I have been in the sign biz for 16 years but am new to digital printing. I am strongly thinking about getting a VersaCamm printer/cutter, but its a big investment for me. I understand there are a lot of Rolands out there. What do you guys say? Are they reliable? Has it paid for itself? Is there anything I should know? Does someone recommend another brand for a printer/cutter combo? Is a laminator a must right away?
Thanks!
Posted by Jon Jantz (Member # 6137) on :
Hi, Patrick... I'm not much help on the VersaCamm question, since I don't have one...
Just wanted to post and say "Hi" and that I have relatives that live in Barron, WI. They are dairy farmers... (imagine that.) I have an uncle there named Mervin Johnson, and an aunt named Gloria Litwiller who is married to Ervin Litwiller... you know any of these people??
I'm sure you'll get plenty of info here on your question...
Posted by Patrick Wedel (Member # 5256) on :
Hi, Jon.
Yes, I've met some of them. Small world, isn't it? Drop me an email sometime if you want.....
ncsigns@chibardun.net
Posted by Patrick Wedel (Member # 5256) on :
any comments, anyone?
Posted by Ricky Jackson (Member # 5082) on :
We have an HP but our corp office highly endorses the Rowland Versacam. Can't go wrong with that.
Posted by Randy W. Robarge (Member # 2022) on :
Patrick, if you do a search for "versacamm" or "digital printing", you'll need a big cup of coffee to get through them all. There is a lot of stuff in the archives about this.
Basically, Roland made crappy models, like the PC-60 (ask me how I know).
Then, they made large strides with the new versacamms. From what I hear on this board, they are light years better than the thermal PC-60 machines.
HOWEVER, I buy wholesale and mark up. No inventory, no maintenance, works for me.
Happy Holidays.
Posted by Patrick Wedel (Member # 5256) on :
Thanks, guys.
Sorry, Randy. Didn't think of searching. You reg'lars must get tired of answering the same old questions, eh?
Looks like the VersaCamm basically gets a thumbs up. Hope so, cuz I'm kinda locked in now.
Posted by Suelynn Sedor (Member # 442) on :
I love min Patrick, and I know a couple of other people who do too!
Suelynn
Posted by Mike O'Neill (Member # 470) on :
Ditto to what Sue-Lynn said.
More interestingly is that I don't know anyone whose got one who has anything negative to say about it.
Posted by Laura Butler (Member # 1830) on :
Its not just the VersaCamm. Consider that you are going to have to invest time and money into a RIP software. Having gone thru about 3 cheap RIP softwares, I was thrilled with the VersaWorks RIP software that comes with the VersaCamm.
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ricky Jackson: We have an HP but our corp office highly endorses the Rowland Versacam. Can't go wrong with that.
HP??? ...what happened to your Mimaki?
OK... I found the source of my confusion.. when I was shopping for mine, you posted this:
quote:Originally posted by Ricky Jackson: The JV3-75 is pretty much the printer of choice right now from Signs Now franchisees if that helps.
I just assumed that meant you had one.
[ December 19, 2006, 10:04 AM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
Posted by Sue Brown (Member # 6677) on :
We got our versacamm 540 about or 6 months ago. It has been a choice we never regreted. It has more than paid for itself and its amazing just how many projects you find for it after you have it. Not only do we do signs, banner,and stickers with ours. But we do large poster sized enlargments of photos for our customers, and posters. The quality is great. Ive not one negative thing to say about the machine.
Posted by Thomas Lehn (Member # 5297) on :
Hi Patrick, We also looked into the Roland products. We are just north of Milwaukee, and we found out there are no decent distributers in the area. We tried one in the Shawno area and one in the Chicago area and both didn't help us on our decision at all other than making in easy to choose a Mimaki JV3. We did that because of the support Advantage Sign Supply has and the sales person actually took us to see one working. We couldn't find a Roland dealer that could show us a machine. So we went with the Mimaki. I will let you know how it goes. Check with Brian Konya from Advatage Sign, he will come out give you info on the Mimaki.
Posted by Patrick Wedel (Member # 5256) on :
Thanks again, guys.
Thomas, that's interesting. The Roland dealer in Shawno told me he doesn't sell Mimaki anymore because of breakdowns. I hope in your case at least hats not true.
Posted by Patrick Wedel (Member # 5256) on :
Another question:
Has anyone bought a used VersaCamm? Somebody mentioned to me I might check that out. Kinda leery of that idea though.
Posted by Mike South (Member # 4523) on :
I am getting hands on demo Friday for VersaCamm in an actual sign shop from the end user. Not a sales rep.
The Dealer has offered me 2 used 30" machines in the the last 12months. His customers bought 30" and upgraded to the 54". Those are the only used units that we have ever come across.
We have compared Summa DC4, Mimaki JV3 I have decided on the Roland 54" VersaCamm. I am 95% sure we will be writing a big check Friday.
Posted by Jim Hansen (Member # 1927) on :
Hi Patrick, Have you thought of getting your prints from someone who has a Versacamm? We get ours from Jerry VanHorn at Pro Sign Design. He does a very good job, quick turnaround & he is a good guy to do business with. He's on this board from time to time as well. I'm sure he is not the only guy who would offer to help you out, but he is in Ohio, so he is fairly close to you for shipping time. If you are thinking about buying a Versacamm, you may want to source out the prints at first to see if the investment will be worth it.
Posted by Deri Russell (Member # 119) on :
Hey Patrick- like Suelynn said- its well worth it. I have a 540 and have talked to other signmakers who wish they had gotten the 540 instead of the 30 in. I got mine in April after subbing out for about 4 years or so. Its holding its own as far as paying for itself already and I haven't entered the Season that I wanted it for- Jan- May- my contractors time. Go for it you won't regret it.
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Just to state the other side of the coin, a friend who we sub out to has the Roland Soljet ProII 540. The true versacamms are a 4-colour CMYK unit. The Pro2, and the new Pro3, are the same kind of thing, but much faster, better resolution, and 6-colour CMYK, LC & LM.
However, he has had parts wear out that shouldn't. He says they're fine while they're under warranty, and as long as you live not much drive from the service man, but if you live some distance away, and the machine is out of warranty...costs rise substantially.
Roland agents here in Oz have not been forthcoming with apologies, or compensation for some of the things that have gone wrong with his machine. He's spent $20,000 just on head replacement...sure it brings in work, but it does cost a lot in ongoing maintenance once the warranty honeymoon is over, he says.
He ended up getting a third party RIP, as the dealer provided PC & RIP had a tendancy to freeze half way through a big banner or vinyl job, and the amount of rejects & waste he had filled two industrial bins- all from system crashes or software glitches during printing.
I don't think you can fairly say he was at fault. The machine has done a lot of work, and it has worn out a lot- more that one would expect, and a lot sooner than one would anticipate. maybe he just ended up with a dud, but Roland seem to be trying to ignore his plight.
Back to the subject- I wonder of those who posted above- who has the 4-colour Versa 540, and who has the 6 colour Pro2 540?
The Pro2 does do MUCH nicer prints than the Versa, by the way, if you don't mind setting it for top-quality printing.
