XC-540Mt VS VS-540

[adamfilip]

Ive been trying to compare the Roland XC-540MT and the Roland VS-540
I think roland is intentionally trying to compare them easily

for the XC they list the following Speeds and resolutions

360x360 - 441 ft2/hr
450x360 - 293 ft2/hr
360x720 - 151 ft2/hr
720x720 - 75 ft2/hr
1440x1440 - 31 ft2/hr

and for the VS-540

360x720 banner - 95 ft2/hr
540x720 banner - 69 ft2/hr
1440x720 banner - 24 ft2/hr
540x720 vinyl - 58 ft2/hr
1440x720 vinyl - 24 ft2/hr

of all these there is only 1 that match.. 360x720
why is roland making it hard to match up are they saying the VS cant do 1440x1440, or 720x720? or the XC cant do 360x720?

im having trouble seeing the benefit to the XC other then being sometimes 50% faster for almost twice the price

Thoughts?

 

[InkjetAuction]

My VS thoughts...

I would look beyond the print speeds. Also understand that you are looking at CMYK printing speeds. Printing with metallic & white with ANY of the machines and the speeds plummet.

Both machines are great, but my money would be with the VS's newer technology.

There are many new features but here are a few highlights...
The VS features the newest generation 8-channel print head. Besides being much easier to maintenance, the newer print head offers seven dot sizes for finer output and greater density on solids. (The older DX4 print head uses 3 dot sizes).

VS includes the new built in OnSupport feature which does a lot of things for you including sending you real-time emails (to your phone etc) when jobs start, finish, printer errors, media jams, ink/media out, etc. This is great for unattended printing.

I also like the vertical loading of ink cartridges makes it easier to load and unload. The cartridge bays were redesigned to more accurately handle re-insertion of cartridges (after shaking) to puncture the stopper in the exact same spot each time. Sounds silly but it's a nice feature.

Now the XC is a little beefier machine physically, and much larger than the VS. I think of it as an industrial type model... run all the time, day in and day out. The VS is easier to move and has a smaller footprint.

Anyway... just a few thoughts....

~E

P.S. I am a metallic ink convert after I received my VS service training. It's not for everyone, but it looks excellent when used as an accent to enhance images. Pretty sharp.

 

[Robert M]

New heads vs old

Look at the 540 x 720 and the 720 x 720 speeds. I had a XC540 and the 720 x 720 mode is what i would call a saleable print. The xc has 6 heads that are $985.00 per head vs the new printer with only one head.
The Mutoh Valuejet and the Mimaki JV33 also use a single print head. You will have less service issues with a one head printer.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

I would also take the VS as you can still have Lc and Lm to make it a 6 color printer where on the XC you have to give those up for the white and silver. If my VP wasn't so new, I would be upgrading to a VS! I heard the silver looks amazing, but just insanely slow.