What do you think of Roland Flatbed printers?

[CC-CMYK]

Has anyone checked out the new Roland Versa Object CO series?

I’m really interested in the flatbed belt drive version. It seems to hit a lot of my needs but I haven’t seen any reviews on it yet. I don’t need speed. I’d just like to have something that fits in my building and has good print quality. The belt drive looks promising for printing longer objects and roll to roll printing.

Does anyone have one of these or any UV Roland printer? I’d like to know if Roland makes a good uv printer and if they are a good company to work with.

VersaOBJECT CO Series Large Format Direct To Substrate UV Printers | Roland DGA

Discover Roland DG CO Series large format direct to substrate uv printers for object customization. Customize boards with our premium quality direct-to-object printing.

www.rolanddga.com

 

[MarkSnelling]

I sell Roland units but we haven't moved any of these yet....likely because I've felt they are a bit spendy (as is the ink) for what they do. But I can say that with the exception of the EJ640, I've never regretted selling a Roland branded unit. The quality is always excellent as is the support (and the heads are completely covered under warranty unlike anyone else in the industry). You really can't go wrong...especially if you want to print on really thick things.

When we start having discussions around flatbed printing, our pitch usually moves over to the Fluid Color units which are really great units for the price point. Their flatbeds print on to objects up to 4" thick (Roland is 7"). You'll get more speed and flexibility with Fluid Color....but again, you'll never really be hung out to dry with a Roland product.

 

[CC-CMYK]

I sell Roland units but we haven't moved any of these yet....likely because I've felt they are a bit spendy (as is the ink) for what they do. But I can say that with the exception of the EJ640, I've never regretted selling a Roland branded unit. The quality is always excellent as is the support (and the heads are completely covered under warranty unlike anyone else in the industry). You really can't go wrong...especially if you want to print on really thick things.

When we start having discussions around flatbed printing, our pitch usually moves over to the Fluid Color units which are really great units for the price point. Their flatbeds print on to objects up to 4" thick (Roland is 7"). You'll get more speed and flexibility with Fluid Color....but again, you'll never really be hung out to dry with a Roland product.

Thanks for your response. I’d definitely look into Fluid Color machines. I’m kinda limited by our doorway/ the size of our shop. What’s the starting price of Fluid Color machines? They look like they could be much pricier?

Where are you located? We’re in Richmond, Va. I’m wondering if there’s a shop near me that might have one of these machines.

 

[JamesLam]

How do I say this without missing the mark. The Roland IU-1000F UV Flatbed is marked down form $150k usd to $100k usd which I believe Ricoh rebranded and sells for about $170k usd. If there is a difference no one has bothered to either acknowledge it or let in me on the secrets.

Anyway, I would be holding onto my money until a much better deal comes along.

 

[MarkSnelling]

Thanks for your response. I’d definitely look into Fluid Color machines. I’m kinda limited by our doorway/ the size of our shop. What’s the starting price of Fluid Color machines? They look like they could be much pricier?

Where are you located? We’re in Richmond, Va. I’m wondering if there’s a shop near me that might have one of these machines.

We are based in Cleveland....but I'm sure I could help you find a more local distributor for Fluid Color so you have closer service if/when you may need it. a 4x8 with one row of Ricoh Gen 6 heads (CMYK+W) is going to be right at $110K (that's all-in...delivered, inked up, trained, etc). It's not much more than some of the smaller sizes of the Roland offering, but much faster with less expensive ink....best of all you can do most of the fixes on the printer yourself. You only really need a tech for big things like head replacements. No service contracts needed.

For about $10K more, you could also get a 98" hybrid to do rolls and boards (up to 2").

Fluid Color also does refurbished machines....they take them completely apart, repaint them, swap out heads which need swapping...the machines look and act brand new if you can get one and you save a bunch of money. You are always welcome to call to discuss.

I still can't say enough good things about anything with a Roland sticker on it....you really can't go wrong.

 

[petepaz]

we have had the LEJ 640 for well over 10years now and it's been a work horse (like all the rolands we have had in the past up until the truvis, that was a piece of crap but it was the first generation)
its a great machine as long as speed is not an issue although i have heard that the new versions are considerably faster than the LEJ.
we have the CMYK, Gloss and white set up, print quality is good, speed like i said is not. other issue is on the belt driven flatbeds you do run in to some issues is weight of the material you are printing. if it's too heavy it won't pull the material properly if at all.
also when printing large sheets they can skew. i made a little guide set up with some .080 aluminum to help hold the material straight but that wasn't perfect. i would say if you are going to use it for primarily roll material it's great but on rigid material you could have some issues depending on how critical your jobs are

 

[signheremd]

Thanks for your response. I’d definitely look into Fluid Color machines. I’m kinda limited by our doorway/ the size of our shop. What’s the starting price of Fluid Color machines? They look like they could be much pricier?

Where are you located? We’re in Richmond, Va. I’m wondering if there’s a shop near me that might have one of these machines.

We have a Fluid Color UV flatbed and really like it. It was delivered in a large crate in a box truck. The Truck did not match our dock height, so we hired the tow company next door - they used a flatbed tow truck back to back with the box truck to remove the crate, waited while we unboxed the crate, and then adjusted his bed height so we could roll the machine into our building. Door opening size is an issue - I think the unit required 60", but I do know that was all spec'ed out to us in the paperwork before we bought. We bought from Digital Color Ink, who has now merged with RPG Square Foot Solutions - RPG is in northern VA and their repairmen service Richmond (Contact me if you want a referral or contact info). They got the machine up and running and then gave us two half days of training (maybe it was two full days... can't remember). The machine is great, but does take a little tweaking according to humidity levels in your shop. FluidColor offered several days of intensive training about a year ago and we sent one of our guys. This was well worth the time as not only were the basics covered, but they gave a complete understanding of how the machine works and how to do most repairs yourself - like head replacement (which will likely only be needed if you have a head struck the substrate in a very bad way). But it gave our operator greater confidence and knowledge so that little things like air bubbles from changing filters or periodic calibration was much easier. BTW those Gen 6 Ricoh heads are great and hold up - excellent resolution, reliable.

We love the fact the ink is dry once printed - so can go straight to lamination or install. Coro signs, MDOs, Aluminum and Composites, much faster than applying vinyl. Definitely worth checking out.

 

[Mactastic]

It's very cost prohibitive if you're only printing like 2000 signs per year.

 

[richsweeney]

Look at stratojet, with 2 sets of cmyk heads you can print a 4 pass 4x8 sheet in 7 minutes. Not blazing but fast enough. And to my surprise I have no complaints about print quality with 4 pass. I did not think I could make it fit, but I just got rid of everything that was not making us money. Also 24/7 tech support for life.

 

[FrankenSigns.biz]

I sell Roland units but we haven't moved any of these yet....likely because I've felt they are a bit spendy (as is the ink) for what they do. But I can say that with the exception of the EJ640, I've never regretted selling a Roland branded unit. The quality is always excellent as is the support (and the heads are completely covered under warranty unlike anyone else in the industry). You really can't go wrong...especially if you want to print on really thick things.

When we start having discussions around flatbed printing, our pitch usually moves over to the Fluid Color units which are really great units for the price point. Their flatbeds print on to objects up to 4" thick (Roland is 7"). You'll get more speed and flexibility with Fluid Color....but again, you'll never really be hung out to dry with a Roland product.

We’ve found it to be a bit of an ink miser.

Has anyone checked out the new Roland Versa Object CO series?

I’m really interested in the flatbed belt drive version. It seems to hit a lot of my needs but I haven’t seen any reviews on it yet. I don’t need speed. I’d just like to have something that fits in my building and has good print quality. The belt drive looks promising for printing longer objects and roll to roll printing.

Does anyone have one of these or any UV Roland printer? I’d like to know if Roland makes a good uv printer and if they are a good company to work with.

VersaOBJECT CO Series Large Format Direct To Substrate UV Printers | Roland DGA

Discover Roland DG CO Series large format direct to substrate uv printers for object customization. Customize boards with our premium quality direct-to-object printing.

www.rolanddga.com

We have one. We love it. The avenues for printed objects seems limitless. We got the rotary attachment too. I think it’s one of the best investments we’ve made in years, if not ever. We’ve expanded our customer base and we’re servicing new markets. Feel free to PM me sometime and I’ll answer any questions you might have.

 

[CC-CMYK]

We’ve found it to be a bit of an ink miser.

We have one. We love it. The avenues for printed objects seems limitless. We got the rotary attachment too. I think it’s one of the best investments we’ve made in years, if not ever. We’ve expanded our customer base and we’re servicing new markets. Feel free to PM me sometime and I’ll answer any questions you might have.

Do you still like your Roland? I’m about to put down for one.

 

[FrankenSigns.biz]

Yes we love it. We continue to find new markets and we keep it running pretty much all day. Outside of niche markets we are making Coro signs, ADA signs and lots more. I will say our CNC has helped make this machine a better investment.

 

[CC-CMYK]

Yes we love it. We continue to find new markets and we keep it running pretty much all day. Outside of niche markets we are making Coro signs, ADA signs and lots more. I will say our CNC has helped make this machine a better investment.

What inks are you running? The EUV5 or the V-Bond?

How do you have it configured?

 

[UR Printing]

We’ve found it to be a bit of an ink miser.

We have one. We love it. The avenues for printed objects seems limitless. We got the rotary attachment too. I think it’s one of the best investments we’ve made in years, if not ever. We’ve expanded our customer base and we’re servicing new markets. Feel free to PM me sometime and I’ll answer any questions you might have.

We are also looking into the Roland CO 640-F300. How are your ink cost vs print and mount for the Coroplast? We are down to just the ROI piece of the puzzle. We currently have the Roland LG True Vis for roll to roll and cutting. Makes sense for the same brand so just need a bit of clarity for the ROI.