Hello all,
I am new to the boards, and have an issue I am hoping to get some advice on.
I work for a large company in a small scale sign shop. We have for years relied on our Graphtec Cutting Pro vinyl cutter for most of out work. We are also part of a paint shop so I cut a lot of stencils. The cutter works great, but my boss is worried it will crap out on us one day in the midst of a project. He wants me to source a new cutter and make the Graphtec a back-up. That's fine. I also try and urge him we should look into solvent based printers, or a laminator, as our only inhouse printer is an HP Designjet 130. We outsource most of our printed signs, banners, and almost everything. I said it doesn't make sense for a "sign shop" to be sending out a majority of it's work. Since we are a multi-craft shop (paint, sign, fabric, mold...), he just didn't want to focus on us becoming a full blown "sign shop".
So, I call a local supply company to see about sourcing that new vinyl cutter. The rep. instantly asks why I want a vinyl cutter, and have I ever looked into a printer/cutter. I instantly shine him, as I feel like he's trying to sell me a used car. But, seeing as my only exposure to this industry has been a 10 year old vinyl cutter and my Roland Stika at home, I figured maybe I'm missing out here.
My boss and I head down to the supply companies offices. The rep shows us the Roland Soljet Pro IIV SC-545 EX 54". I was blown away. Like I said, I didn't even have a concept of technology like this. Registration marks? profile cuts? No need (mostly) for colored vinyl? No layering for multi -colored graphics? This was alll too good to be true. The unit is about $30,000, and based on our departments yearly outsouced sign spending, that's chicken scratch. It would pay for itself in a month. I also asked how much the ink cartridges are... $75 each. That is only $40 more than the HP designjet.
I explained to my boss that this would let our shop expand into the 21st century, bring in more work, and just be a good investment. Am I wrong? As I said, I have been in a cave the 3 years I have been doing signs/graphics, so I'm sure I missed the boat on this type of technology.
I want to make sure this is something reliable, able to cut vinyl just as well and as detailed as a dedicated cutter, and have the bonus of being able to print outdoor, waterproof prints, banners, etc.
Should I go this route, or get an independent cutter, then look at a solvent based printer? (The other thing that is appealing is the ECO-Sol that supposedly is safe, so you don't need a vent. system. That would be nice to not have to justify building another room.
So PLEASE... I am looking for honest opinions and experiences with this. I want to make sure what I am saying we should buy is the best thing to buy for our needs. Any help is appreciated.
I am new to the boards, and have an issue I am hoping to get some advice on.
I work for a large company in a small scale sign shop. We have for years relied on our Graphtec Cutting Pro vinyl cutter for most of out work. We are also part of a paint shop so I cut a lot of stencils. The cutter works great, but my boss is worried it will crap out on us one day in the midst of a project. He wants me to source a new cutter and make the Graphtec a back-up. That's fine. I also try and urge him we should look into solvent based printers, or a laminator, as our only inhouse printer is an HP Designjet 130. We outsource most of our printed signs, banners, and almost everything. I said it doesn't make sense for a "sign shop" to be sending out a majority of it's work. Since we are a multi-craft shop (paint, sign, fabric, mold...), he just didn't want to focus on us becoming a full blown "sign shop".
So, I call a local supply company to see about sourcing that new vinyl cutter. The rep. instantly asks why I want a vinyl cutter, and have I ever looked into a printer/cutter. I instantly shine him, as I feel like he's trying to sell me a used car. But, seeing as my only exposure to this industry has been a 10 year old vinyl cutter and my Roland Stika at home, I figured maybe I'm missing out here.
My boss and I head down to the supply companies offices. The rep shows us the Roland Soljet Pro IIV SC-545 EX 54". I was blown away. Like I said, I didn't even have a concept of technology like this. Registration marks? profile cuts? No need (mostly) for colored vinyl? No layering for multi -colored graphics? This was alll too good to be true. The unit is about $30,000, and based on our departments yearly outsouced sign spending, that's chicken scratch. It would pay for itself in a month. I also asked how much the ink cartridges are... $75 each. That is only $40 more than the HP designjet.
I explained to my boss that this would let our shop expand into the 21st century, bring in more work, and just be a good investment. Am I wrong? As I said, I have been in a cave the 3 years I have been doing signs/graphics, so I'm sure I missed the boat on this type of technology.
I want to make sure this is something reliable, able to cut vinyl just as well and as detailed as a dedicated cutter, and have the bonus of being able to print outdoor, waterproof prints, banners, etc.
Should I go this route, or get an independent cutter, then look at a solvent based printer? (The other thing that is appealing is the ECO-Sol that supposedly is safe, so you don't need a vent. system. That would be nice to not have to justify building another room.
So PLEASE... I am looking for honest opinions and experiences with this. I want to make sure what I am saying we should buy is the best thing to buy for our needs. Any help is appreciated.