Mutoh ValueJet 1608...WOW!

[Matt Cuellar]

Well, we just finished day 1 of our very first install of the new Mutoh VJ-1608 hybrid printer. As you know, there's been a lot of buzz on this printer in the recent months and all I can say is WOW! This is going to be a hot little item for those looking to break into the flatbed market without spending a whole lot of cash. Great thanks to Gary Rudnick from Mutoh who has done an AWESOME job training thus far! He's got a wealth of knowledge and this printer went through some great stuff today. The customer is beyond happy and the output was phenomenal. We printed on Coroplast, Sintra, FoamCor, and MDO without any adhesion problems, color issues, or anything else. It was quite impressive. I've attached a few photos from the install, but they're not be too good as this was taken with my Blackberry. Tomorrow is day 2 and we'll be testing out all the roll stock vinyl and banner along with some Lexan and ceramic tiles for custom flooring. We've got 2 more printers going in shops in the next 2 weeks so we'll have some excellent Northwest feedback here shortly. Very cool!

 

[rcook99]

Matt, the big question is how much is this machine going for?

 

[Matt Cuellar]

$45K....

Better than $55-90K like other hybrid printers.

 

[ChiknNutz]

Awesome! Look forward to hearing a lot more.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

You said you printed MDO, was it a small pc. or a 4'8'? If it's 4'x8' how many does it print in an hour.

 

[D&Tgraphics]

But the real question is, can it print a 4x8 sheet. I've heard that they are having problems printing a full 4x8 sheet. Let me know when you put a full sheet through it.

 

[CrownSignSystems]

Getting into the flatbed market is one thing. The problem is say you start getting flatbed business, will the Mutoh stand up to the test of time?

For twice the price you can have the peace of mind knowing your equipment can handle anything you throw at it.

Trying to put two things together never seems to work well. That's why these companies have flat beds, and regular printers.

Affordable? Yes!
Efficient? Doubtful

Time is money!

Save your pennies

 

[rcboats1]

Getting into the flatbed market is one thing. The problem is say you start getting flatbed business, will the Mutoh stand up to the test of time?

For twice the price you can have the peace of mind knowing your equipment can handle anything you throw at it.

Trying to put two things together never seems to work well. That's why these companies have flat beds, and regular printers.

Affordable? Yes!
Efficient? Doubtful

Time is money!

Save your pennies

And you came in here to bad mouth a machine that you know nothing about why?

Looks good Matt, I bet your customer is thrilled.

 

[Case]

The printer will print 3/8" thick media and has a 12lb rigid stock weight limit. Nice printer... Worked great at the ISA show in Orlando.

Case

 

[Pat Whatley]

12 pounds?!

 

[Pro Image]

12 pounds?!

A sheet of foam Board, 4mm coro, .032 aluminum, and smaller sheet of Dibond and such........

 

[Matt Cuellar]

The printer will only initialize on substrates 12 lbs or less, but if you turn that off, it'll handle heavier stock like a sheet of MDO.

It was pretty cool today, did some ceramic tiles, lexan, and some more 4x8 coro sheets. We printed mostly in Graphics 2 mode which is about 85 sq/ft hr, so almost 3 sheets per hour which is OK, but the quality was awesome. Color was spot on, no bleeding or overspray because of static. It'll have it's place in the market and be a good starting point for those who don't have the bigger pockets for the ColorSpan 5400 series or Gerber Ion.

One of my biggest concerns was how it would handle warped or heavier media and there was no problem at all. But we'll see how the next few weeks go since the tech is gone and back in Phoenix.

 

[Williams Signs]

Getting into the flatbed market is one thing. The problem is say you start getting flatbed business, will the Mutoh stand up to the test of time?

For twice the price you can have the peace of mind knowing your equipment can handle anything you throw at it.

Trying to put two things together never seems to work well. That's why these companies have flat beds, and regular printers.

Affordable? Yes!
Efficient? Doubtful

Time is money!

Save your pennies

So I guess the Gerber Solara Ion is a piece of junk, cause it is a roll to roll and a flatbed.

 

[Case]

yeah no problem with the hold down bar in front, that's why it's there for warped media or the heat from the air gun possibly curling some medias. i had no problems with it. i think it is a real nice low cost flatbed.

case

 

[Matt Cuellar]

It reminds me ALOT of the ColorSpan 72uvr/uvx models when they first came out. If this printer maintains the track record of its other ValueJet brother and sisters, it's going to be quite a fun machine to work with!

 

[Case]

it's got a nice baby aspirin/powder smell to it... and i'm glad the media racks are much better made than the ones that are shown in the very first pictures of it.

case

 

[Signsforwhile]

How do you print off a roll? Do you have to layout sheets? Or will it print like a normal roll fed printer?

 

[Matt Cuellar]

It's a hybrid so it'll do roll to roll and rigid substrates. It's got the same roll feed and take-up reel as the ValueJet 1604 eco-solvent printer.

 

[copythat]

Nice machine

I actually was looking at this machine at SGIA show last year. N+My salesman convince me that it's not quite there yet. But to wait another year after this ne. His comments were directed to it's capablities of producing rich reds. I know it's new in your shop but would like to hear some comments from you on your new toy in the future. By the wya you tried it on TILES? I like to see a pic on that one. Cursing in my head about my rep.

 

[Fuzzbuster]

Whats the deal with the inks on that thing$$$$$$$???????



Anyone interested on buying a board option for a TOUCAN LT?

Let us know how it`s long term works out