Printer Recomendation

[AToor]

Hi, first time posting on this signs101. I currently work as a machine operator and have two hp latex 365s. I am happy working the work horse of a printer but am really frustrated with HP's latex support. I had a massive vinyl jop going out on said weekend and one of the latex printers broke down on Tuesday. We put in a request for repair the same day for repair in 2 days. On wednesday, the tech reaches out saying they could be there thursday, if not 6 am Friday. Part arrives thursday to which I informed the tech it arrived. By Friday 9 am, still no response. We reach out to HP to find out our ticket had been marked as complete and so no tech was sent out. We raised hell and got a tech to service the printer by 6 pm friday which is not ideal but workable.

After a month, we are now trying to renew our warranty on our printer and they are making us jump through hoops just to get warranty. This is only the most recent expercience but overall I am not happy with HP customer support over the course of the last 2 years and am considering switching to epson printers like the r5070.

To anyone who has HPs and Epsons, what are your thoughts on the switching to epson printers and their customers support? Am I justified in how I feel about HP latex support and is epson better? Regarding the growth in our printing dept, we are seeing more and more printing on a roll to roll basis where I need to pump out 7-8 rolls of 150' vinyl at a time for certain jobs maybe twice a year. So part of the consideration switching is that the r5070 can get through a roll of 150' at under 3h before the cleaning cycle where the latex 365 takes 6ish hours on the same roll for comparable quality. We also do zero lamination as it is not applicable to our business or clients so gassing out media is not a concern.

Any input is greatly appreciated! TLDR: Should I hunker down and stick with the latex 365s dealing with HP support or switch to epson with what seems like a more relaible customer service and faster printing capablitlies?

 

[greysquirrel]

if you are covered with a warranty, you can have hp service your printers or an authorized service provider(reseller)
Unfortunately your printer is never down when you have a project due. There will be more service options with hp. Epson is primarily manufacturer support. There are few dealer tech. With that said they are extremely dependable. The s40 is the best bang for the buck.
You may be ready for a faster printer. The Colorado m2 is a great option. Canon tech support is amazing. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

 

[AToor]

if you are covered with a warranty, you can have hp service your printers or an authorized service provider(reseller)
Unfortunately your printer is never down when you have a project due. There will be more service options with hp. Epson is primarily manufacturer support. There are few dealer tech. With that said they are extremely dependable. The s40 is the best bang for the buck.
You may be ready for a faster printer. The Colorado m2 is a great option. Canon tech support is amazing. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

Unfortunately, I can only go through HP to setup service with their call center in India. The horizontal motor for the print head broke but they still charged us $60 for something that can not be fixed through remote tech support but I can’t move past the getting a ticket in without paying that $60 for basically useless support.

On top of that, we can’t go through any local service provider without going through HP’s support in India first. Local service providers are only contracted through HP.

Wdym with more service options with HP? What I’m looking for is dependable and reliable service. Having support tell me they will service and then be a no show on a tight deadline is a deal breaker!

I’ll look into canon and their lineup. How is their tech support and customer service? I understand they may be expensive but if they respect our business and the commitment they make, cost is the least of my concerns over not being able to fulfill a client request because the manufacturer doesn’t have their repair process in order.

Is how HP handles their support industry standard or are their better options?

 

[MarkSnelling]

The Colorado would be something you should absolutely consider from an ink savings perspective (and speed). You'll likely cut your ink costs in half or more....and most people live in the 400sf/hour range for the M5. With some cast vinyl you may need to slow down to the low 200's but most users have profiled their cast to run in the 400sf range. On things like paper or banner you can really fly...up to 1200sf or even 1700 (but I'd never sell it that way...image dependent).

As for service, if you are in a serviceable zone for Canon, they have very fast response times...sometimes even same-day. I will be honest that, like with every company, you can get a bad service guy from time to time. But MOST people have pretty positive experiences. Keep one of your latex as a backup for emergencies and sell off the other one.

If you want a quote or to discuss details, I'm available. I love talking about the Colorado.

 

[Bxtr]

We just replaced two Epson SC60-600 w/Epson SC80-600L. We had good luck with the previous printers so when we were looking we went right back to Epson. The service is done by Decision1, we had a tech less than 4 hours away. He would come out the same week. The thing I like about Epson service is every time you need work done they send out three large boxes full of more parts than are needed to fix your machine. That way if it was misdiagnosed in the phone call, the tech isn't waiting for more parts to arrive. In the six years we had the SC60-600s we had a tech out for both printers under five times total, the daily maintenance is automated, the weekly maintenance is minimal.
We've had HPs in the past and I have nothing bad to say about the printers but service is almost as important and quality, especially since we are 4 hours from everywhere.