Input on choosing a new printer

[Scotchbrite]

We're looking to purchase a new printer. This will be our 4th. We started with a Mimaki JV3 that lasted us about 14 years. While it was still running, we added an HP 26500. Once the Mimaki finally gave out, we bought an HP 560 and that's our primary machine now. The 26500 is pretty much useless since they aren't supporting it anymore.

The printer is not our primary source of revenue, but it's a big part of it. It doesn't run 24/7. More like about 30 hours a week. Speed isn't really a factor for my decision. Primarily I want good color and longevity.

The biggest thing I want to add to our capabilities is printing white. I have a few jobs that need white on clear that I sub out to another shop with a Gerber Edge. Plus people frequently ask for stickers printed on clear that we can't do without the white capability. Probably the biggest factor is getting better backlit prints.

I've been looking pretty hard at the Mimaki UCJV300. The capabilities of that machine seem like they would be nice to have. Plus we had such a good experience with our old JV3. But I don't know much about the strengths/weaknesses of the UV inks. The layering capability of the UCJV300 look to be very promising. I kinda like the feel of the print that comes off the UV machine.

Another printer I keep coming back to is the Epson 80600. The color options they offer look nice. I'm tired of the lack luster reds we get from the HP machines, and it would be nice to get a good vibrant red. I've also read several comments on this forum about people really liking this printer.

I know HP has latex machines capable of printing white, but we're kind of over HP. It's irritating that we have a perfectly functional 26500 that they won't support any more. It also sounds like the latest model of HP hasn't been working that great.

I would appreciate hearing any thoughts you all might have.

 

[FrankW]

I like the 80600, but when wanting to print white, forget any eco solvent printer. Eco solvent white does not work good. For example you will need a lot of passes (low speed) to have an acceptable white density. I‘m in the printer support business for more than 20 years, never have seen someone who uses eco solvent white professionally in production.

 

[Solventinkjet]

I like the 80600, but when wanting to print white, forget any eco solvent printer. Eco solvent white does not work good. For example you will need a lot of passes (low speed) to have an acceptable white density. I‘m in the printer support business for more than 20 years, never have seen someone who uses eco solvent white professionally in production.

We always advise our customers against getting solvent white and every single one who still decided to go with it asked us to switch back after about a year.

 

[mim]

We use white on our s80600. You can change the white output in the settings. It's true that it takes a lot to get a solid coat but you can definitely do it for professional work.

 

[Zendavor Signs]

We're looking to purchase a new printer. This will be our 4th. We started with a Mimaki JV3 that lasted us about 14 years. While it was still running, we added an HP 26500. Once the Mimaki finally gave out, we bought an HP 560 and that's our primary machine now. The 26500 is pretty much useless since they aren't supporting it anymore.

The printer is not our primary source of revenue, but it's a big part of it. It doesn't run 24/7. More like about 30 hours a week. Speed isn't really a factor for my decision. Primarily I want good color and longevity.

The biggest thing I want to add to our capabilities is printing white. I have a few jobs that need white on clear that I sub out to another shop with a Gerber Edge. Plus people frequently ask for stickers printed on clear that we can't do without the white capability. Probably the biggest factor is getting better backlit prints.

I've been looking pretty hard at the Mimaki UCJV300. The capabilities of that machine seem like they would be nice to have. Plus we had such a good experience with our old JV3. But I don't know much about the strengths/weaknesses of the UV inks. The layering capability of the UCJV300 look to be very promising. I kinda like the feel of the print that comes off the UV machine.

Another printer I keep coming back to is the Epson 80600. The color options they offer look nice. I'm tired of the lack luster reds we get from the HP machines, and it would be nice to get a good vibrant red. I've also read several comments on this forum about people really liking this printer.

I know HP has latex machines capable of printing white, but we're kind of over HP. It's irritating that we have a perfectly functional 26500 that they won't support any more. It also sounds like the latest model of HP hasn't been working that great.

I would appreciate hearing any thoughts you all might have.

Do you have room for 2 printers? I would recommend an Epson S40 for your basic work, the Mimaki for white ink printing and specialty work. We have both and love them both, but for different uses. The Mimaki is hands down the best budget white ink printer. Backlit printing crawls, so if you are printing backlit / white ink work, it will really tie it up. The Mimaki is also great for non-laminated work like wallpaper and temporary wall wraps. RIP support stinks for the Mimaki, though. It is not the same as it was when you bought your JV3. Mimaki wants everyone to use Rasterlink, which is horrible.

 

[DL Signs]

We always advise our customers against getting solvent white and every single one who still decided to go with it asked us to switch back after about a year.

Absolutely spot on. I've gone down the rabbit hole of trying solvent whites, near impossible to get results you desire. UV is the way to go.

 

[Boudica]

Another printer I keep coming back to is the Epson 80600. The color options they offer look nice. I'm tired of the lack luster reds we get from the HP machines, and it would be nice to get a good vibrant red. I've also read several comments on this forum about people really liking this printer.

Love love love our Epson S80600. We've had it for about 3 years or so, and if we need to get another solvent printer, I'm certain we would get another one of these. very little maintenance, we had a service contract, I think it was only used because the take up wasn't working. outside of that, it's a nice fast workhorse, and the colors are very vibrant.

 

[brdesign]

I recently got a Mimaki CJV150-130 and everyone has been telling me to stay away from the white and silver inks

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I would buy another mimaki. If I could have 2, one would be the UCJV300 and the other a regular JV150 or CJV150, maybe a JV300 but I'm not real keen on 2 heads. My concern with only having the UCJV would be with laminating, I haven't seen a real consistent review of how the raised ink does with basic day to day lamination.
Edit to add, I have a clear decal stuck on my office window that I grabbed from the sign show a few years ago which was printed on the UCJV300 right when it came out. Maybe even before it was released? Either way, the color retention is great, it still looks like the day I stuck it on there. Has red and white ink on it

 

[DL Signs]

I recently got a Mimaki CJV150-130 and everyone has been telling me to stay away from the white and silver inks

I wouldn't use them on the EcoSol models either. Tried & died in my experience. Results were hit & miss, usually way below expectations. If you don't use them every day those high solid white/ silver inks end up in the waste bucket because they have to keep circulating & moving or plug up lines. UV printers are the best way to go for white, you can multi layer it for better coverage, and moost use closed circuit recirculating so your ink doesn't get wasted like it does in solvent printers. Our next one will be a UV, most likely the UCJV300 series.

 

[Scotchbrite]

Thanks for all the useful information everyone!

I would buy another mimaki. If I could have 2, one would be the UCJV300 and the other a regular JV150 or CJV150, maybe a JV300 but I'm not real keen on 2 heads. My concern with only having the UCJV would be with laminating, I haven't seen a real consistent review of how the raised ink does with basic day to day lamination.
Edit to add, I have a clear decal stuck on my office window that I grabbed from the sign show a few years ago which was printed on the UCJV300 right when it came out. Maybe even before it was released? Either way, the color retention is great, it still looks like the day I stuck it on there. Has red and white ink on it

I wondered about laminate on the UV prints as well.

Do you have room for 2 printers? I would recommend an Epson S40 for your basic work, the Mimaki for white ink printing and specialty work. We have both and love them both, but for different uses. The Mimaki is hands down the best budget white ink printer. Backlit printing crawls, so if you are printing backlit / white ink work, it will really tie it up. The Mimaki is also great for non-laminated work like wallpaper and temporary wall wraps. RIP support stinks for the Mimaki, though. It is not the same as it was when you bought your JV3. Mimaki wants everyone to use Rasterlink, which is horrible.

We do have physical space for 2 printers, but not budget space to buy 2 new printers. We will keep running the HP 560 machine. If we get the UCJV300, I have a feeling there will be a learning curve so it'll be nice to have have the HP machine to keep production plugging along.

 

[Bshervey]

I have sold and worked on most printers that have white as an option, and in my opinion you have to add at least 30% to the TCO (total cost of ownership) to justify white. It is amazing, and definitely adds punch, but is very expensive to maintain especially when not used often enough.

 

[Mike Perth]

We went from a old but solid 26500 to a 800w. The white ink is amazing and perfect for glazing films.
This is our second 800 as the first was a pig, even with the new one we have the tech out twice a month. We’re lucky to have excellent local support.
Epson sounds like a good option.

 

[greysquirrel]

You really can’t fault a manufacturer for ending the life of a product. The 300 series hits its second generation before this happened. If you go solvent for white go Epson s80 if not the latex is the best option.

 

[Superior_Adam]

In my opinion if your wanting roll to roll white Latex is the way to go. We have UV white and although it is a good white UV inks are thicker than latex. If you have not already I would get some white samples from the HP latex. It is a good solid white and very thin so would be good if you need to laminate.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

You really can’t fault a manufacturer for ending the life of a product. The 300 series hits its second generation before this happened. If you go solvent for white go Epson s80 if not the latex is the best option.

I must disagree because the HP is based around a bunch of consumable parts with no aftermarket support. If nothing else they should open their obsolete components to aftermarket production once they end support. No other printers are this way. Not making hard parts after a certain period of time is a different story but ink and disposable heads?

 

[Superior_Adam]

I must disagree because the HP is based around a bunch of consumable parts with no aftermarket support. If nothing else they should open their obsolete components to aftermarket production once they end support. No other printers are this way. Not making hard parts after a certain period of time is a different story but ink and disposable heads?

Why should a manufacturer feel the need to continue making heads and ink for a printer that is old. I agree they should open it up to other places to make the parts if they want to but you cant expect a company to keep making parts for machine that old. Most people when the printer is that old have made more than enough money with it and want to upgrade to a newer model with better capabilities than to keep fixing an old printer.

 

[balstestrat]

I must disagree because the HP is based around a bunch of consumable parts with no aftermarket support. If nothing else they should open their obsolete components to aftermarket production once they end support. No other printers are this way. Not making hard parts after a certain period of time is a different story but ink and disposable heads?

Business like anything else, not required to share it's secrets. But as we are again talking about this 2gen ink, they were forced by law to stop producing it. Why bother with an old product after that.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Why should a manufacturer feel the need to continue making heads and ink for a printer that is old. I agree they should open it up to other places to make the parts if they want to but you cant expect a company to keep making parts for machine that old. Most people when the printer is that old have made more than enough money with it and want to upgrade to a newer model with better capabilities than to keep fixing an old printer.

I didn't say that I expect a company to do that but they produce proprietary consumables and do not allow aftermarket production where many other companies do.
Let's say that Toyota decided that they were going to patent a mounting system for their rims/tires and make them out of a high density plastic with the tire fused to it. Selling point being that all you do when you need to replace tires is pop the old one off and the new assembly on right in your driveway, no tire store needed. After 10 years, they modify the mounting pattern and stop producing the old version of the tires/rims basically rendering the car useless once the last set of your tires wear out. Yes, they are allowed to do this. Is it right? In my opinion no, not at all. Not everyone wants or needs to upgrade their machines every few years and I am included in that bunch. There are tons of people still running the SP540/300s. We are not all straight print shops and it sounds like a lot of people here don't even run their printers all that much yet still have a decent sized sign company.
I'm not arguing that they are not allowed to do what they do, they can do whatever they want, that's business. What I am saying is that I do not like the whole notion of consumable parts where the manufacturer has control of your replacement cycle. Every other printer is not designed around throw away parts with the exception of captops and dampers but they are not typically proprietary to a single machine.

 

[Johnny Best]

Two things I won't buy, used condoms and Hewlett Packard machines, so far except for moment of necessity, I have kept that promise of not getting a HP.