The latex printers all use the same heads and the same ink. The 110 can print on the same materials as the 350/560/etc. 3M just doesn't consider the 110 a traffic shop printers so they didn't do the testing to provide the warranty... However it prints the exact same, so it will work on ego/DG. I've printed a ton of stuff on them and they're all perfect, the only issue is 3M doesn't warranty it. Not a problem for us since we provide our own warranty... But it might be different since your a municipal.
I believe only the 360/370 carry the warranty, unless they updated it. You can find more information here though -
https://hplatexknowledgecenter.com/applications/hp-latex-printing-solution-for-traffic-signage
That's what I thought. I didn't see much difference between the 315 and 365 in terms of spec. The 365 just seems to be the 64 inch printer vs the 54 inch 315 with the faster printing speed and high volume capacity. The 365 comes looks to come with extras like the takeup reel and your choice of RIP.
As you suspected, 3M only warranties their retro reflective materials on the 365. I'm not too concerned about the 3M warranty. A lot of the retro reflective signs I would be printing are non-regulated anyway. I would stick to the non-regulated signage to see how well it lasts before I even attempt any regulated traffic signs.
You can justify the extra money spent by ink savings .the 110/115 uses 400mll carts while the bigger models use 700ml, it's only a tiny bit more per ml, but over the 10+ years you plan on using the printer that's still a bit of savings.
My only regret about the 110 is the ink carts .I can handle the slower speed, still able to print 2-3 rolls per day with it... But knowing I'm paying more per print because of ink bugs me. Makes.me wish I bought the higher end model. I figured it'll be in my house (the 110 is my hobby printer) and I won't use it much so the ink savings isn't worth it. Turns out I'm printing a lot more than I realized I would on it, so I wish I got the bigger carts.
And I am looking at the same problem. Once word gets out I have these added capabilities, the wide format workload will blow up sky high. So having 700mL ink cartridges would be a better option. I just worry about their shelf life/expiraration. If I have a month or two where I only do minimal wide format printing, I don't want those cartridges to suddenly go bad. I've had the same issue with the designjet cartridges, where staff ordered a bunch of them and they sat for over a year and are now expired. I can still used them, but I want to avoid such a situation with a new wide format printer.
Since I know that space is an issue for you don't forget that most digitally printed things should be laminated as well. There are many different types of laminators out there with all kinds of bells and whistles and set up configurations.
I know. I will almost guaranteedly get a cold press laminator with this new wide format printer. But the whole point of the latex/eco-solvent is to NOT have to laminate everything. All the reps and print shops I've talked to said to not even try to laminate scrim vinyl. Allegedly, the results with be disastrous.
Id encourage you to not narrow your choices this early and not to throw eco-solvent to the side until you demo. You should really look at all of the options in your price range. I personally dont like the way the hp loads and it seems like itd be a real pita if you switched to different medias during the day. Another option could be the mimaki ucjv.
If youre set on latex after this, hp is the only way to go.
I'm not. I will be demoing a Mutoh ValueJET ecosolvent as well. Problem is if there's even a hint of fumes, its no go. I've already been told there's no way I will get a vent hood into my print room for this purpose. I also wonder what the maintenance load is like for the ecosolvent machines. I can't be spending hours everyday doing PM on it just to keep it running.
I don't see how you could justify any purchase based on what your are doing now. You aren't even considering service contracts over 10 years which will add up to probably as much as you paid originally. 10 years is well beyond the useful life of the machine, I'd count on 5-6 years normally.
Knock on wood, we had a Xerox laser wide format that lasted 22 years with maintenance and service thru the same vendor. Generally though, the vendors & manufacturers who provide the service contracts to these machines will not exceed 10 years on the original agreement. After 10 years, they have to look at availability of parts before they sign us up for another service contract. Ricoh has guaranteed their lasers for 10 years, versus the manufacturer of my folder/inserter will only provide a service contract for 7 years. With regular maintenance and availability of parts thoough, a latex or eco-solvent can last over ten years easy.
