New printer/cutter recommendations

[Stormyj]

Hi all,
Been a while since Ive been on here. Moved from Indiana to Maryland and have sold my 54" Roland SC540. Im in the market for a new printer cutter but not sure what to get. I think I want to go smaller, maybe 30 something inches. I still want a print cut machine. I know theres latex and solvent. Either would be fine. I just want recommendations on what people are using now. Will be used mostly for smaller jobs, maybe 48" width at the most, but can align up separate prints. Will do mostly decals, smaller ones so contour cuts along with perf cuts is preferred. what do you guys recommend. Newer printers/older used printers are fine. The reason I want a smaller printer is I do this at home and space is limited. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[Pauly]

if you can. i wouldnt go smaller than 54" because most stock comes in 54" wide. you can get shorter, but costs more usually. and less options.

Other than that, my opinion is useless.

 

[Attila Nagy]

I would not recommend any Printer/Cutter. Have separate machines.

 

[MarkSnelling]

There might be a few SG300 printers from Roland laying around. It has been discontinued (but will still be supported) and they dropped the price big time all the way down to $9,995 (plus ink, shipping, etc). It has room for CMYK and it also cuts. Nice machine.

Agree with the comment about getting a 54" machine as most distributors don't carry a lot of 30" stocked media and that can be more difficult to get if you don't plan ahead. We all stock tons of 54" goods.

I'd happily provide a quote for you if you have the interest.

 

[PHILJOHNSON]

I agree that a 54" would be the way to go as most print vinyl is 54" wide. The Roland VG3-540 would be a good option and is on sale right now($12,495 before ink and shipping are added and before discounts are applied). That is the 8-color option and you can add white as well. You could also get a separate printer, laminator, and cutter as others have suggested but that would take up much more space and you mentioned you're tight on space and want to keep the cost down, so that may not be the best option given your circumstances.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss the VG3-540 in more detail and get pricing, and I would be happy to help.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext. 112
philj@airmark.com

 

[JBurton]

Since space is limited, you may want to invest in a miter saw for cutting down rolls to fit a smaller printer like you want...

 

[Zoogee World]

We only have 30" Printer / cutters and I haven't had any issues getting media, typically I just get the supplier to slit the 54" rolls in half and you have 2 shorter about 27" rolls for the price of a 54" roll, usually saves a few buck even with the small slitting fee. However, it all depends on your supplier. Up here in Canada, the ones I've used have never had any issues doing this for us, but it might be different down there in the US.

 

[Stormyj]

I agree that a 54" would be the way to go as most print vinyl is 54" wide. The Roland VG3-540 would be a good option and is on sale right now($12,495 before ink and shipping are added and before discounts are applied). That is the 8-color option and you can add white as well. You could also get a separate printer, laminator, and cutter as others have suggested but that would take up much more space and you mentioned you're tight on space and want to keep the cost down, so that may not be the best option given your circumstances.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss the VG3-540 in more detail and get pricing, and I would be happy to help.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext. 112
philj@airmark.com

How long is the vg3 540 and what type of ink does it use. Does the machine come with an ink dryer or is it even necessary. had one with my sc540 with solvent inks. thanks