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Suggestions 4x8 Flatbed printer replacement

N

netsol

Premium Subscriber
Smoke_Jaguar said:
Sales reps are the technicians' mortal enemy.
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a good friend (at the time) always told us that technical knowledge made it harder for a good salesman to do his job.
i think he was actually saying the same thing you are...
Al was a former johnson & johnson exec who did very well in sales, but was not at all shy about selling completely mismatched equipment and
referring to it as a "system"
 
I

ikarasu

Active Member
Never tried the narrow flute. We buy from laird by the skid - we bring in 50x100 so we can print with registration marks for our cutter, and get a full 4x8 sheet worth of cuts on it. We’ve tried off brands before but find they’re way too see through or bendy compared to hi-core. I’ll look into the narrow flute, might be a few projects I can use it on!
White Haus said:
We don't usually. We had been using Polymershapes house brand for a bit but in my quest to test out the R530 I did get some Hi-Core (Which is made by Matraplast, it turns out) and it printed/looked great. Laird had both Coroplast and Hi-Core and I couldn't believe the difference when running them side by side. The Hi-Core narrow flute is nice stuff. (Nerding out on fluted polypropylene, ha!)
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Smoke_Jaguar

Smoke_Jaguar

Man who touches printers inappropriately.
I've been offered a chance to be a dealer for a few brands and shopped around looking for work at other companies. But they all want me to be nice to the sales guys, so I remain independent.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 user
Z

Zach Starr

Head of Printing Operations
Do take a look at Stratojet Shark Flatbed EFB Printer - they have the option for dual or triple CMYK and should be under $100k if you are not considering light colors and varnish. They do have local servicing in Canada and work through dealers there not sure who but they do have presence in Canada. We have their triple two configuration doing 19+ boards per hour.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 user
flyplainsdrifta

flyplainsdrifta

New Member
100signs said:
What kind of pricing Matraplast have compared to your regular interplast?
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Its a little bit more in sheet price, but worth it in our opinion to not have to worry about squareness and quality issues, with a brighter whitepoint as well.. Also the smell from the interplast is catpee/urinial smell and my shop cannot stand it when its cutting. Even off the skid it wafts around the shop.
 
White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
Zach Starr said:
Do take a look at Stratojet Shark Flatbed EFB Printer - they have the option for dual or triple CMYK and should be under $100k if you are not considering light colors and varnish. They do have local servicing in Canada and work through dealers there not sure who but they do have presence in Canada. We have their triple two configuration doing 19+ boards per hour.
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I've tried calling and emailing and haven't received a response. If this is how the respond to a new sale I don't want to risk finding out how they respond on the support end of things.

Moving onto other manufacturers on my list.
 
S

songprinting

New Member
Smoke_Jaguar said:
Chiming in on the Mimaki side of things on the JFX200 EX. If you're not planning on doing white/clear (or god forbid the cursed liquid that is primer), the original JFX200 running in dual CMYK is just as good. The EX just has 3 4-channel heads instead of 2. The third of which is the offset head, typically reserved for spot colors.

On the used market (if that is an option in your case), you can typically land a good JFX200 for around $10-15K and they're a common model that's still well supported. That said, both the regular JFX200 and the EX are a bit dated on their choice of heads. They lack any ability to [technically, without serious mods] add more heads. They are also a bit slow compared to something like a maxed-out Vanguard. I both run and repair the JFX200 (no longer run an EX), and they tend to be pretty easy to keep happy. That said, if you don't have an in-house techie type, you're entirely at the mercy of whatever dealer you're stuck with. But that's more of an industry issue than a brand one. Aftermarket inks on the Mimaki are also pretty good as their chips have been cracked for about a decade at this point and the price tends to be some of the lowest for anything UV.
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We are looking at getting into the wide format market for signs (we have an Epson R5070) and it's worked well for us but we would like the option to direct print for yard signs etc. Do you have any contacts and/or advice on purchasing a used one as as starting point?
 
Smoke_Jaguar

Smoke_Jaguar

Man who touches printers inappropriately.
Hours mean nothing, look for signs of abuse. Some people let their printers roll in the hours by idling all the time. Those that print a lot tend to have fresher heads in them. Check for leaks, bent/scratched stuff, things like that. I do a lot of looking in person for folks, but that isn't always an option. If it's a "We ran it for a while, but the inks are expired" or "the guy who used to run it isn't around" is a good cue for a steep discount. If the frame/mechanical is good, can typically rebuild one for around $7K on a JFX200, +$3K for an EX.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 user
A

AB Rolan

New Member
White Haus said:
We're having to potentially replace our aging Arizona 318gl with something new and hopefully faster.

Here are my hopes and dreams:

-Ideally around/under $100k USD all in
-4' x 8' bed
-CMYK or CMYKW (No need for Lm Lc or V but will take it if we have to)
-Hoping to get 8+ boards / hour in production mode
-Mainly used to print coroplast, with occasional use for PVC, foamcore, Gatorfoam, acrylic etc.
-Inkset needs to cover fingerprints/surface imperfections well, while being soft enough for occasional CNC cutting after printing without chipping
-Ideally field upgradeable to add more heads for increased throughput down the road
-Local (Canadian) sales, support etc.

Contenders so far:

Mimaki JFX200-2513EX
Vanguard VR5

Interested in learning more about:
Fluid Color
Stratojet
SOVA
Keundo
EFI

Am I missing anything? Anyone here able to refer Canadian dealers for Fluid, Stratojet, Keundo assuming any of their offerings might fit the bill?

Regarding field upgradeable printers, any success stories of buying entry level 4/5 head printers then adding heads for extra capacity down the road? I know it's not an option from all manufacturers, like Mimaki unfortunately.

Thanks.
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Give this a look..

EU2 1000MF UV LED Flatbed Printer | Roland DG

Direct-to-board UV flatbed printer for high-volume production. Print rigid panels faster with no lamination, stable output and controlled running costs.
www.rolanddg.eu www.rolanddg.eu
 
White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
Gregg Lindsay said:
Any Dealer has this info, But we get it already, your not a fan of Roland.
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It's not that I'm not a fan of Roland - I'm mostly not a fan of manufacturers making claims that assume their target market is idiots.

FWIW, we started off with Roland printers and I enjoyed running them and working on them for years.

Don't really know/care if you're a dealer or work for Roland directly - either way I'm not considering one of their units.

Moving on.
 
G

Gregg Lindsay

New Member
White Haus said:
It's not that I'm not a fan of Roland - I'm mostly not a fan of manufacturers making claims that assume their target market is idiots.

FWIW, we started off with Roland printers and I enjoyed running them and working on them for years.

Don't really know/care if you're a dealer or work for Roland directly - either way I'm not considering one of their units.

Moving on.
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Im neither, just informed. All Mfrs pitch the same stuff man. That's why they call it a competitive analysis. Good luck.
 
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