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My employer is getting ready to buy a digi. printer and is leaning towards the HP 5500uv (42"). Anyone got one of these out there that they care to comment on? Anyone recommend I go in a different direction and research one of their choices? Any pros and/ or cons I should know about with the HP 5500 before "jumping in"?????
posted
A lot depends on what direction your printing will take. There's the speed and output quality issue, and budget, etc. I use a ROLAND HiFi 42". It'll print anything from signs to photo-quality.....in other words...WHATEVER! At 320 to 1440 dpi, there's not anything I know of that it wont do. It'll do banners, artwork on canvas, vinyl. And you dont have to be a brain surgeon to use it! If you just want to do indoor posters, almost any big printer will work, but you'll shortly thereafter wish you got something better.
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Corey, we have the HP5000uv, but I think the answer to your question is, it depends on what you are going to do with it.
First question is, hardware versus software RIP. You get the hardware RIP with the 5000. You can fiddle with settings, but not the way you can with a software RIP. So the trade is ease of use with some restraint on color control versus the ultimate flexibility of the software RIP. Personally I like the hardware RIP, but people really serious about color control may prefer the software route.
Second question is, are you going to laminate? The HP banner materials REQUIRE lamination. The brands that I buy come out of the printer ready to install but the color life is only "three to six months". For the stuff I sell, "so what" if it fades after that. If you want longer life and don't want to laminate, you need to be looking at something like the Summa Duragraphics or Edge.
One nice thing about the HP windows driver, you can print from any modern windows program - Corel, Acrobat Reader, even the software that comes with your digital camera. The software tracks ink consuption and print head condition. Once a job is done, you can look and see exactly how much ink and media you used.
The only issues I have with the 5000 are the curve of the feed throat and media alignment. The media makes an S turn between the roll and the inkjets. My dream machine would have a straight through line and would print on light poster stock. The HP seeks the roll edge on its own. If you have a "strange" material with fuzzy edges (or a clear medium) you need to mask the edges so the machime can see a sharp edge and let you go forward.
You should also know, the UV colors, as nice as they are, lack the intensity of the non UV colors. Stated another way, you get the best color results for indoor work by using non UV ink. This is probably true of all ink jets, but I don't really know one way or the other.
The HP 5000 design is two or three years old now. For that reason alone, if I were in the market for a machine today, I would look around just because of the way technology jumps ahead these days.
Be sure to let us know what you wind up doing. Vic G
-------------------- Victor Georgiou Danville, CA , USA Posts: 1746 | From: Danville, CA , USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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There you will find a wealth of information on the designjet 5000/5500 series printers, including articles on color management, two-sided printing on the designjet, print-and-cut info and much more.
We are an HP-authorized Designjet reseller located in southern California. There are several excellent HP-authorized resellers based in Canada that we can recommend. In our opinion, the designjet is an outstanding inkjet printer for several aspects of the display graphics and sign industrys.
Perhaps the only market segment which the designjet 5000-series is not a good match for are vehicle wraps. Solvent printers or thermal-resin printers are a better option for that application.
-------------------- Terry Lee Castek Resources Interactive San Juan Capistrano CA. USA Posts: 20 | From: San Juan Capistrano CA. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Corey, I'm not sure about Encad's Canadian distributorship, but you should check out Encad Printers before you make the jump. They've just come out with GO+ inks which are UV stable, but very vibrant. Get some samples of the prints. They're a giant step ahead of older UV ink technologies.
Good Luck and let us know what you decide on.
Joe
-------------------- Joe House Denco Sales Co. 2119 SE 11th Ave Portland OR 97214 800-345-0172 Posts: 20 | From: Portland OR | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Thanks for all your reponses. Although my employer asked me to check the advice of my secret source (you guys), he already purchased the HP designjet 5500uv and a laminator. I will keep you informed on how we like it as our knowledge grows.
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Corey, I have a 5000PS (UV inks)prints 52" works great...I drive mine thru my MACs, It gives us great results, We get hi-quality prints on paper or vinyl,banners ect... its all available, we use 3m substaights...my work wan is all printed up...you will love the printer! the only thing Id do different is get one with a cutter! RicK
-------------------- Rick Whitmire Trick Communications & Signs Box 1124, Hudson, WI Posts: 132 | From: Hudson, WI | Registered: Nov 2002
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