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Small shop trying to get first printer.
- Thread starter Magnum Graphics
- Start date
Circleville Signs
New Member
Here's the thing....The "gallery" in this case probably has a total of around 100 years of signmaking and design experience. We DO know best.
Gino
Premium Subscriber
Aren't you the person, just the other day, make fun of and put some poster down because they wanted to come into the trade ??
You flip flop more than a frickin' pair of guys at a party............
elsignshop
New Member
I say go for it and buy the printer, you will have full control of all your printing needs and will not need to sub things out. if you get if for $1500, you can letter 1 truck or trailer and get that money back in 1 job. I personally dont sub anything out, i do everything i offer at my shop. so i can have control of whats getting done and make sure its done right and on time, just my 2 cents tho
Since it's almost guaranteed that you will need to get a tech involved with that machine at some point, I would suggest looking for a tech or company where you can pay for service training on the machine. Once you have an idea of how to maintain the machine yourself (it's not actually that difficult on the Falcon Outdoor) you will save a lot of time and money on service calls in the future.
thmooch
New Member
I have learned more about this printer than I ever thought I would. If you are hands on and can swap out parts and not call a Tech every time a damper goes bad or a head looses nozzles, then it can/will make you $. It will allow you to limit your Colored Vinyl inventory and not have to buy a yard of a special color you do not stock. You can still sub out prints while you learn the ins and outs of the machine. You will need a Big Squeegee for laminating.
Jim Hill
New Member
I was in the same position about 1 1/2 years ago.
After subbing out work for the past few years I decided it was time to purchase a printer.
I thought I should start out with something used if I could find a decent printer.
I found a used Roland SP-300 for around $5.000 dollars that came with Flexi 8.2 along with 250 yards of material, brand new ink along with wipers and a few other parts.
Also got VersaWorks and ColorRip software along with all the manuals from the original owner.
This printer works perfectly ever time and I have not had any problems.
I clean the printer about every two weeks.
I can now control the costs better along with the production time.
Before you make any purchase learn everything you can and ask a million questions and make sure you see a test print before you purchase any printer.
Everyone starts some where and a good used printer can be the perfect place to start.
Jim
After subbing out work for the past few years I decided it was time to purchase a printer.
I thought I should start out with something used if I could find a decent printer.
I found a used Roland SP-300 for around $5.000 dollars that came with Flexi 8.2 along with 250 yards of material, brand new ink along with wipers and a few other parts.
Also got VersaWorks and ColorRip software along with all the manuals from the original owner.
This printer works perfectly ever time and I have not had any problems.
I clean the printer about every two weeks.
I can now control the costs better along with the production time.
Before you make any purchase learn everything you can and ask a million questions and make sure you see a test print before you purchase any printer.
Everyone starts some where and a good used printer can be the perfect place to start.
Jim
Custom_Grafx
New Member
Get a used latex in a couple of years for $50.
artbot
New Member
see it print, not a test print. a file, like something 3' long. if you are a slightly mechanical type, you'll be fine for the time that it takes to get some experience with lfp.
...you will be taking your shop into the late 80's. but who cares. you need control of your output if you are going to get big. expect to spend at least $1000 in repairs in the first year. some of the breakdowns, will be user error. subbing out is a great option for when your shop is slammed and can't keep up. but i a carpenter doesn't have someone rip his plywood. ... a auto tech doesn't have someone do his tune ups. if you want a full service sign shop, get the printer, a laminator, a cheap cnc, just keep going and learning. you will open up markets and services you never had.
and in a year or so, get a latex or newer solvent machine. but start with something cheap. i wish i started cheap. i got a brand new fj50 the year they came on market for $17,5000. i didn't know how to properly run it for almost a year. but the $735 lease payments kept coming in. cheap is the only way to safely start out. and i'm sure you won't be surprised when you realize that your $1500 printer is slow, and quirky. ....it's cheap, that's all that matters.
...you will be taking your shop into the late 80's. but who cares. you need control of your output if you are going to get big. expect to spend at least $1000 in repairs in the first year. some of the breakdowns, will be user error. subbing out is a great option for when your shop is slammed and can't keep up. but i a carpenter doesn't have someone rip his plywood. ... a auto tech doesn't have someone do his tune ups. if you want a full service sign shop, get the printer, a laminator, a cheap cnc, just keep going and learning. you will open up markets and services you never had.
and in a year or so, get a latex or newer solvent machine. but start with something cheap. i wish i started cheap. i got a brand new fj50 the year they came on market for $17,5000. i didn't know how to properly run it for almost a year. but the $735 lease payments kept coming in. cheap is the only way to safely start out. and i'm sure you won't be surprised when you realize that your $1500 printer is slow, and quirky. ....it's cheap, that's all that matters.
PromoGuyTy
New Member
I say buy a printer. But go ahead and get a real one...like one from this decade... spend $15-$20k and do it right.
But that's just me.
But that's just me.
Pat Whatley
New Member
Ask everybody that got screwed buying a Color Camm from Roland what they think of that statement.
4R Graphics
New Member
Its nice to see that most are actually giving good advice.
Ok I posted earlier and I will say it again i think I would look at something a little newer but not something in the 2002-2008 range there are a lot of printers that are in this manufactured range that can be had for $4-7K this will save you a lot of aggrivation.
Also if you go used you need to have a good amount of money set aside for maintenance needs (heads, dampners, cables, etc...) as stated by others if you are fairlly ok at doing your own work this will save you bundles (I do all the repairs and calibrations on our printer and have since day one) this required a little learning curve but was well worth it.
Research and ask questions about different printers such as manuals availability, print quality and speed, etc... ( we have a JV3 and have all the manuals the techs have) if you go to a mimaki printer (JV3, JV33, etc...) feel free to pm me for info and help also Artbot has posted in this thread and he really knows these printers has helped me VERY much. Thanks Artbot!
I say if you have the money and have enough or a realistic projection of having enough work to keep the printer running at least a few days a week and the printer can make you (projected of course) enough money to pay for its self (and all the maintenance, repairs, etc..) that it will need then go for it.
We subed out 2 wraps and said forget this we need a printer and bought used and have never looked back (glad we did it)
Ok I posted earlier and I will say it again i think I would look at something a little newer but not something in the 2002-2008 range there are a lot of printers that are in this manufactured range that can be had for $4-7K this will save you a lot of aggrivation.
Also if you go used you need to have a good amount of money set aside for maintenance needs (heads, dampners, cables, etc...) as stated by others if you are fairlly ok at doing your own work this will save you bundles (I do all the repairs and calibrations on our printer and have since day one) this required a little learning curve but was well worth it.
Research and ask questions about different printers such as manuals availability, print quality and speed, etc... ( we have a JV3 and have all the manuals the techs have) if you go to a mimaki printer (JV3, JV33, etc...) feel free to pm me for info and help also Artbot has posted in this thread and he really knows these printers has helped me VERY much. Thanks Artbot!
I say if you have the money and have enough or a realistic projection of having enough work to keep the printer running at least a few days a week and the printer can make you (projected of course) enough money to pay for its self (and all the maintenance, repairs, etc..) that it will need then go for it.
We subed out 2 wraps and said forget this we need a printer and bought used and have never looked back (glad we did it)
Newbie_on
New Member
We're talking about inkjet printers not Ribbon printers.
Banners Signs Etc.
New Member
At my old shop we got a falcon outdoor junior for 2k...it was in bad shape and we spent 2 weeks trying to get it running right (it was in storage and they didn't clean out the ink) SO the heads were crap and lines took forever to clean, needed new dampers..we taught ourselves so much about the machine because we couldn't afford a tech
We so desperately wanted a printer that we didn't care or even know to care about these things....I think another 3 grand was put into it (we got some compatible epson heads for it) this ssaved us from the mutoh head price.
It was only thanks to this forum that we got it working.
Although in the end it payed for itself and works to this day. Coupled with the peace of mind in knowing that it has your back when you need to print or you botch something a wholesaler gives you is almost worth it.
If it runs and prints for 1500 id say go for it you can always upgrade later..but you know whether or not that 1500 can be spent better somewhere else
It does print slow and is not very detailed but it is a fine low end printer...it did bumper stickers pretty well
We have done 2 wraps on it and they are beautiful...Its all in your graphics(crap in crap out or vice versa)
The rip is important
We so desperately wanted a printer that we didn't care or even know to care about these things....I think another 3 grand was put into it (we got some compatible epson heads for it) this ssaved us from the mutoh head price.
It was only thanks to this forum that we got it working.
Although in the end it payed for itself and works to this day. Coupled with the peace of mind in knowing that it has your back when you need to print or you botch something a wholesaler gives you is almost worth it.
If it runs and prints for 1500 id say go for it you can always upgrade later..but you know whether or not that 1500 can be spent better somewhere else
It does print slow and is not very detailed but it is a fine low end printer...it did bumper stickers pretty well
We have done 2 wraps on it and they are beautiful...Its all in your graphics(crap in crap out or vice versa)
The rip is important