What Would Be Your Next Flatbed?

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

I was curious about how Durst Rho flatbeds hold up in value and how much a 2016 Durst Rho 250 would be worth today? any info would be appreicated

I'm not 100% sure, to be honest. I will say that I've been impressed with every Durst machine I've ever seen. I would imagine they probably hold their value fairly well as long as they've been maintained. Someone else might have some better insight into your question than I do, though.

 

[National Sign Co. - Print]

Attached. We opted to go with an Inca instead.

 

[Montrealer]

Hi over the years i operate few large format printers flatbed : Vutek QS series, Afga Anapurna, Acuity Advanced, Onset r40, and many other out of date solvant printers...In roll to roll i operate Hp Scitex, Mimaki, Kodak, Jeti Gandi, Fuji Uvistar UV 197 inch.

I must say it depends what kind of customer you got, alot quantity orders? or alot small quantity customers? Whats the substrate you using more often and are you doing alot 2 side printing sheet? are you looking for a hybrid flatbed-roll to roll (like the vutek series QS and GS) or you looking for a dedicated flatbed , or a dedicated roll to roll printer?

My favorite Flatbed i would pick for heavy duty high quality production :

Onset X (with the automatic stacker)

I run an Onset R40 it was the previous model and im telling you thats the best flatbed i ever operate, the Onset X its their last release.

For a roll to roll printers i would pick without any hesitation :
Uvistar 2 UV 197 inch wide

with this printer you can print a 197 inch banner wide, 2 side printing without cutting ,,no waste... the entire roll dosent move much i was impress very fast. Easy maintenance A++++

For the hybrid printers, i would pick :
Afga Anapurna 126 inch wide model

If you have a Vutek you wont be too much lost with this printer, very similar concept with improve feature like the tension is more stable, and you have safety sensor that stop the carriage at any contact , im no more a fan of EFI vutek for many reason i would pick the Afga.

hope it help good luck.

 

[bigben]

I would rock this one! I'm biased because I worked with them but this is the closest quality to a Swiss Q that you can get for a reasonable price.

I was interested to have more details about this model. I've contacted them few time to know if they had a dealer in the montreal area and they never replied. Do you have a specific person I could get in touch with to have more information?

 

[BigfishDM]

I was interested to have more details about this model. I've contacted them few time to know if they had a dealer in the montreal area and they never replied. Do you have a specific person I could get in touch with to have more information?

Yeah, PM your info and I will have someone contact you.

 

[Lumpco]

Has anyone had any experience of the Mimaki JFX500-2131?

I am quite familiar with the JFX 200

 

[BALLPARK]

We also have a Vutek QS series. Vuteks are built like a tank and the heavy smoothing allows us to print at high speeds. We have had some issues more recently after a power surge and power outage with heads dropping out on long solid color fills. Just need time to service and troubleshoot it. Other than that it has been a beast at knocking out banners, pvc, sintra, posters, vinyl, and foamcore. I'm truly impressed with their 10 year old tech compared to even new HP 500-750 series or other comparable printersnunder 180k.

We are looking at the GS series, 3250 to 3250 LX for used units. You can pick them up for a fraction of the cost of the new units. Most companies that purchase them new take really good care of them as nobody wants to tell their boss that they ruined a 500k+ piece of equipment from lack of maintenance. If you feel better about buying a refurb with warranty it will cost about 150 to 200k for a GS series with LED lamps.

I really like the hybrid flatbed for roll to roll Or rigid. If your buying used check out Global Garage for some good options thought out the year. If your going new then it opens up a lot more to what best fits your production runs. Vutek should still be on the short list for high-end printers.

After printing on the QS for a couple years and seeing how easy it is to print on a large variety of media types... We are sticking with Vutek in the future.

 

[Corwin Steeves]

Wow, thanks Merritt for posting that quote. I can't tell you how helpful that is. We're looking at replacing our Oce 6170 and I thinking that the Durst 250, the SpyderX and the Agfa are all good options.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

I would rock this one! I'm biased because I worked with them but this is the closest quality to a Swiss Q that you can get for a reasonable price.

Hey Josh do you know what the US pricing is on these machines? We need a faster machine with dedicated white.

 

[BigfishDM]

Hey Josh do you know what the US pricing is on these machines? We need a faster machine with dedicated white.

Yes, these are about $220k

 

[RubiksPrint]

Wow they sound like nice speeds, I could have done with it this week.

Do you know if they have a base in Sydney?

We have a Handtop here in Montreal and have been using it for almost a year, it hasn't gone down for an hour yet. The speeds are pretty impressive for its price point and can print really nice quality with the kyocera heads.
It's our first flatbed, but we have had nothing to complain about except some banding in the white ink at times, otherwise great.

 

[PrintQueen]

I have a reasonably indepth spreadsheet that you can plug variables into that'll give you a good overview of actual costs of running various machines. Hit me up - glad to share.

I'm currently researching flatbeds -- I'd love to take a look at the spreadsheet.. i feel pretty overwhelmed right now!

 

[HulkSmash]

I'm currently researching flatbeds -- I'd love to take a look at the spreadsheet.. i feel pretty overwhelmed right now!

A real loaded question. There are so many levels of flatbeds out there.

Are you looking for entry level?

 

[PrintQueen]

A real loaded question. There are so many levels of flatbeds out there.

Are you looking for entry level?

We are probably looking at something entry level. We don't have a flatbed, but we do have an HP Letex 365. We've been really thinking about the HP Latex R1000 hybrid, but we're looking for more cost-effective options as well.

We do a LOT of printing and mounting on substrates - foam core, coroplast, PVC - and we're trying to keep sustainability in mind. We're considering UV-curable inks, but we don't want anything solvent-based. I feel like my brain is exploding with all of the options out there!

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We are probably looking at something entry level. We don't have a flatbed, but we do have an HP Letex 365. We've been really thinking about the HP Latex R1000 hybrid, but we're looking for more cost-effective options as well.

We do a LOT of printing and mounting on substrates - foam core, coroplast, PVC - and we're trying to keep sustainability in mind. We're considering UV-curable inks, but we don't want anything solvent-based. I feel like my brain is exploding with all of the options out there!

Are you actually a Part of NAU? If so you should reach out to a few of the Printer Manufacturers as alot of them will give a machine to you.