[shellyky]

Hi. Considering adding a printer plotter to our lineup but I'm a little shaky in this area. I only need it to do small full color decals for vehicle windows and what not. Looking at the Roland sp300 since I've had good luck with my cx24. Recieved some samples from a distributor with less than stellar results. Lots of banding... Visible dots... The cut was off by different amounts on the same sticker file. Weird spots in the prints etc. I asked for more samples by someone else in case these people have no idea what theyre doing. (in which case they should not be a distributor lol). I am also interested in the perf cut to allow the stickers to "punched" out? Anyone have experience on that?

Also, when is a laminator needed? Do I need one? I've gotten yes and no from people within the same company without any real reason on what the function of this is and when I would need to use it. (yes I know it would make them shiny and more thick but do I need that?

Stickers are not my business....but it would be nice to be more of a one stop shop. Thanks for any input.

 

[rturner381]

Shellyky, I am sorry the RolandDGA dealer disappointed you. The Roland folks at the ISA show in Orlando last week were wonderful and very accommodating. Before you consider a $13k-$14k investment in a printer/cutter, you might want to sub-contract the print/cut business. Sub-contract until the sales volume/profit justifies the capital investment in equipment.

 

[Fenrir]

How little is little? I use an Epson with pigment inks, Sihl 3988 vinyl, and Oraguard 210 cold laminate applied by hand (then with a rubber brayer), and contour cut in a craft cutter to make one-off personalized decals at conventions, etc. My entire setup is geared towards small and portable, however not volume. I wouldn't do more than two dozen without subbing it out.

 

[shellyky]

im not really concerned with pricing of the equipment or a business model on how to go about offering stickers, thats the least of my questions, just really concerned with why does one use a laminator and would i need one, and if a 30" printer is a good option (people said i would have a hard time finding various media in that size), and if anyone had any first hand experience in the perf cuts.

i recieved the 2nd set of samples today that roland themselves printed/cut at a trade show this past week that way i can rule out crappy file/bad inks, paper, etc in which i felt the first samples were. they arrived and looked pretty good print wise, but they printed them on the wrong machine, not the one i was loooking to get, a model 2x the price... so again, not really being able to compare what i'm trying to do here so i can't make any decisions yet unfortunately.

 

[theflowerboxx]

Anything going outside for any length of time should be laminated, that's why you need a laminator. As for the quality of an SP model, they print beautiful when they are using the correct media with the correct color profile. The 30" you will have no problems finding media that size, most printable media comes in 30" or 54" wide. The only concern I would have for you is that the 30" is really too small to do banners, which when you get a printer you will be doing a good bit of.

I personally have a VP-540 which is basically the same as the SP except mine has 4 heads where the SP has 2.

 

[shellyky]

Anything going outside for any length of time should be laminated, that's why you need a laminator. As for the quality of an SP model, they print beautiful when they are using the correct media with the correct color profile. The 30" you will have no problems finding media that size, most printable media comes in 30" or 54" wide. The only concern I would have for you is that the 30" is really too small to do banners, which when you get a printer you will be doing a good bit of.

I personally have a VP-540 which is basically the same as the SP except mine has 4 heads where the SP has 2.

thank you! Exactly what I was needing to know. So the ink will fade if on a vehicle back glass, lamination will help block the UV's? (so you'd print it, take it out, laminate it, put it back in, cut it?) We outsource banners, so thats no biggie, just mainly buying this to print some full color logos--i am tired of weeding small lettering--everyone wants fancy now days, and i'm really interested in the "perf cut" where i basically am punching out the whole sticker, backing and all...I saw one youtube video of an example of that but it was not the machine i'm looking at.

Do you have any problems with ink drying out or clogging up? i wont be using this every day, but if i have ti run a couple stickers every other day or so to keep it fresh thats some useful info to know.

 

[rturner381]

From a daily maintenance perspective, the ink will not dry out if you spend the recommended :15-:20 minutes at the start of the day maintaining your printer. The maintenance is quite simple and will be taught when the machine is installed at your location. The quality of your print is directly attributable to the quality of the print file, as well as the printer resolution selected. Print speed decreases as print quality increases. That being said, banners are usually printed at a different resolution/speed than, say fine art reproduction. Your Roland printer is capable of producing that entire spectrum of prints.

 

[rturner381]

thank you! Exactly what I was needing to know. So the ink will fade if on a vehicle back glass, lamination will help block the UV's? (so you'd print it, take it out, laminate it, put it back in, cut it?) We outsource banners, so thats no biggie, just mainly buying this to print some full color logos--i am tired of weeding small lettering--everyone wants fancy now days, and i'm really interested in the "perf cut" where i basically am punching out the whole sticker, backing and all...I saw one youtube video of an example of that but it was not the machine i'm looking at.

Do you have any problems with ink drying out or clogging up? i wont be using this every day, but if i have ti run a couple stickers every other day or so to keep it fresh thats some useful info to know.

ALL PRINTED vehicle graphics should be laminated for a couple of reasons: road grit and the solvents used to wash the vehicles

 

[shellyky]

OK sounds good--what is a decent laminator model (for 30"?)

 

[rturner381]

OK sounds good--what is a decent laminator model (for 30"?)

Let me do a little research and get back to you

 

[theflowerboxx]

I just use a Big Squeegee to laminate. Big Squeegee Manual Laminating Tools

 

[shellyky]

I just use a Big Squeegee to laminate. Big Squeegee Manual Laminating Tools

i guess im confused on what lamination is then...is it not a "hot" machine which feeds clear film thru it then heats up and bonds to your surface as it goes thru the machine? Or is there just some peel and stick version that works like clear transfer tape?

 

[theflowerboxx]

There is some hot laminates out there, but it's not like getting your driver's license laminated, no. Most laminates for prints are applied cold.