countries DO NOT believe that the USA is the "greatest country in the world") will probably wait a week for a response. after that i found wit-color to be very helpful. they even have a dx5 flatbed (using the ultra9000) for $24k.
 
CheapVehicleWrap

CheapVehicleWrap

New Member
chris190 said:
Thanks ... I suppose you could say the same thing if I bought a used Mimaki or Mutoh but that doesn't really help me out here :) I'm aware that it's a risk.
Click to expand...

Nah. What you posted screamed junk or scam to me, so I was serious about the warning.

Now I doubt myself as Artbot has chimed in with knowledge of the unit.
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
i'm not crazy about the vinyl express unit. looks like a mutoh copy. for a few hundred more you can get a lot better off market machine.
 
Robert M

Robert M

New Member
That printer

If you are not using it as your go to printer it may be worth the risk, but think of what it would be like if it breaks down and you are stuck waiting for tech support that includes an 8 hour time difference and a language barrier. Next day parts delivery usually turns out to be 4 + days.
 
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chris190

New Member
artbot said:
i'm not crazy about the vinyl express unit. looks like a mutoh copy. for a few hundred more you can get a lot better off market machine.
Click to expand...

I see.... I will deff look Into other options.

I have $7000 to spend tops..... After my research if i can find something up to that price range i would go for it....anything between 54" and 72" im
Interested.

Is a machine with a epson dx5 the best deal in terms of quality of print?
 
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chris190

New Member
Robert M said:
If you are not using it as your go to printer it may be worth the risk, but think of what it would be like if it breaks down and you are stuck waiting for tech support that includes an 8 hour time difference and a language barrier. Next day parts delivery usually turns out to be 4 + days.
Click to expand...

It will actually be my goto printer, but it will be light use ... At least in the beginning, but yea i wouldnt want to be stuck if something shall go wrong...

Im hoping i will at least get my investment from it before anything breaks down :)
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
you need the dx5 because they are so cheap to maintain. you can get a dx5 for $600 from china you'll need four $800 dx4 heads to do the same thing. a dual dx5 printer will print as fast as an eight head dx4 (very rare set up). and dx4s are very difficult to replace and calibrate to each other. a newbie with a dx5 printer has it made compared to dx4.

i read in one russian message board...a guy was selling a 3.2 used ultra9000 when translated to english it was called a "good work horsy". keep in mind, it's very doubtful any of these printers are as refined as a mimaki for instance. the major brands have been debugging their printers for decades. if you spend less you will get less. but at least wit-color does use some good guts. a printer is basically a cnc machine. they have become very modularized. hell, i'm building my own giant flatbed. it's just separate parts all strapped together.
 
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chris190

New Member
artbot said:
you need the dx5 because they are so cheap to maintain. you can get a dx5 for $600 from china you'll need four $800 dx4 heads to do the same thing. a dual dx5 printer will print as fast as an eight head dx4 (very rare set up). and dx4s are very difficult to replace and calibrate to each other. a newbie with a dx5 printer has it made compared to dx4.

i read in one russian message board...a guy was selling a 3.2 used ultra9000 when translated to english it was called a "good work horsy". keep in mind, it's very doubtful any of these printers are as refined as a mimaki for instance. the major brands have been debugging their printers for decades. if you spend less you will get less. but at least wit-color does use some good guts. a printer is basically a cnc machine. they have become very modularized. hell, i'm building my own giant flatbed. it's just separate parts all strapped together.
Click to expand...


Sweet!!!! Awesome info..... . then DX5 based printer it is ...and yea I wouldn't expect it to be nice and smooth like a mimaki, but as long as it's decent I would be happy :)


Thats awesome that you can build your own flatbed !!! how wide?
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
right now the table i'm converting is 7' x 24'. but for technical reasons i may cut it down to 7' x 12' and turn the other side into a bit engraver or laser table (it used to be a laser table for etching glass).
 
Jim Doggett

Jim Doggett

New Member
artbot said:
i'm not crazy about the vinyl express unit. looks like a mutoh copy. for a few hundred more you can get a lot better off market machine.
Click to expand...

Mutoh makes a great EcoSol printer, many of which we sell under our Vinyl Express brand, which is registered trademark. The Chinese have little regard for trademarks, registered or otherwise ... but maybe Fred can help us out here if it's being infringed.

Thousands of folks can attest to the quality and value of the products we sell. But please do not confuse them with rip-offs, which it seems this Chinese-made printer clearly is. And even if it looks similar, the internals are not. Printers made in Japan are light-years beyond those cheaply pieced together in China.

Caveat emptor, chris190. Failing that, I think CheapVehicleWrap was spot-on with: "Good luck with this. I'm SURE you're going to need it." Indeed. Much luck in fact, based on our experience.
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
myth of low quality parts

i don't think we can paint all chinese, korean, etc oem's as "worse" than japanese oems.

i have a printer that i've chosen from a chinese oem that will ultimately go on my flatbed. (currently because i've got so much linear motion building to do, i'm going to gut an encad and strap it to the gantry as a proxy.)

my invoice for this printer was to buy 1.5 printers. the stock printer and several other parts located in the printer that i could use without taking them out of the standing working stock printer. the individual parts were not cheap.

servo motors were $500 each, there was a panasonic servo driver $1500, etc. all japanese made. the printer was made of top of the line parts in a chinese printer.

i'm sorry if i was calling the printer a vinyl-express/// we should call it the "vinyl express copy". attached is a pdf i received yesterday from funsign. it looks to be this same printer or very similar?

as far as chinese made printers, this is a reality to be dealt with. within a few years a few more companies will be on the market. basic sign shop printers are very simple machines. desktop printers have become disposable at this point. any set of engineers can do it. the ink is far more complex then all the motors and such. we also should expect chinese HP latex machines too in the near future.

printers will go the way of the cnc router. there will be major oems and many smaller ones. and as each cnc is judged on it's merits so will each no-name printer. the industry has become modularized. in china there is a factory that makes gantries, a factory that makes capping stations, a factory that makes boards. a start up does not need to be an expert in the engineering of an individual part, they just start ordering and assembling. it's up the buyer to research with "builders" are using great parts.
 

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