Which Flatbed should we buy?

[Snook]

We are in the market to purchase a new or used Flatbed. We print primarily on rigid substrates and do a lot of Double Sided printing (Real Estate Panels). We are currently using a Roland VP300 and a Graphtec 48" cutter and they have been doing a great job for the past 3 years. We are printing, then laminating, then applying and cutting the substrates. Real labor intensive. We have been approved for up to about $125K. So far, the top choice is OCE 318, but I would like to look at an Agfa and HP FB500. Any thought?

• Print primarily on Aluminum Composite (Dibond comparable) and 1/2 MDO (nothing over 1/2" thick
• Mostly Double Sided printing
• Ink Adhesion is important. We store signs for Realtors and the signs are constantly going in and out of trucks all day long.
• Speed is more important than quality (200 sf/hr should be sufficient)
• Reliability and Service is very important (lowest down time possible)
• best ink for outdoor durability and adhesion?

 

[Snook]

Forgot to Mention

Forgot to mention, we are in Northern California. We are working with a local supplier and he is great to work with and we will probably end up using him for the Oce 318 purchase, but I want to make sure I look at all my options. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Snook]

Pat, yes I read that thread. Good information. This forum has been very helpful in learning about the different options out there. We received a sample from Oce for the 318gl and it looked good. We did not have much to compare to though. We store thousands and thousands of signs in our warehouse for various real estate agents. There are some signs we have that are fairly new and after doing a little research, we found out that the signs were actually made from an Agfa machine, but don't know which model. Does anyone know who to contact for Agfa in Northern California? Would also be willing to look at HP. Heard good things on here about the FB500. There were a few comments about ink adhesion on the HP. We are running only rigid material, so would HP not be best fit? Good luck with your research Pat!

 

[Snook]

Another bit of information... We spend about $2500/mo. on Digital Vinyl and Laminate.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

If you're doing that much double-sided printing I would not consider a belt-fed hybrid, only a true flatbed. You can definitely do double-sided on a hybrid, we do it all day every day, but registration is faster and more accurate on a flatbed.

Regarding ink adhesion, you're going to fight this on ACM board if that's primarily what you're printing. We've tested adhesion on it from many manufacturers including Fuji/Oce, Agfa and HP and it's a hard material to print, period. We settled on the CET, and their ink sticks like glue to just about everything out there, including ACM, but even then it's not amazing and can scratch relatively easily. This is just the nature of ACM though. If you really need maximum durability, or bulletproof prints, you may still need to consider laminating after printing.

If I were in your boat, I'd look at the CET X-Press 500, it's well within your price range, is a true flatbed, and with the 50 series inks your adhesion to ACM is going to be about as good as you're going to find anywhere. It's not a "photo-quality" machine, it's perfect though for production work, and you'll easily be able to produce excellent, sellable prints in the 300 sf/hr range. We run coroplast on ours at around 475 sf/hr.. That's at 600x800dpi production mode, with a higher resolution profile you can also squeeze some really great quality prints from it too.

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

I run a 360GT and print onto composite board and fluted plastics all day long. Adhesion is great once everything is all set up and running properly (ie. Lamp settings).
The IJ256 ink set provides good adhesion and great color gamut.
There is a new IJ258 ink set which has a much lower gamut, but adhesion is out of this world apparently.

Thumbs up for the 318GL, but it will be slow (esp. if you go the White option).
Perhaps try to located a used 360GT or something from the 4xx range if you need a bit more speed.
These printers are pretty rock solid, so even a used item would still perform to your needs.

 

[synergy_jim]

we are extremely happy with our CET xpress 5x10 now that we had a few issues sorted out. I'd at least take a look at them.


we have the 6 heads + white config with the spectra heads.... fast and great quality.