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Merry Christmas! I finally bought a printer

I

ikarasu

Active Member
I started with the 110 and then moved up within a year... I got lucky and got a 560 for cheap.

Did you get the take up reel? I don't know why they even sell printers without them... They're useless only able to print 4 ft without one!

Grats on your printer, I'm sure you'll love it. Latex is great... And one benefit of the 115 is the curing unit allows you to not waste as much material as the bigger units do.


I strictly use 3m. Ij35 is a great calandered that doesn't shrink too much. Then ij40 for anything flat that needs to last... Then 180 for any cast/wrap stuff.

Banner... Any scrimm banner works. I've used the cheapest stuff and it's fine. Not everything is latex compatible though... So make sure to look for that.

Talk to biggish though, Gans has some great materials are great prices and they all work great with latex... If I was in USA is use him over 3m!
 
mjames

mjames

Premium Subscriber
Stacey K said:
I'm excited to share I finally bought a printer - after 2 years of Notarealsignguy telling me I won't regret it! LOL It's been delivered and is sitting here waiting for the electrician to install some 220's for me, and I had a water pipe issue that required the floor to be jackhammered up so a little delay in set-up. HP Latex...I would have preferred to spend $25,000 but I don't have that laying around.

I have lots of projects in my head and can barely contain my excitement to get started!

I need to order some material now. I've been using Signs365 and been happy with both the 3M and the General Formulations. I'm unsure what laminate to match up with materials. I have some posts saved, and some of you have sent me information and it's a bit overwhelming. I would like to start with some basic calendared, 13 oz banner and some cast/wrap material - can you suggest to me your favorites to get started? I'm a little concerned about color matching as I've read this seems to be an issue with HP. I'm going to spend some of this week trying to learn more and there's a "class" from HP to take. Suggestions are welcome. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Congratulations. The HP is a good choice for starting small. It is great for one off's but outsourcing is best for quantity jobs.
 
S

SignMeUpGraphics

Super Active Member
I hate 8518... the adhesive on the rolls that we get seems to be too aggressive and never wants to separate from the liner.
Other cast laminates with poly liners are fine though.
 
brdesign

brdesign

New Member
Stacey K said:
I'm excited to share I finally bought a printer - after 2 years of Notarealsignguy telling me I won't regret it! LOL It's been delivered and is sitting here waiting for the electrician to install some 220's for me, and I had a water pipe issue that required the floor to be jackhammered up so a little delay in set-up. HP Latex...I would have preferred to spend $25,000 but I don't have that laying around.

I have lots of projects in my head and can barely contain my excitement to get started!

I need to order some material now. I've been using Signs365 and been happy with both the 3M and the General Formulations. I'm unsure what laminate to match up with materials. I have some posts saved, and some of you have sent me information and it's a bit overwhelming. I would like to start with some basic calendared, 13 oz banner and some cast/wrap material - can you suggest to me your favorites to get started? I'm a little concerned about color matching as I've read this seems to be an issue with HP. I'm going to spend some of this week trying to learn more and there's a "class" from HP to take. Suggestions are welcome. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Keeping the print heads changed out regularly seemed to reduce most of the color shifts problems on the 560 Latex I used to run. Keep an extra set of printheads on hand, sometimes they fail without any warning, and don't try to run the heads until they completely quit.
 
MikePro

MikePro

New Member
congrats! HP is solid way to get your feet-wet. Don't be afraid to waste a bit of material to keep your leading-edge into if not past the heaters... my most frequent error is trying to start a print juuuust out past the pinch rollers and then when the media heats up it lifts and catches while trying to feed out of the printer and BAM headstrike/jam.

+1 to advice above regarding ALWAYS having a backup set of printheads ready & a backup maintenance cartridge as well. they're "cheap" to replace and stay good on your shelf for quite some time. I print a LOT so i'll always have two of each ink cartridge too, but you can stock as you feel necessary because you can calculate ink levels & usage fairly easily.

and when you run out of oil for the rail/rollers.... paper shredder oil is pennies on the dollar.
 
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McDonald Signs

McDonald Signs

McDonald Signs & Graphics
I have owned my own Roland Print & Cut printer since 2004 and still order from Signs365 several times a week while running my printer every day too for jobs.
It helps to have a source like Signs365 or similar place so when your printer goes down you can still get things done while waiting to have it fixed or fixing it yourself waiting on parts.
Buying my own printer completely changed my business for the good. Was able to do alot of things I couldn't do before in house. I use it everyday.
 
Eforcer

Eforcer

Sign Up!
Stacey K said:
I'm excited to share I finally bought a printer - after 2 years of Notarealsignguy telling me I won't regret it! LOL It's been delivered and is sitting here waiting for the electrician to install some 220's for me, and I had a water pipe issue that required the floor to be jackhammered up so a little delay in set-up. HP Latex...I would have preferred to spend $25,000 but I don't have that laying around.

I have lots of projects in my head and can barely contain my excitement to get started!

I need to order some material now. I've been using Signs365 and been happy with both the 3M and the General Formulations. I'm unsure what laminate to match up with materials. I have some posts saved, and some of you have sent me information and it's a bit overwhelming. I would like to start with some basic calendared, 13 oz banner and some cast/wrap material - can you suggest to me your favorites to get started? I'm a little concerned about color matching as I've read this seems to be an issue with HP. I'm going to spend some of this week trying to learn more and there's a "class" from HP to take. Suggestions are welcome. Thanks!
Click to expand...
It is an exciting New Year waiting for you now. Enjoy all the mistakes you are going to endure. Because the learning curve will be quick and just a little $$ painful in the beginning. Stand proud when using your Toy. It's soooooo going to pay off.
 
Stacey K

Stacey K

I like making signs
Finally got the printer and cutter up and running. Had to wait 3 weeks for the electrician to install the 220's, then I needed a LAN cord, then it wouldn't hook up to my internet LOL Printed a few samples out yesterday from items I had printed at Signs365 to compare my settings and they were spot on. The cutter cut some regular cut vinyl out nicely but I tried some circle contour cuts and they were not very circular. I like the new cutter but I'm sad to see old Bessy get packed away. She made every cut PERFECT for the last 17 years (Graphtec). I have to catch up on some work today but will investigate that tonight. I watched some videos on Flexi and learned a couple things I didn't know, always good to keep learning! Will need to watch the attached training for the printer, I swore more than I should have as a lady LOL Need to load profiles in yet also.

My mind is spinning with projects, I can't believe I waited so long to buy this.

Notarealsignguy --- I wish you would have told me to buy this sooner...:roflmao:
 
Scotchbrite

Scotchbrite

No comment
I hear our printer operator swearing at the machines all the time and wonder if the machine is falling apart or something. Then I end up running it when he's gone and find myself swearing in almost no time and I think "oh now I understand, I sound just like him." :cool:
 
C

ChaseO

Premium Subscriber
Stacey K said:
I watched some videos on Flexi and learned a couple things I didn't know, always good to keep learning! Will need to watch the attached training for the printer, I swore more than I should have as a lady LOL Need to load profiles in yet also.

.:roflmao:
Click to expand...

I feel like I learn new things about profiles and printing everyday, and I pretty much have printed everyday since '06. Some things are trial by fire while other things you will figure out and put into action without a mistake that prompted it. I constantly read up on these machines to learn more. And yes, there is a lot more swearing involved with printing than any other aspect of the sign business for me, and the mistakes are costly at first, but it gets better.

Also, we all have our own "Betsy" I used an Ioline Studio 8 from 6 years old in 1994 and didn't retire it until 2015 when I bought my first graphtec. I have since bought another graphtec and enjoy running them. I'm not sure why i waited so long other than I am resistant to change for some reason. But the Ioline didn't get packed away, I will probably be buried with it, and it will still be running as good as the day Dad bought it. The same can't be said for all of the new equipment I have been buying.
 
GAC05

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
Yes, using a loud voice on the printer comes with experience. The other day I did not calculate the end of the roll near enough and it was one with the material welded to all 54 inches of the core. The end-of-material sensor never had a chance. When it jerked to a hard, loud stop I called an audible that could have been heard in the locker room at the Super Bowl.
 
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