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Opinions needed between Epson 11880 and Mutoh 1614

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wannabesignguy

New Member
Greetings everyone

I am a new forum member in search of some information. After browsing through the site it appears that there is a wealth of knowledge here so hoping to get some insight from the experts...

I have been informally working with vinyl for the past few years, mainly doing decal work and vinyl stripes for friends and other auto enthusiasts. My efforts have grown to the point that I feel I turn this into a business so I am investigating options for wide format printers as they will allow me to do more complex projects and widen my offering.

I have worked with Sign Warehouse in the past and am familiar with the Mutoh printers they have available. I have another company I am dealing with that provides them as well. I also have the ability to get a pretty deep discount off Epson printers. Based on my research it sounds like the guts of the Epson and Mutoh printers are pretty much the same. I could be swayed to looking at other options but Mutoh seems to be a pretty good bang for the buck and Epson with the discount seems like a very good deal as well.

The type of work I am looking to do is all across the board, but most wide format printers will accommodate me with the exception of printing on corplast, but that is a low priority for me at this point and is probably not feasible given the cost benefit.

My projects span from decal work to custom print jobs on banner material or poster board or high quality paper for prints, etc. The larger medium printers are attractive as I hope to do some large wall graphics and vehicle wraps in the near future. My projects will be both inside and outdoor so I expect I will need a cutter and laminator as well.

Back to my question in the title... Can anyone provide insight on the two printers mentioned? I was really looking for a pros/cons comparison between the two. Please feel free to offer other options as well.

Thanks and I appreciate any feedback!
 
J

jmcnicoll

New Member
The Epson 11880 is a great printer, but not for decals or anything else that will be outside for extended periods of time. Epson does have a solvent printer that I have not yet seen, but have heard some good things about.

jim
 
W

wannabesignguy

New Member
jmcnicoll said:
The Epson 11880 is a great printer, but not for decals or anything else that will be outside for extended periods of time. Epson does have a solvent printer that I have not yet seen, but have heard some good things about.

jim
Click to expand...

Thanks Jim for your feedback. I assume you are referring to the inks used in the 11880 when you say it is not good for an extended period of time? I thought that the ecosolvent inks were good for 3 years outdoor and longer if laminated? Also arent the same inks used in the Mutoh?
 
P Wagner

P Wagner

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You may be confused between the Epson 11880, which is an aqueous printer, and the Epson GS6000, which runs eco-solvent ink. The inkset used in the GS6000 is not the same inkset as used in Mutoh printers. It is an 8-color inkset, whereas the Mutoh has 4 to 6-colors, depending on the machine.

Bob
 
MachServTech

MachServTech

New Member
The printers you mentioned were
Epson 11880 is a water based inkjet printer, not for outdoor use. (you may be thinking of Epson GS6000)
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/ProImaging/ProductDetails.do?sku=SPGS6000PE
(MSRP just lowered so its not correct)
The Mutoh 1614 is a ecosol printer which will work well for most outdoor sinage. The Epson GS6000 however has a different set of electronics and printheads which will allow for a much higher quality print. High end vehicle wrappers and fine art repro are buying this printer.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200807/ai_n27918756/
 
W

wannabesignguy

New Member
Wow great info everyone thanks! Yes I was confused on the 11880 (which is a bummer too as I see they have really dropped the price on that unit). I was comparing based on media size alone. As far as the GS6000 is concerned does it need to be ventilated? I searched through the owners manual and did not see anything specific to fumes from ink or special venting requirements other than the normal stuff.

Also is there a smaller version of the GS6000 available from Epson that is suitable for outside work?

I sincerely appreciate the help!
 
B

buffalo.chuckl

New Member
Mutoh vs. Epson

Hi Guys,

Well, I have sold for Epson and I currently sell Epson and Mutoh as my company has dealerships in both printers. With that, if any of you are doing a lot of outdoor signage applications, two things you want to consider if you are looking for new equipment when looking at the Mutoh 1614 and the Epson 11880. The Epson 11880, is a great hybrid pigment based printer, but with the same 64" width, you can get into Epson's new GS6000 Solvent printer which would bring you up to the same class of printers which use the Eco Solvent inks. Now, the Mutoh 1614 is a CMYK printer. In the solvent world up until more recently have been the case. Nowadays, other companies have up to 6 color solvent ink printers. The Mutoh, definitely will get you great production speed. The speed is what you are looking for with the Mutoh. The Epson GS6000 is a newcomer to the game in terms of printers, but if you look at the Mimakis and some of the other solvent printers, they have Epson heads. Why so late Epson? They have had the other manufacturers test out their solvent heads all these years and now, they bring out the magnum: GS6000. It is a 8-color photo realistic solvent printer. What does this do for you for signage? If you print a lot of outdoor signage for music events which feature an artist or car wraps which have a lot of photo realistic images, there is no other solvent printer like it, and the colors just pop. If any of the guys here have seen the prints on the control tacs and the canvas, the image outputs are stunning. The only thing i don't like with the Epson GS6000 is the Colorburst RIP that's thrown in with the unit. To fully optimize the printer with the Colorburst, it's best you get a color professional to set it up for you to get good color. For the Mutoh 1614, it is one of the signage industry's standards with the Mimaki's and the Rolands in terms of the solvent equipment, but I recommend going with a company that will give you the best support and have consumables readily available. With that I will let you guys choose the best printer for your business needs. Thanks for the forum.
 
Biker Scout

Biker Scout

New Member
Might want to look at the Mutoh 1608 instead. It's a Hybrid Roll-to-Roll / Flatbed Printer. More versitile, and you can print on substrates instead of vinyl then applying the vinyl to the substrate. Saves a step and materials. Plus the Mubio ink can be purchased in bulk for that printer.

It's also a 64" width, but as a starter machine, it'll probably fulfill your needs for a longer period of time between machine purchases down the road.
 
B

buffalo.chuckl

New Member
Both the Mutoh and Epson have their uses for different applications. If you're printing on controltac, I would recommend the GS. You will get phenomenal print quality on them. As far as the Mutoh, it is using a Epson CMYK head, and it is great for outdoor banners. For canvas printing, Epson GS 6000 (8-color) does a phenomenal job on glossy canvas media. you can really see the colors pop.

As all of these kinds of machines, you need to make sure the initial setups are done properly to ensure the best print quality out of yoru machine. Linearization of the media types will be very important. If you are not a veteran using RIP's, please hire a color tech to setup the best custom color profiles for your business needs to maximize your printer's potential.
 
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