Which Roland printer/cutter to purchase?

[Will308decals]

Hi all,

Currently I own a Gerber Edge 2 and mainly make 20 mil football helmet decals. I plan to continue to keep football decals my main source of income in my business, but want to move on from my Gerber Edge and only use my Edge for chrome/metallic decals (mainly because I heard printing chrome with ink is way harder than printing chrome with thermal). With my business expanding though, I would like to move towards a Roland printer/cutter machine to be more efficient in my work.

I'm looking mostly for a 30" printer/cutter, but don't know which Roland machine to get. Can anyone help me out on what they suggest?

I was recommended a Roland Eco-solvent, and was looking at a truevis SG-300, but I don't know the difference in the Roland machines (weather it is the SG, VG, SP series, or a truevis or a versacamm and such) and what would be best for my purpose of use.

I mainly use substance 6 mil vinyl and laminate with 15 mil overlaminate for my decals, and my other jobs are usually just oracle 651 vinyl.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Will

 

[Zoogee World]

If you want new, go with the SG3-300, however the service menu is locked out. If you want something used, the VS-300i would the my personal choice and recommendation.

 

[Will308decals]

If you want new, go with the SG3-300, however the service menu is locked out. If you want something used, the VS-300i would the my personal choice and recommendation.

Awesome, thank you for the input! I will probably lean towards something used, so I will look towards the VS-300i, can you explain to me why you recommend the VS-300i over anything else?

Thank you,
Will


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[Zoogee World]

Sure, the only downside I have on this printer is that it's a 1 head machine. The reason I prefer it, is the speed and quality, it gives me better quality then my SG-300 does and is faster. You can also get it in different color configurations, we have the CMYK x2 setup, which gives you a bit of extra speed. I also like it, that myself being mechanically inclined can pretty much do all the servicing myself, as the nearest tech isn't the closest. I've also had very low down time on this printer compared to all the other models we have or have had. You can also run it off of the newer VW6. If there are any specifics you'd like to know, just let me know and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.

 

[dreko]

How long do those helmet decals last? A couple of games?

 

[Will308decals]

How long do those helmet decals last? A couple of games?

All year long. I do them for local teams. The vinyl holds up, and the foils from my edge hold up as well to keep color. I would assume inkjet would last the 4 month season if laminated


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[Ultraman]

Awesome, thank you for the input! I will probably lean towards something used, so I will look towards the VS-300i, can you explain to me why you recommend the VS-300i over anything else?

Thank you,
Will


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Yes! don't get the SG3 as they lock out the service mode and you won't be able to do simple adjustment yourself and have to wait weeks for dealer technician to arrive and they put your deadline priority last.

 

[Saturn]

You should confirm a Roland can do 20 mil stuff. I've seen a lot of griping about people not being able to get the standalone Graphtecs and Summas to do it, so I'd worry about a print/cut being up to the task, if that's your bread and butter.

 

[Will308decals]

You should confirm a Roland can do 20 mil stuff. I've seen a lot of griping about people not being able to get the standalone Graphtecs and Summas to do it, so I'd worry about a print/cut being up to the task, if that's your bread and butter.

I will have to see if people have done 20 mil thick material. Thank you for the input!


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[SlikGRFX]

You should confirm a Roland can do 20 mil stuff. I've seen a lot of griping about people not being able to get the standalone Graphtecs and Summas to do it, so I'd worry about a print/cut being up to the task, if that's your bread and butter.

With the right blade, a print/cut will cope fine with thick material. The heated platen softens the vinyl nicely.

 

[SlikGRFX]

If you’re set on a Roland you should get an 8 colour with orange and green ink. Somebody mentioned 2xcmyk for speed but your products are small. You don’t need speed. You need a wide range of colours that really pop to make your decals stand out from the rest.

After running a Gerber, your customers are probably expecting bright, vivid spot colours. Cmyk only prints can look a bit dull in comparison. Make sure you can produce a consistent product across all your machines.

 

[Joseph44708]

Roland VG3-540.
CMYK, LC, LM, GREEN, ORANGE.