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Which machine?

M

mac_man_luke

New Member
Hello all

We are looking at moving into the wideformat market

Some options we are looking at include:

Roland VP540
Roland RS-640 + Gx-500 cutter
Mimaki CJV-30-130

We are having a hard time deciding which machine we should go for

all about the same price range

all in one vs seperate cutter/plotter
• All in one means no intervention between print and cut
• Separate means you can be cutting while printing

Roland vs Mimaki
•*Mimaki has more ink options eg 6 col, white, true solvent inks etc
• Roland has 5 year heads and all warranty vs 12months mimaki (in australia)
• VersaWorks seems better than Rasterlink

Mimaki also have a good deal on a laminator to go with the printer which seems like a handy thing to have?

Iv also heard that the mimaki has better cut features eg leaving tags when die cutting to prevent cutouts falling out? and facecutting while die cutting at the same time?

any suggestions or things to think about?


thanks
Luke
 
IntrezaDesigns

IntrezaDesigns

New Member
Is Roland all the way, either machine is good but I'm more stuck on Roland seems to have a little better print quality and its fairly priced.

Things you need to remember...
1. You will need to make this machine pay for itself in 2 years time to be able to make profit.

2. Would it be cheaper to outsource it untill you have a reason to have the machine going non stop

3. Do you have the time out of your shop or have an employee to dedicate to learning it

Just my 2 cents
 
anotherdog

anotherdog

New Member
I go for Roland, easier to learn, more durable and includes a great RIP, but the choice of machine is just the icing, All of these will do what you need. The quality of the main systems is now like the chice between Honda and Toyota.

you are hanging on the last few features when to tell the truth it's the support of the merchant you buy from that is more important. Go visit, get some impressions and ask about the dealers here.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
You have to remove it from the printer to laminate.... so what's your point ??


Take some files on a CD to both dealers and have them print out a few things and see which you like best. Heck, it's your money.... spend it the way you want.
 
SignManiac

SignManiac

New Member
My Roland Soljet EX Pro II just turned five years old last month and it has been without question the most dependable piece of equipment I have ever owned. Great printer.
 
vctradingcubao

vctradingcubao

New Member
We have both the RS-640 and the SP-540. Both machines are great. SO it would really depend on the majority of your jobs if it's more efficient to go with the combo print&cut, or the print only machine (then cut on another machine).

Mimaki should be good also. Is the Mimaki the one-head machine? Check it out also because over here, repalcing the Mimaki single head is cheaper than replacing the 4 heads of the Roland RS (or VP). The Mimaki single head is equivalent to the cost of just 2 heads of the Roland.
 
M

mac_man_luke

New Member
vctradingcubao said:
We have both the RS-640 and the SP-540. Both machines are great. SO it would really depend on the majority of your jobs if it's more efficient to go with the combo print&cut, or the print only machine (then cut on another machine).

Mimaki should be good also. Is the Mimaki the one-head machine? Check it out also because over here, repalcing the Mimaki single head is cheaper than replacing the 4 heads of the Roland RS (or VP). The Mimaki single head is equivalent to the cost of just 2 heads of the Roland.
Click to expand...

I believe it is the single head machine but really i dont see us needing to replace the heads at all, its got a 5 year head warranty and in 5 years time the machine would most likely be scrapped if it dies
 
M

mac_man_luke

New Member
Just been speaking to another roland dealer, they have said that when using the cutter with the RS640 you have to trim round 100mm off one edge for the cutter to register with the crop marks

Is this true? anyone got any experience with this combo?
 
Fuzzbuster

Fuzzbuster

New Member
I would agree with Gino

GOTA take the print out before laminating so the point of a print and cut in the same machine isint really worth it to me

I need to print..... cant be tying up my printer to be doing cuttin vinyl!!!

should look into 3rd party ink support IF you plan on doing any kind of Volume... Ink cost per liter with any VOLUME will make a difference on your bottom line

And how long you want your prints to LAST will determine your ink/printer choice!!!

For us its solvent ...hands down
wait a minute its all solvent based...ya right!!!!! thats a debate in itself acording to some... ECO isnt for environment,economic or better for ya!

do some more research on those topics and customer support from dealer for printer and you`ll have a better idea of what I`m saying..


Good luck!!
 
chopper

chopper

New Member
I have a roland print and cut, but I also have a summa cutter with opos for contour cutting that way I can be cutting vinyl, printing and cutting, at the same time, also if I need to print several things I can print on the roland laminate and cut in the summa, or any combination of the above,
I feel that it is more virsitile to have the print and cut system, and also have a stand alone cutter that can also do the contour cutting so you will have more options as you work flow changes or you get busy...

the roland has been a great printer, I have some friends that use the mutho with the seprate cutter and they have great luck with it, same goes for the mimaki, I think that any of the above will work well for you, you just need to decide how you are going to handle your work flow, also dont skimp on the laminator, get a good one like a seal, gbc, dont get the entry level machine go up a notch or two and you wont regreat it, the low end seal has issues...
in this case the laminator is just as important as the printer it self
//chopper
 
DRamm76

DRamm76

New Member
SignManiac said:
My Roland Soljet EX Pro II just turned five years old last month and it has been without question the most dependable piece of equipment I have ever owned. Great printer.
Click to expand...


Couldn't have said it better myself...The happiest customers I have are using the Soljets
 
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