I know 30"+ eco-sol and solvent printers are available, but does anyone make a small format eco-sol or solvent printer? Seems like a printer that could produce 11x17's would be a marketable printer.
Posted by Deri Russell (Member # 119) on :
11" x 17"? Are you thinking of tiling? OR just really small signage? Or what's your train of thought here Tim?
edited to say: I'm not being sarcastic I am just trying to figure out the question. I have a 54" and have only had people say gee I wish I had gotten the larger one instead of the 30".
[ September 04, 2007, 03:29 PM: Message edited by: Deri Russell ]
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
how many here have a 13" EDGE or edge 2? they get by................................ you could make a living with a 30"......but then you get that job that requires a 54".....you spent all you money.....no what chagonado??? this sorta the thinking....when investing in new equipment. i started with a 20" roland, went to 24", now havw a 30". how much 30" material do i have... NOTHING BUT A ROLL OF WHITE PAPER))))))). will i ever cut 30" vinyl.....kinda doubt it....BUT...WHEN I NEED TO....see????
[ September 04, 2007, 06:07 PM: Message edited by: old paint ]
Posted by Deri Russell (Member # 119) on :
Yes OP I see what you are saying. I started out with a 15" plotter. Then I moved to 30", and now the 54" printer/plotter. But all of these were 15" x as long as I wanted them, (or they could accurately cut,) 30" x 8, 10 or 12 feet. The whole time the industry was starting to make them bigger and bigger too. Market demand. Ask people why they have a larger digital printer, or why they want a larger one. Because once you offer digital printing your market changes. You no longer do as much 11" x 17" vehicle doors. (which is stuff you can do on your 15" plotter) You do entire vehicles. Your way of designing changes, and a printer that does only small prints becomes an obstacle because that's what you would end up doing, tile and tile. Your designs are no longer solid colours, but bitmapped backgrounds and photos. Yes, you CAN do vector stuff, but why would you buy a digital printer to do that? It would just frustrate you.
In my opinion, which doesn't count for much.
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
I think the real reason you don't see 11x17 solvent printers is because it's just not worth the tim, effort or money for manufacturers to offer them right now.
You figure a 30" solvent printer has a fixed cost for the hardware used to manufacture it. A 54" printer can use similar hardware, just a little longer, maybe some different programming, but all in all, not too terribly more expensive than what goes into the 30" model.
Now, you want to step back into an 11" or 17" model. It's gotta have the same hardware as the 30" unit, just shorter versions which still require new tooling, new programming.
All in all, the cost of this hardware is only minimally less than what goes into a 30" unit so what you're left with is a desktop solvent printer/cutter that's gonna cost, I don't know, possibly $8,000-$10,000. They couldn't price it too low because that devalues the larger units.
Unless this thing could pump out full color prints at 1500 sq. ft. per hour and one had a booming business printing small decals, I don't see the value in such a unit.
