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What can I do with an Epson Stylus Pro 7800?

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boolean21

New Member
Hi all,
I've got an offer for a used unit of the Epson Stylus Pro 7800.

Understand that it uses pigment inks and material cost for self adhesive vinyl are more expensive than uncoated materials.

I've also read mixed reviews about how long the pigment inks printed on coated vinyls with lamination, and now i'm still thinking whether it is possible to use this printer to print outdoor short term graphics for vehicles?

Any one uses these pigment printers? What can I use these printers for? It there a lot of things that I can do at the same cost or lower cost compared to solvent printers?

The reason that I'm considering this pigment printer is the low machine cost, compared to solvent printers. Currently subbing out my solvent prints and thinking of getting this printer so that I can do stickers and decals inhouse rather than subbing the prints out. Just wondering how long can these stickers last out doors, fading, or whether the laminate will peel after the coating on the vinyl gets wet..

Thanks all!
 
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jmcnicoll

New Member
The 7800 is an great printer with excellent quality. Not meant for outdoor, but I have had prints last for a up to 4 years outside with my 7600, all depends what it is and where it outside. Had adhesive back vinyls on my vehicles for over 2 years without any fading. Must have laminate applied as most everything, even most indoor stuff other than photo or art papers. Jim
 
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Donny7833

New Member
Great printer for the fine art market, Ultrachrome inks last forever indoors. Outdoors, you'll still get a couple of years. I started my shop with a 10600, same inkset. Used coated vinyl and laminated absolutely everything. Bumper stickers, door magnets, small signage, etc. No wraps or anything huge. It worked well enough until I put in the solvent printer, a whole lot cheaper to run.

Have you thought of turning it into a dye sublimation printer. There are a few companies that sell kits (US Sublimation, Sawgrass Ink, etc) to switch over the machine. Then you could go after the short run T's, flags, totes, ceramic tiles. Tons of items to spark your imagination, check out BestBlanks.com. You would have to invest in a heat press, but if there's a market in your area, it could pay for itself in a short time.

Don
 
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boolean21

New Member
Hi all,
Thanks for the replies. :)

I'm actually doing more of vehicle graphics, and smaller stickers, and was looking for a "cheaper" way to do my own prints for the smaller stickers.

I just tried soaking a piece of printed coated vinyl sticker, laminated, and seems like water is getting in to the coat from the sides of the sticker...

Seems like it is not possible to use this machine to print stickers for outdoor usage..

I have no fine art market experience, anyone into the fine art market? Generally, is it a big market to step into?

And also, is it cost effective to use this 7800 to print indoor posters, pull up banners, wall stickers, small vinyl sticker labels for indoor uses?

Thanks all!
 
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Tony McD

New Member
You probably need to encapsulate the print outdoors so moisture can't get in.
Leave about 1/4" of laminate off the print so it seals the edges down.
 
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jmcnicoll

New Member
My experience with the water seep in the edges is that it can greatly depend on the laminate. Cheap lam seemed to let the water seep in, when better lam with better adhesive worded great.

Jim
 
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mark in tx

New Member
Step back and think about this for a minute, you need to produce outdoor graphics.
Even though you can get a sweet deal, the printer is for indoor graphics.

Cross purpose?

Yes, it can be done, with some workarounds, but you are primarily doing outdoor graphics.

Is it the right tool for the job?

Can you plan, market and sell the products this printer is meant for? Then go for it and expand your offerings. If not, then keep saving for that outdoor printer you need.
 
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rob6894

New Member
I have a 7800 I have boat names that I have laminated leaving about 1/4" over hang to encapsalate going on for two years now and they look as good as the day I printed them. I also user a seal it pen around the edges for adde protection.
 
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rob6894

New Member
I have this printer and can tell you that I have done printed vinyl for boat names with it and they have now on there third year. the trick is to use a goo laminate and leave about 3/4" to 1/2" over laminate to seal the edges. I also used a seal-it pen around the edges for extra protection.
 
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ColesCreations

New Member
Don't buy a waterbased printer for anything outdoors. Period. If you already owned it, yes, you could "make do", but I'd never buy an aqueous printer for outdoors.

Buy a solvent printer.

We have an Epson 10600, we use it for fine art posters, and a solvent printer for outdoors. The Epson was our first printer, we "made do", and have replaced most of the outdoor stuff we sold from it :-(
 
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kdw1975

New Member
ColesCreations said:
Don't buy a waterbased printer for anything outdoors. Period. If you already owned it, yes, you could "make do", but I'd never buy an aqueous printer for outdoors.

Buy a solvent printer.

We have an Epson 10600, we use it for fine art posters, and a solvent printer for outdoors. The Epson was our first printer, we "made do", and have replaced most of the outdoor stuff we sold from it :-(
Click to expand...

I can understand why that would leave a bad taste in your mouth. We use our 7600 and 9800 for vinyl banners and use a liquid laminate. Our oldest one is over 3 years old without any signs of fading or damage. Our customers say that anything over a year or two is more than they expect when they buy them. Our banner customers love the quality of our banners as well as the price. They are amazed at the continuous tone appearance of photos. Gotta love Epson.

Versatility is a must so can you just use a solvent printer for everything? If so why do they even have the other non-solvent printers?
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
i'm in the fine art market... if you are an advanced graphic artist, you can do high end indoor installs for offices, hospitals, restaurants. you'll need to have a portfolio dropped of at some local art consulting firms.
 
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