Reconditioned Nexpress or Xerox Color 800

[dmpnyc]

Robin -

We were unimpressed with what we saw out of the Konica 8000 during the demo, and are not happy about only duplexing 300GSM, not 350. In the showroom the machine kept jamming and that was with the head service tech present! He kept opening the machine up and poking around, not inspiring much confidence in the service teams troubleshooting skills. I was impressed that it had humdification built in becasue we have humidity issues with the C6000 (I do wonder how many times durng a run you have to replace the water though). The print quality on our sample files and stock was pretty standard, but when we dove in a little and tried to match some client colors it just seemed like the machine was not interpreting what we were doing on the fiery properly. Again, it could just be a really bad demo....

Moving on to the Xerox and the nexPress. The nexPress is actually in play because of the price of the Xerox! We were moving towards the 800 until the Kodak salesperson came back with a lease price that was very similar! We understand the Xerox may offer newer technology, but the Nexpress is a proven workhorse, and that swappable 5th imaging unit could expand our offerings. We have not seen the NexPress print yet, going to see a demo this week.

As for our Canon - its a love-hate relationship. The image quality is superb, and we can manipulate colors to a point where our clients are amazed at what we can match. However, we are finding that it will no longer hold those colors over a longer run (really anything over 2000imps and we start to see noticeable shifts). At that point we start adjusting voltages for the paper stock, or need to stop the run and re-calibarate. We are also having a probem with fine vertical lines going through our solids, that even the field engineer from CUSA cant seem to get rid of....

We are still trying to make a decision, but basically have narrowed it down to the Xerox 800 and the NexPress....any advice still appreciated. What kind of tests do you all think I should put the Nexpress through?

-dmpnyc
Quality Imaing - Digital Printing NYC

[LCP]

I have ran a Kodak 2500 for the past year and love it. Because of Kodaks ORC plan i went to Rochester for a week to learn how to clean, maintain, and fix the press. Since i do 90% of the maintenance my self, we have only been down for about 8 days total in the past year.

It seems like the other presses that you are comparing to the NexPress are not in the same category. The Xerox iGen 3 and iGen 4 are more comparable to the NexPress 2500.

One other thing to think about is that amount of inventory you must keep on hand with the Nexpress. Since you do most of the maintnece your self you must keep many parts on the shelf and this takes up lots or room.

[JayDA]

Robin -

(I do wonder how many times durng a run you have to replace the water though).

I fill my humidifier tank about every 150,000 clicks, it's on probably 80% of the time.

[bertman98]

why did you rule out the konica c8000

[kevneto]

We leased a reconditioned Nexpress 2500 about a year ago and love it. We still have 2 Canon 7000's, but they are service intensive and our service guy has a cot here in the shop since he is here so much. Average 5-6 times a week.

Did the training in Rochester on the Nexpress for a week, plus had with onsite training for a week also. We do about 90% of the maintenance which provides for excellent up-time. This machine is a tank and the engineering makes it easy to maintain. The quality on the machine is good, registration is spot on, and color holds pretty goo.

DO NOT go for the Kodak ORC plan if you are running heavy stocks with heavy coverage! You won't make money. Plus working with Kodak accounting under this plan is a nightmare! Go for the straight click plan, negotiate the lowest cost and life will be much easier!

Can't compare it to a 800, but I am well pleased with this machine.

[richwitney]

I'd have another look at the KM C8000 - we've looked at Canon 7010VP, Xerox 800, Ricoh 801, and the KM is as good as if not better than all of these.

No problems duplexing 350gsm either ;-)

Don't let a poor Dem put you off!