This entry-level solvent printer promises good image quality at a reasonable price. But what’s it like to live with? Nessan Cleary asked user Alan White of FastSigns Crawley.
Despite all the predictions of their demise, solvent printers remain the backbone of many wide-format print producers, particularly small bureaux. They're relatively cheap - from around £12,000 to £30,000 for most models – and there’s quite a few to choose from. They can generally produce good quality results suitable for outdoor display graphics for a wide range of different applications from banners to vehicle graphics. This month we've been looking at just one model - Epson's SureColor SC-S30600, the most affordable of its solvent printers. We spoke with user, designer Alan White of FastSigns Crawley, which installed a SureColor S30600 two years ago. His immediate comment on the machine was that “there’s not much downtime on it.”
The printer was chosen partly because it was competitively priced and because it was recommended through the FastSigns network. White says: “It’s very quick and the print quality seems to be really good.”
FastSigns Crawley undertakes a range of general commercial work, including banners and trade show displays as well as vehicle graphics and window displays. The SureColor handles most of the company’s work, mainly printing to self-adhesive vinyl. White says that it’s sometimes used for static cling films and canvas, adding: “We recently ran some vinyl acetate for menu boards and it seemed to handle it quite well.”
The 30600 has also enabled the company to take on work producing banners for the local shopping centre that need to be turned around quickly. White explains: “It’s often last minute so we’re under pressure but with the 30600 we can just set it up, leave it to print and before you know it the job’s done. We can now print around five banners in a morning.”
Indeed, White says that the only issue has been with the Rip, but that this has been taken care of with a new Onyx Rip. He says that this handles Pantone colours better so that he has more confidence with the output. And, ultimately, this confidence is vital if you’re relying on one printer to produce most of your work.
About the product
The SureColor 30600 is a 1.6m wide roll-fed printer. It’s a CMYK eco-solvent machine, using Epson’s own UltraChrome GS2 inks. These inks are odourless and can be used without additional ventilation.
It uses an Epson TFP printhead, which is a greyscale head with a minimum droplet size of 4.2pl. Resolution is 720 x 1440dpi. It should last the lifetime of the printer.
Productivity ranges from 7-29m2/hr. There’s an optional dryer, which allows for faster running speeds.
Epson also claims very low energy consumption, from 520 to 650 watts, which not only keeps the running costs low but is a useful environmental consideration.
Alternatives
There are quite a number of 1.6m wide solvent printers to choose from albeit at slightly different price points. Standard production speeds are similar though some offer much faster banner modes.
Mimaki
Mimaki makes the JV300, which is available in 1.3 and 1.6m widths. This uses light solvent inks, which have a slightly higher loading of solvent than is normal with eco-solvent inks. It uses Epson printheads with CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta.
Mutoh
Mutoh sells the ValueJet 1638X, a 1.6m wide eco-solvent printer that uses two sets of CMYK. Speeds vary from 10-48m2/hr.
Roland
Roland’s printer line-up includes the Soljet Pro 4 XF-640. This uses a dual CMYK set up for faster speed – up to 102m2/hr. Maximum resolution is 1440dpi.
Seiko
Seiko sells the ColorPainter range of eco-solvent printers, including the M64S. This has a maximum resolution of 900dpi and maximum print speed of 66.5m2/hr with CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta and an optional light grey.