I'm the one man print dept. at a small but very busy sign/wrap/print shop. We have two of the newer True-Vis printers, and enough jobs to keep them both going all day, not to mention a crazy amount of time spent trouble shooting issues with these tricky machines. It doesn't leave a lot of room to put love into this old Sol Jet Xc-540 that my boss built the company with, that just gathers dust in the corner (I wipe it down and do head cleanings weekly). It's in pretty good shape, as far as the guts and major components. A lot of parts have been replaced over the years, motors and heads and strips pretty new.. But it is just a very old machine. For every part you replace, there's some other hose, or plastic piece, or ball bearings in there that are just worn down. Currently getting a service call error when you turn it on. Before that, it would turn on, but when you hit setup, it would give an error saying the pinch roll was in an invalid position, even though it wasn't. Before that, we had to replace the scan motor and some other parts I don't remember. It's always something.
Even with the issues, this is is a great old machine. they don't make them like they used to. When it was running, it's prints were easily superior to ones off the new printer, and it's far more user friendly. It feels like the difference between an old truck that you can work on yourself, and a newer car that's all plastic and computers under the hood. In the right hands, someone who enjoys DIY tinkering on old printers, I think it could go for some years, and really be worth the few grand we would need to part ways with it. Is there a market for that, or are printers like this considered obsolete? Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated.
Even with the issues, this is is a great old machine. they don't make them like they used to. When it was running, it's prints were easily superior to ones off the new printer, and it's far more user friendly. It feels like the difference between an old truck that you can work on yourself, and a newer car that's all plastic and computers under the hood. In the right hands, someone who enjoys DIY tinkering on old printers, I think it could go for some years, and really be worth the few grand we would need to part ways with it. Is there a market for that, or are printers like this considered obsolete? Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated.
