1641SR reviews?

[TomK]

Hey All,

Just curious if anyone is running one of these yet, as they are fairly new models and the pricing is pretty good.

Comparing this to the Epson SureColor S40600, both cmyk, both single head.

Use case is indoor stickers/decals with close up viewing, which the HP Latex is horrible for.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Personal opinion is avoid Mutoh due to poor service, but I know others who have had stellar service.

It is a competitive high speed machine, I think fellers is selling these at like $9995 right now.

 

[TomK]

Personal opinion is avoid Mutoh due to poor service, but I know others who have had stellar service.

It is a competitive high speed machine, I think fellers is selling these at like $9995 right now.

Thanks, I'm waiting on some sample prints. The footprint of this is smaller then the Epson, and the price is pretty good. Can't wait to see the output with our files.

 

[rjssigns]

I asked my dealer about them and should I upgrade from a 1624x. He said no. Not enough there to warrant a change. He could have told me how much better, faster cheaper etc... but chose to tell the truth instead.
But you're buying new so I would get the latest tech.

Buy as local as humanly possible even if it costs more. Going for the "deal" never works out in the long run. I stayed local and got a great deal.

Paid about $300 more than if I ordered from a company three states away. That 300 bucks bought me peace of mind that I can have a tech with parts on site same or next day.

My Mutoh was installed in May and proceeded to pay for itself by the end of summer. One liter bags of ink are awesome too.

I found this interesting.
If I ever decide to do hydro-dipping the dealer can convert my 1624x. They hold patents on ink and material. Lots of cool stuff in their showroom.

 

[TomK]

I asked my dealer about them and should I upgrade from a 1624x. He said no. Not enough there to warrant a change. He could have told me how much better, faster cheaper etc... but chose to tell the truth instead.
But you're buying new so I would get the latest tech.

Buy as local as humanly possible even if it costs more. Going for the "deal" never works out in the long run. I stayed local and got a great deal.

Paid about $300 more than if I ordered from a company three states away. That 300 bucks bought me peace of mind that I can have a tech with parts on site same or next day.

My Mutoh was installed in May and proceeded to pay for itself by the end of summer. One liter bags of ink are awesome too.

I found this interesting.
If I ever decide to do hydro-dipping the dealer can convert my 1624x. They hold patents on ink and material. Lots of cool stuff in their showroom.

Thanks for the info, the dealer is local for service. My main concern is the quality output from this machine, and if it will be better then the latex for our needs. I'm waiting on samples and also comparing this to the Epson, the output from the Epson blew away what we get from our Latex machine.

Have you been happy with the output from your 1624? Also, how about service, maintenance, quality of the machine, etc?

 

[Solventinkjet]

Not enough there to warrant a change.

Yeah the 1641SR is basically a 1624 with auto alignment added, new flanges for media handling and a fancy faux touch screen (it's just flat instead of buttons but not actual touch screen). It also is black instead of 1980's gray. That's about it though. The good thing is the 1624 was a great model so this should be a decent machine as well.

My main concern is the quality output from this machine, and if it will be better then the latex for our needs

It will blow the latex out of the water when it comes to fine details and solid colors. The key to Mutoh printers is having a good tech set them up in the first place. A properly calibrated machine should be flawless essentially.

 

[rjssigns]

Thanks for the info, the dealer is local for service. My main concern is the quality output from this machine, and if it will be better then the latex for our needs. I'm waiting on samples and also comparing this to the Epson, the output from the Epson blew away what we get from our Latex machine.

Have you been happy with the output from your 1624? Also, how about service, maintenance, quality of the machine, etc?

Quite happy with the 1624x. Solid colors are just that, solid. It can do prints that look like cut vinyl.

Service is just a text away for me. Tech is very responsive. Only service call to date was to fix a drain line.
Other issue was my own fault. Had to wipe the profiles from Flexi and reinstall. Dealer walked me through that in a couple minutes.

Maintenance wise it's on par with my Roland.(sold that last year). Easy to get to everything. A few swabs, some cleaner, and Bob's your uncle.

Quality of machine seems good. Like any solvent printer it's pretty basic, which I like. Ran it hard right after it was installed and for a long time afterward. Second set of liter bags already which is quite a feat for me.
Time will tell as far as durability. Haven't had it a year yet.

One thing I really like is the industrial take up reel that's included. It is the proper set up using a dancer bar for constant tension. In my former life I used to build converting equipment and the only way to get consistent web feed was with a dancer bar. Tracks dead straight and has a switch on top that actually turns it on or off. Also has a release for the drive. Flip the lever and pull the shaft/roll out of the cradle

Small text hasn't been an issue. I print industrial labels with 6pt ID numbers in the lower right side. Nice and crisp. No clue about smaller, haven't had the need.

Menu is intuitive and has the most used functions clearly labeled. No digging through menus.

If you get one let me know. I can run you through the setup for 12 hour cleaning cycles instead of the factory default of 6. It isn't as straightforward as you'd think as the interval needs to be set in two places.

If you need anything else just ask.

Almost forgot: When I bought mine I paid extra for the full unlocked version of Flexi Pro. Now no matter what I get in the future I can drive it.

 

[rjssigns]

Yeah the 1641SR is basically a 1624 with auto alignment added, new flanges for media handling and a fancy faux touch screen (it's just flat instead of buttons but not actual touch screen). It also is black instead of 1980's gray. That's about it though. The good thing is the 1624 was a great model so this should be a decent machine as well.



It will blow the latex out of the water when it comes to fine details and solid colors. The key to Mutoh printers is having a good tech set them up in the first place. A properly calibrated machine should be flawless essentially.

What he said^^^^

 

[premiercolour]

We have installed two 1641SRs from SC540 and 1624X customer. Both customers were impressed.

Mutoh warranty is second to none. We just did one that wiper is giving error of a 1.5 years old printer. Mutoh sent out a brand new maintenance station via next day and we installed it. $0 out of pocket from the customer. 1641SR has two year onsite warranty. We can take care any Los Angeles / San Diego customers. We stand behind what we sell.

 

[rjssigns]

We have installed two 1641SRs from SC540 and 1624X customer. Both customers were impressed.

Mutoh warranty is second to none. We just did one that wiper is giving error of a 1.5 years old printer. Mutoh sent out a brand new maintenance station via next day and we installed it. $0 out of pocket from the customer. 1641SR has two year onsite warranty. We can take care any Los Angeles / San Diego customers. We stand behind what we sell.

Don't you also sell 1 liter ink pouches for the 1624x, 1638 etc..?

 

[premiercolour]

Don't you also sell 1 liter ink pouches for the 1624x, 1638 etc..?

Yes for the warranty-expired printers.

 

[TomK]

How intense is regular maintenance on these printers? I run my latex 4 days a week or so and maintenance is almost non existent.

I'm ok with doing maintenance, just want to understand the time commitment, complexity, and cost involved.

 

[Solventinkjet]

How intense is regular maintenance on these printers? I run my latex 4 days a week or so and maintenance is almost non existent.

I'm ok with doing maintenance, just want to understand the time commitment, complexity, and cost involved.

The official routine requires you to clean the cap top and wiper every day which takes about 5 minutes. Most people only do that about twice a week though and in my experience that works just fine. Once a month you take a look under the head and clean any ink build up. Other than that you just want to keep it dust free.

The wiper will need to be changed about every 6 months, cap top once per year as well as the dampers. You're looking at about $120 in parts and whatever you end up using in swabs and cleaning solution per year. Other than that, in my experience the full maintenance station will need to be changed out in year two to three which is about $500.

 

[jpescobar]

Comparing Mutoh to Epson is like comparing Toyota to Porsche.
Roland, Mutoh and Mimaki have Epson DX printheads. The Epson SureColor use PrecisionCore printhead which is exclusive to Epson printers.
I have an Epson SC-S40610 and I can tell you that 4 pass blows out 6 or 8 pass on HP Latex or a Mimaki which I consider the closest printer to Epson in term of quality.

 

[rjssigns]

How intense is regular maintenance on these printers? I run my latex 4 days a week or so and maintenance is almost non existent.

I'm ok with doing maintenance, just want to understand the time commitment, complexity, and cost involved.

I clean mine after a big run so it's ready next time I fire it up.

 

[rjssigns]

Comparing Mutoh to Epson is like comparing Toyota to Porsche.
Roland, Mutoh and Mimaki have Epson DX printheads. The Epson SureColor use PrecisionCore printhead which is exclusive to Epson printers.
I have an Epson SC-S40610 and I can tell you that 4 pass blows out 6 or 8 pass on HP Latex or a Mimaki which I consider the closest printer to Epson in term of quality.

Okay. How did you perform the testing to arrive at your hypothesis?

 

[atda]

Quite happy with the 1624x. Solid colors are just that, solid. It can do prints that look like cut vinyl.

Service is just a text away for me. Tech is very responsive. Only service call to date was to fix a drain line.
Other issue was my own fault. Had to wipe the profiles from Flexi and reinstall. Dealer walked me through that in a couple minutes.

Maintenance wise it's on par with my Roland.(sold that last year). Easy to get to everything. A few swabs, some cleaner, and Bob's your uncle.

Quality of machine seems good. Like any solvent printer it's pretty basic, which I like. Ran it hard right after it was installed and for a long time afterward. Second set of liter bags already which is quite a feat for me.
Time will tell as far as durability. Haven't had it a year yet.

One thing I really like is the industrial take up reel that's included. It is the proper set up using a dancer bar for constant tension. In my former life I used to build converting equipment and the only way to get consistent web feed was with a dancer bar. Tracks dead straight and has a switch on top that actually turns it on or off. Also has a release for the drive. Flip the lever and pull the shaft/roll out of the cradle

Small text hasn't been an issue. I print industrial labels with 6pt ID numbers in the lower right side. Nice and crisp. No clue about smaller, haven't had the need.

Menu is intuitive and has the most used functions clearly labeled. No digging through menus.

If you get one let me know. I can run you through the setup for 12 hour cleaning cycles instead of the factory default of 6. It isn't as straightforward as you'd think as the interval needs to be set in two places.

If you need anything else just ask.

Almost forgot: When I bought mine I paid extra for the full unlocked version of Flexi Pro. Now no matter what I get in the future I can drive it.

Which version of Flexi did you get - 19 or 21? how do you like it compared to 12? I'm running flexi12 now and need to upgrade my printer and was thinking Mutoh 1641SR, but would need to upgrade my flexi to run it. Also, what have you found to be the benefit of changing the cleaning cycle to 12 hours from 6, other than saving some ink?

 

[atda]

The official routine requires you to clean the cap top and wiper every day which takes about 5 minutes. Most people only do that about twice a week though and in my experience that works just fine. Once a month you take a look under the head and clean any ink build up. Other than that you just want to keep it dust free.

The wiper will need to be changed about every 6 months, cap top once per year as well as the dampers. You're looking at about $120 in parts and whatever you end up using in swabs and cleaning solution per year. Other than that, in my experience the full maintenance station will need to be changed out in year two to three which is about $500.

Where is the best place to source those parts? Do you sell them?

 

[Solventinkjet]

Where is the best place to source those parts? Do you sell them?

We do. Here's a link to the Mutoh maintenance parts section.

 

[rjssigns]

Which version of Flexi did you get - 19 or 21? how do you like it compared to 12? I'm running flexi12 now and need to upgrade my printer and was thinking Mutoh 1641SR, but would need to upgrade my flexi to run it. Also, what have you found to be the benefit of changing the cleaning cycle to 12 hours from 6, other than saving some ink?

I bought an unlocked version of 12 with my printer and have been very happy with it. Truth be told if my Flexi 8.5 pro would have driven the Mutoh I would have used that. Not a fan of having the latest thing as it usually comes with a lot of issues.