Thu Oct 23, 2003 6:15 am Author: Rodney Gold
Mike - DONT use proprietory inks and RIPs , the WASATCH RIP that comes with the versacam is really very very powerful - you are not likely to get better.
The machine does NOT need heater bars prior and post printing , the prints come out dry almost 95% of the time , the only reason extra heater bars are added will be for a non Roland inkset - using a non standard inkset means all the nice profiles for various media that Roland have developed and that work real well will be negated
Apart from which unless they have extensively tested the heads with this inkset you might have big problems down the line - ink costs are negligable in the scheme of things - savings here might cost you a ton in the future!!!!
I know of lots of ppl that have tried other inks in their machines (albeit not the versacam , but they use the same Epson heads) and have had to replace pumps , heads etc.
I would be VERY wary about buying a modified machine!!!!
Robert
The Soljet Pro II ex is around $30k - it does use solvent based inks combined with an inbuilt heated platten (about 40 degrees c) , it prints 54"
I use it for a myriad of things , on paper I do posters , photograpghs , in store display , architectural plans , certificates , self adhesive labels , id cards , billboards , point of sale displays even wall paper etc etc
On vinyl , I do decals , billboards , vehicle wraps , vehicle graphics , rosette inners , medal and trophy inserts , badges , keytags , school signs , signage , window splashes , liscence disks , wine bottle labels , asset register tags , point of sale , shelf talkers , see thru window graphics (micropore stuff), millions of domed decals and like applications. Prototype packaging (paper card and vinyl)
On banner , well I do banners ;) (and some flags - those small ones ppl wave at rallys as well as stage backdrops for theater and other events
On polyester cloth we do flags , backdrops etc
We also print on 0.4 to 1mm styrene directly as well as 0.9mm abs for stiff dsiplays and vacuum formed stuff , I print on 0.75 mm lexan and score and break it out.
I have sprayed metal , 0.5mm aluminium with clear laquer spray and printed on that - in fact anything sprayed with clear laquer can be printed (must try some on formica)
then there are all the blockouts and backlit stuff for light boxes etc , clear films , we even print on cold pressure laminating film doing watermarks for security lamination
I have printed on some really esoteric stuff , like spectrum light anti tamper proff foils meant for lasering , even tried on some engraving laminates with some success.
the choices are actually endless , I have had a parade of vinyl and paper and digital media reps in here leaving samples and I'm bewildered with the choices ,
There is a REALLY nice media available , a reusable sticker - you can take it on and off about 400 x before the backing loses tackiness on a sort of thin banner type material , lots of interest in that.
Flexface , floor graphic stuff and so it goes on.
Not everything prints to the best quality the machine can attain , but I am really rediculously fussy , looking at output with a 20x printers loupe , often stepping back a foot or 2 brings me into perspective , cos a 1.2 x 2 meter abs panel is not meant to be viewd from 1 ft - the output is more dotty than printing onto lets say premium polymeric vinyl , but its perfectly acceptable , and vibrant. the Soljet is really a machine that competes wih others that cost a LOT more a year ago , there is lmost nothing you can't do that the big boys do , cept you can do it better and often a lot faster without dismantling the machine on a daily basis - I would hate to apply or handle a 3.5m wide piece of vinyl:)
The PC60 fades into insignificance next to a soljet - I have 2 running alongside my sollie and if I could retire them , I would , they are mainly used to print gold onto dark substrates for badges which get domed , a sort of legacy thing. I print colour onto gold and silver shiny foils and actually get a far better effect doing the reverse to what the PC 60 does. The problem is that the shiny polyester foil type vinyls have to be coated to accept even the solvent inks - not a problem here in SA as we have our own coating plant. In fact anything that cant be normally printed on with a solvent based inkjet can be coated and then printed as the soljet can print on uncoated or coated - so your choices get even wider.The output is not as robust as uncoated where the inks penetrate the vinyl as the ink sits on a coating , but its rare to print on coated anyway.
There is only one fly in the ointment I have come across and that is that certain very thin conformable polymeric media curls on the backing when very small stuff is fully printed with a heavy ink coverage and then cut , Im talking tiny decals here and changing medias stopped it.
Cheaper vinyls dont print as well as good stuff - goes without saying.
Also an inkjet wont print thru a piece of stuff on the vinyl , so one has to wipe the vinyl to get rid of big dust specks etc prior to printing , but you do that in a far more rigourous way with your pc60.
Nice thing with this machine is you can print , laminate and then the machine reregisters itself for a cut.
Its also a very nice vinyl cutter , fast etc. The soljet prints real fast too.
Costs of ink should be around GBP 1.50 per sq m - Our local agents say that you can average 550sq m for a full set of inks (12 cartridges - of 220ml per cart costing about gbp 800 per full set - you can buy the carts individually - the printer has essentially 2 sets of full colour heads printing in tandem to give it its speed.)
Im sceptical so double up or even triple up on that figure for my costing , so I come to about gbp 4 per sq - and thats being VERY overconservative - its most likely less than that in real life - but even so , its not a ton of money compared to a pc 60 which can go to about gbp 100 per sq m if you do a 4 colour print with a spot metallic (10 sq ft per sq m)
An Edges output cant compare at all - its nowhere near the quality and it cant even come close to the detail you can get on a soljet - a soljets output compares to the best quality you can get on a top of the range deskjet using the top of the range media - sometimes even better. Thermal guys will be running scared with stuff like the versacam or soljets out there - and they gonna come up with all sorts of reasons why thermal is superior etc - but to be blunt , it just aint so !!!
The ease of use of these machines is one of the factors that come into play.
Design in whatever package and export to EPS , if you have colour calibrated your monitor , you see what you get , RIP and print. You can print from the application directly , but doing the settings that way is a schlep
The RIP is VERY potent , but still easy - press print , or should you wish , tweak the settings with control of just about every aspect of printing and some you wont have thought of , it even has a nesting function to fit all your various shapes as best it can into the material. You can tell it to print double or even triple density for backlit stuff , you can tell it to cut , overcut or cut 10x on the same lines should you wish , how much vacuum to apply to the material being passed thru , it's endless - Im not sure whether the versacam rip has all these features , its the same RIP but most likely has some features removed , never played with it long enough to check all that.
As to life of graphics , fading isnt an issue , what is, is mechanical damage to the graphic
This applies to any print system. In terms of use of the machine , vehicle wrap graphics really play a small part for me , I have so many other applications that thinking the soljet is just for that type stuff is very limiting. In that market you face guys with Arizonas and the like that print on a cost + x% factor - kinda like selling bananas by the pound
I get the business second time round when the graphics fail or the colours dont match or the output looks grainy - then our pricing isnt questioned and the customer is happy to pay for my minimum 720 dpi photorealistic output , laminated with the correct stuff and printed on the correct stuff.
Most of my digital printing artwork is not originated at me on the bigger side of things , I get a lot from ad agancys etc. Even stuff you wouldnt think would print well in terms of graphic resolution usually surprise me on the soljet - they come out better than expected.
Its amazing to watch costomers faces as they see the machine at work - as the picture "develops" in front of their eyes.
For that amusement park - you will be swamped - you can tackle just about anything they throw at you!!!
One job alone on our side paid for my whole machine , the local Red Bull agents here supply those can shaped fridges to shops etc , They balked at our initial quote of GBP60 per fridge to print on matt silver vinyl (1.6m x 900 mm) and than apply to 1mm abs and then to laminate with a cold pressure film , these are wrapped around the fridges for the branding. They imported 750 fridges that were branded oversaes - all with the incorrect colouring and the print started rubbing off in days (the fridges get wet etc) We got the job to fix em at our original price!!!We were the ONLY local company able to match the red bull red!!!
I think , baring in mind what you do , the versacam will be limiting , especially the speed and width.
You dont get a 2 year life with the soljet , it will equal and exceed the PC60's output - you just CANT scratch the print off - you will destroy the media before doing that on stuff like vinyls , on ABS , obviousy with enough force and a sharp blade one can do damage.
You can do JUST what the big boys do and even better with a soljet concerning wraps - your biggest problem is going to be lamination
If this is a major part of your business - you have to laminate vehicle graphics with cold pressure lamination (or a new product , a 8 mil hot melt called micronex which is conformable and totally chemical resistant - made by GMP) and will have to get a serious machine that can do 1.6 m wide or so , we bought a GMP machine that has twin sets of rollers , does hot , cold , mounting to 15mm thick , encapsulation etc , needs 2 ppl to work it , but we dont only do our own work on it we do contract lamination too , its a nice profit centre in itself. Lamination is actually more difficult than digital printing.
You will move far beyond making signs - as I say , thinking that way is very limiting , you will essentially become a reprographics house , extending services to customers in areas you havent dreamed of - you have to market tho - do a portfolio first .
What I have done is position myself right at the top of the market - making colour matching and superb quality my prime concerns and charging a lot to do the job right on the right stuff - profits are high , we lose the occasional job on price - but I don't quote per sq ft on jobs - if asked , I just tell em we dont work that way. You dont buy a car per pound of metal!!!
Dont bank on making profits for the first month or 2 , if you do , good and well. There is alos another issue you will have to consider - 1.2m wide rolls of media , 25m in length are not cheap , you need a decent inventory (tho you dont have to use 1.2 wide , you can use any width) and you are going to have to spend a little on both medias and nks fiddling on various media as well , treat this fiddling as school fees. We viewed out first set of inks (we got a partially used set and 2 new sets with the machine) as "disposable" and "experimental"
If you finance the machine , view the payments as another salaried worker in terms of monthly expenses tho it will do a lot more than the worker could- it's a large chunk of cash to outlay and it's a frightening prospect - however as I said before , a $30k machine sitting doing nothing is a powerful incentive to find work for it.
I wouldnt buy a machine like this if you dont already have some form of market for its output - if you have never done digital printing and think by getting a machine like this you will print money , you wont or you might take a long time to get there.
Im pretty sure that within 3-6 months of buying the machine , the next best thing to sliced bread in digital printers will be out there - a 5m wide UV curable flash printer that can print the tops and sides of loaves of bread in 2 seconds at a cost of 1 penny per sq meter and will bake the bread first before - don't worrry too much , I dont think there will be many advances that are radically better then what the soljet can do that soon , barring the ability to print directly on very thick media.
Wow - this sure is a long post!!!!