Frank, I hear what you’re saying, and you’re not wrong that there have been technological improvements. Automated feed calibration, nozzle monitoring, bidirectional alignment, etc. are all nice features. Yes, the price to get in went down, as did the amount of warranty years (used to be 3 years) now you get 1 year, and those base prices don’t include ship/install or ink.
But the point I’m making isn’t that some of the technology hasn’t advanced it’s that the overall ownership experience has actually regressed in many ways.
Take the SP and VP era machines as an example. Those machines were built like tanks. They ran for years with minimal intervention, parts were straightforward, and the ink systems were flexible. Shops could actually keep them running long-term without constantly calling a tech.
Today we have machines with more automation, but they’re also: More fragile, more locked down, more expensive to maintain, more dependent on dealer service, and more expensive in consumables.
So, yes they’ve made some advances, but what good is that if the machine itself is far more prone to failure? Like I said in the original, it was at the detriment of the user.
The SP300 and VP540 were workhorses. Many of them ran 10–15 years in real shops. I personally ran one for over a decade with no service calls. Can we honestly say the same about the current eco-solvent machines from Roland & Mimaki?
I unterstand your frustration, but i can't second your rants in all cases. I started even before printing entered the
sign business in the form of the first Gerber Edge thermo printer.(It was momochrome, when i first saw it)
The SP-300 wasn't that much fun with the low pump lifetime. Also the first Ecosol ink had a very bad drying characteristic. That only improved over time.
The VP was a improvement, as it had the new pumps, four heads and EcoSolMax ink. The carriage often used to bang into the capping station, with the factory flush position adjustment.(They removed the spit foam and front cover to reduce the price)
The real improvement started with the VPi series and the XC XJ. This is when they introduced RIPC.
When they introduced the VS, i wasn't really delighted, but they held up pretty well in the field.(especially the enhanced VSi)
This holds true, if the customer listened to me and didn't use white or metallic inks. You also needed to replace the captops more frequently, than with the DX4 printers.
Then came the VG/SG-VG3/SG3 with their known problem with the cyan TR2 ink.(I don't unterstand, why they havent solved it)
Now, they are back on a good track with the XP and XG.(The ink system is back to simple and reliable again and also the rest looks solid to me)
In the meantime Mimaki had their legendary JV3 as a first solvent.(This ink wasn't Eco back then) I installed tons of them. I never liked the Mimaki way of head adjustments. I installed a UJVC330 lately and it has not really improved much.
The JV5 had 4 staggered heads and the mechanical adjustment could take you hours, if not days.
In addition, they added features that used many encoder strips and sensors that got blinded by ink mist.
I only did Mutoh in their early days of water based printing, so i don't know their actual offerings.
I was certfied in the first Epson Surecolor and thought it used a lot of plastic.
HP, hm is another story.
If you want the cheapest possible ink, printer producers need to make their cut elsewhere to survive.
If you want the cheapest possible service, you get what you pay for.
If you want(buy) printers with all the bells and whistles, manufacturers will keep adding them.
