external heater reviews

[alaskaprinter]

We bought a Roland soljet pro 3 xc540 last year and opted out on purchasing the external heater that sits in front as the media exits. I am asking anyone who has the external heater for any reviews or opinion's .I am having some issues with full coverage banners in a quick turn around shop and want to know if the extra heater would help me with this.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

I assume you're referring to the Digi-Dry infrared dryer. We have one, works great. I'm considering adding a second dryer unit to it to help even more. But it definitely makes a noticeable difference on heavy coverage prints, especially wraps and banners.

They sell an optional timer for it, I highly recommend getting it, otherwise you can't let it run unattended unless you want to destroy your print or burn your building down...

 

[jc1cell]

How would this reduce any out-gassing needed before lamination. Reduces the time or doesn't affect it?

Cheerios,
jc

 

[PC Signs]

We have 3 of the DigiDry heaters, they are great. They are especially helpful on cotton fabric, it will get hot enough to send up a 6 foot wide wall of eco-solvent smoke while printing. I also suggest good ventillation when using these.

 

[Sticky Signs]

I don't have one and I don't think I need one. My buddy has one and thinks it's useless. It's hard to justify the cost. I do have a few medias I print on that are stubborn so I use an Infrared heater near the take up roll. It's the same kind they use to dry automotive paint. You can pick one up for about 200$ from auto parts place.

 

[AUTO-FX]

i made my own on the cheap. mail ordered a quartz heater. hooked up a timer dial and a router control to moderate the heat output. less than 250$, but it's not exactly "UL listed" either.

 

[arttrans]

Digi-Dry Heater

We run an HP 9000,s and we use the dryer on everything. I works great and yes, get the timer.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

I don't have one and I don't think I need one. My buddy has one and thinks it's useless. It's hard to justify the cost. I do have a few medias I print on that are stubborn so I use an Infrared heater near the take up roll. It's the same kind they use to dry automotive paint. You can pick one up for about 200$ from auto parts place.

IMO the cost is a a bit more than it "should" be, it seems overpriced to me too, but it's far from useless, they do what they're supposed to do. If you're printer is super-slow you may not reap any benefits from it because the print is already dry by the time it gets to the heater, but if you're running with any speed it makes a huge difference.