how wide of a solvent printer should I get?

[Shanarchy]

Looking to upgrade to a Roland printer/cutter. Something on the used market. I'll be using it to print banners, stickers, print/cut for the heat press, and cutting vinyl for signs and heat press.

How wide should I be getting? It looks like 30" and 54" are the options for me. If I cheap out and get a 30", will I be limited myself and quickly regretting

Also, any thoughts on which (used) Roland model to get? I'm on a budget, but also don't want to be penny-wise dollar foolish.

[Inkworks]

54" all the way. It opens up all the 48" wide sign media like full sheet Corplast, 48" Banners, Alumapanel and Crezon. plus you'll get a wider selection of roll print media. Don't forget to budget a 54" laminator and a couple of 5' x 9' tables for run-in run-out.

the Versa-Camm is a great machine.

[Shanarchy]

Thanks Ink!

My gut feeling is I would regret the 30". But I'm really not certain of what (sizes) customers generally order.

I'm keeping the laminator in mind. Any idea what I should budget for a good used laminator?

[Inkworks]

I could find out for you about the laminator.

My main advice is don't plan what you need for now, plan for what you'll need when your customers find out they can get all that other stuff from you.

Throw in contour cut graphics for vehicles, signs, I even do stickers for the backs of medals for sporting events and plaques.

Then get the printable t-shirt vinyl and print and contour cut full colour graphics and press them on for jobs where it makes sense.

then get the flag media and start doing the banner flags, pop up banners, trade show back drops etc. etc.

[Shanarchy]

I could find out for you about the laminator.

My main advice is don't plan what you need for now, plan for what you'll need when your customers find out they can get all that other stuff from you.

Throw in contour cut graphics for vehicles, signs, I even do stickers for the backs of medals for sporting events and plaques.

Then get the printable t-shirt vinyl and print and contour cut full colour graphics and press them on for jobs where it makes sense.

then get the flag media and start doing the banner flags, pop up banners, trade show back drops etc. etc.

That's kind of what I'm thinking. Not sure if I want to get into doing vehicle stuff though.

But we've been cutting vinyl and have started doing small signs. We've really been doing a lot of heat pressing, and I think we could easily start working print and cut in.

The banner stuff is where I'm lost. It's what I want to move onto next, but have no idea what the most commonly ordered banner size is (2x3???).

But for as much as I don't know, I'm sure you are right. If I get a 54" I should be good for pretty much everything I end up needing/wanting to do.

[Prosperi-Tees]

I sell my share of 4' banners, we dont print them but that seems to be popular like 4x8's

[jvanick]

we don't do it in house ( have a really good friend that does )...

but we sell a crap-ton of 48" wide banners to local bands.  at least 1 or 2 a week...

No brainer... go with the 54"

-J

[Inkworks]

I don't think there is a common size for banners, we do mostly 24, 30 and 36" banners of various lengths and occasionally 48" banners., but I would never want to not be able to do full sheets of the other sign media.

Full disclosure, I don't have a Roland myself. I have a good buddy in the town 15 minutes away who has a couple and does all my digital work. I do all his T's, embroidery and pad printing and between both of us we're gaining market share hand over fist in both towns.

I'm not quite at the point where I can justify my own Roland. We just do cut vinyl in-house.

[Gilligan]

I know this guy that knows this guy....


Seriously for the money they ask for the 30" ers I can't see not going full on with the 54" er.

[Binkspot]

My $0.02 another route to look at is a Cannon IPF printer and a stand alone contour cutter.

Until you can afford the laminator they make some great spray on laminate today. Not as good as a laminator but if your on a budget it will work.

[JJPrint]

We were asking the same question 2 years ago and went 54", never regretted it.  We ending up getting a Mimaki (print/cut machine), the Roland would be a better way to go because of the of the software you get with the machine.  We ended up buying a table top manual laminator for around $600, but we do mostly banners and decals, and haven't done much that would need laminating.  I would wait until you actually need it.  While you are considering a used machine you might talk to Roland about their lease program.

[Shanarchy]

My $0.02 another route to look at is a Cannon IPF printer and a stand alone contour cutter.

Until you can afford the laminator they make some great spray on laminate today. Not as good as a laminator but if your on a budget it will work.

The Canon's are aqueous, right? Should I be looking for eco-solvent for banners?

I actually have an in where I can get a new Canon's really cheap.

I have a Graphtec FC8000 with the optical eye, but have never used the feature. But it's also only a 24" one.

[cyw]

I cheaped out and bought the 30 inch model.......just couldn't easily come up with the extra $5,000 more for the 54 inch. I often say, that's the only thing I regret about the purchase.

That said, I can probably count on one hand the number of jobs I had to turn down because I didn't have the larger model. We don't do car wraps and for the most part, most customers are just fine with a 30 inch banner.
Don't forget also, that along with the bigger price tag, each roll of media will cost more and you'll need a larger laminator.
Unlike other opinions, I firmly believe a laminator is a must.......Big Squeegees or liquids just don't cut it for me.
I guess It mostly depends on your customer base and wallet.  Love my machine.

The other end, the graphics end was the part I was most worried about. But if you have a good grasp of color management and enough experience with graphic manipulation, you should be fine.  In Corel, smart fill, boundary, Powerclip and contours will be your best friends. Someone who uses Illy will need to tell you what their counterparts are, if you're interested.

Look for a newer machine. The cable drive on the older machines wear out more easily. Recently there have been lots of people having issues.
....that's all I got, except did I mention that I love my machine!

[royster13]

When you buy equipment it is more more productive to focus on what you can do versus what you can not do.....There will always be bigger & better equipment but it you work with what you can afford you can still make money....

[Binkspot]

Our sister company runs a IPF8800? They run banners, posters and CAD drawings. The aqueous is suitable for outdoor use if laminated be it by machine or spray.

Unless you have a large print on demand market is it really necessary to have that ability? Unless we need a product next day we source it out being cheaper then we could do it in house. Thats the only reason we gave up on doing large format printing at our location.