Vp540i vs SOLJET Pro 4 XR-640

[ams]

Currently I have a VP540i which has a printing speed of 144 sq. ft. per hour. The new Soljet Pro 4 is suppose to be 528 sq. ft. an hour. However when I watch the demo video on Roland's website, it seems slow. The amount of media that pushes out per swipe is small and the head unit is only moving a little faster.

When you watch the video for the Soljet EJ-640, that thing is amazing. Lays down a perfectly coated 2" strip of graphics in one pass, it's 1,098 sq. ft. an hour which is like (32) 4' X 8' banners.

But the Soljet Pro 4 looks incredibly slow in comparison. Any have a Soljet Pro 4?

 

[Solventinkjet]

The VP540i uses 4 inline DX4 print heads which each have 2 channels of 180 dots. That's 1440 nozzles.

The SolJet Pro 4 uses 2 inline DX7 print heads which each have 8 channels of 180 dots. That's 2880 nozzles.

The Soljet EJ-640 uses 2 staggered DX7 heads with 8 channels each of 180 dots. That's 2880 nozzles but being staggered gives them the ability to print more nozzles at once which is why the passes are so much wider.

The demo you watched probably was not printing at full speed. In order to get 528 sq. ft. per hour on a single (or dual DX7 heads that use anything other than CMYKx2) DX7 print head you have to print on 360x360 1 pass and that doesn't usually look good enough for a demo.

 

[ams]

Thanks for the information. It sounds like it probably isn't worth upgrading at this time. I normally print at 720x720

 

[HDvinyl]

I thought you had ALL the answers.

Why can't morons figure out they're morons? Because they're morons.

 

[1leonchen]

factor in maintenance. the machine is faster.i would go 2 dx7. i run a 2 dx7 . dx4 is dead tech. dx 5 is good and fast also. don't watch the width of the head. i have the roland vp 540 i guy say damm that machine is fast. and the quality.

go in for a demo say print one panel 54 by 12 and watch the speed your self. roland dealer came selling me the big bad rf. it didn't pass my test. my 102 inch printer will do a 8 by 8 banner in 6 minutes. better quality. low quality 5 minutes.

 

[ams]

I thought you had ALL the answers.

Why can't morons figure out they're morons? Because they're morons.

Stop being a democrat.

 

[ChaseO]

I have an XR. Great printer, but I never print that fast, and the quality is so bad when you do its not worth it. You can set the machine up as dual cmyk and get some extra speed and quality out of it, but I have mine set up with lc, lm, lk, and w. The white is a joke, but the light black is amazing for printing greys. I know some of the newer printers have really made some strides in speed and quality, but I am happy with the XR for the time being.