Pwear

I've been toying with the idea of buying a printer/plotter for the shop but don't have the cash flow yet for a $15,000 machine that might work one day a week.

I noticed that there are many printer/plotters under 2 grand on Ebay:
printer plotter, Computers Networking, Business Industrial items on eBay.com

Some are older models, but a few have warranties. Some aren't even that old but are still inexpensive. What would be the disadvantages of using these cutters? Is the ink much more expensive, is the quality sub-par? The Roland Versacamm is my dream machine, but would any of these Ebay printer/plotters be a good inexpensive substitute?

 

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bern

I had a look at that link you posted and most of them look like printers only without the ability to cut . They do describe them as printer plotters but I think that they mean you would be able to print out plans when they use the term plotter . Also the ink is not solvent in a lot of them it is a pigment ink as used in the Epson large format printers and I think the Roland Versacam uses Solvent based inks . At least with the Roland you would be able to print and cut . Not only stickers but heat applied material for T-Shirts . I dream about the Roland Versacam machines also .

Quote: Originally Posted by Pwear I've been toying with the idea of buying a printer/plotter for the shop but don't have the cash flow yet for a $15,000 machine that might work one day a week. I noticed that there are many printer/plotters under 2 grand on Ebay: printer plotter, Computers Networking, Business Industrial items on eBay.com Some are older models, but a few have warranties. Some aren't even that old but are still inexpensive. What would be the disadvantages of using these cutters? Is the ink much more expensive, is the quality sub-par? The Roland Versacamm is my dream machine, but would any of these Ebay printer/plotters be a good inexpensive substitute?

 

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Pwear

Ah that clarifies it, they're not really "cutters", just printers. Even so, not bad prices for large format printers.

Do you know the difference as far as print quality / durability of pigment ink vs. solvent ink?

 

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bern

Quote: Originally Posted by Pwear Ah that clarifies it, they're not really "cutters", just printers. Even so, not bad prices for large format printers. Do you know the difference as far as print quality / durability of pigment ink vs. solvent ink?

Could not tell you about the quality of the solvent inks but I do own an Epson 4000 and it uses Pigment Inks and has been a nightmare even though the print (Photographs)will last 100 years for Black and white and 75 years for colour . The problem is it clogs so much and is now pretty much unusable .

 

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ino

IMO these claims of prints lasting 100 years are mostly exaggerated and useless bits of information.

 

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dcurtisroland

Quote: Originally Posted by ino IMO these claims of prints lasting 100 years are mostly exaggerated and useless bits of information.

ino,
They're useless for outdoor applications because the sunlight degenerates the ink and the color of the print. But indoors, there's no exposure to the elements and standard incandescent light doesn't affect the pigments and dyes in water-based ink. So 99 years is an accurate figure.

With that being said, I've rarely seen an application that requires a 99 year shelf life for digital prints. Typically it's for a museum or historical photograph for a monument --something they don't expect to ever take down until the building is destroyed.

-Dana

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