3302 vs. QM vs. PM

[Brett S]

We currently have a ABDick QP25 with a T-head but are looking to upgrade our press. Our poly plates are made on a DPM 2340- FYI.
There are three main options that we are interested in to date, but we are open to suggestions.
option #1- Ryobi/AbDick 3302 / option #2- QuickMaster/ option #3- PrintMaster

Any thoughts?

 

[STW100]

#3 Printmaster

 

[Happyprinter]

We have ran 2 of the 3 presses that you are looking at. The 3302 and the QM are both good machines and produce excellent quality. They are reliable when maintained properly and can hold good solids. I dont know alot about the Printmaster but have also heard good things.

 

[RGPW17100]

Seems to me a printmaster is just a newer Quick Master. When the quickmaster first came out is was still being developed so there are different revision levels for the quick master. After it was made in stone then came the Printmaster. Here are the issues I see between Quick master and 3302

Quick master can produce a fantastic solid on both units, It is like running a t head but much simpler with much better water control. The other thing you can do is back up jobs faster on this press then with the 3302 without getting roller marks. Problems are a common blanket makes duo tones a bit tougher. You must be real good with wet trapping. No registration board so running process especially on envelopes is real tough. Price for parts and service are much higher then for the 3302.

3302 runs with towers so trapping is easier. Possible to run 4 color with registration board. Sheet only grips once so registration from unit one to unit two can not drift labor costs for repair and parts are cheaper due to competition. More people know how to service these machines. Problems is solids tend to ghost. They build a ghost buster roller that is used where the clean up tray is installed which is basically an oscillator that acts like an eraser to the ghosting. Lower feed rollers are nasty making back up of uncoated jobs almost impossible the same day. There are kits availble to reduce this but I have not seen or tested them.

If you are not planning on doing Process I would recommend the Quick master. I feel you can print a better quality piece with it.

 

[Brett S]

It sounds like I need to confirm which configuration of the QM is readily available- are there some I should avoid? We do a mostly letterhead/BC/envelopes/NCR on the press, but are pushing more into high quality 1-2-3 color work. Do any of these presses struggle with envelopes? Since this will be our main press for everything I want to make sure it can do everything. I would LOVE to do process down the road but I will wait until I can afford something bigger before I do it in house. What about 3 color work? We get consistent requests for 3-4 color stationary items. The previous shop I worked at had a QM and they struggled with 3-color work (specifically envelopes), was it the operator or the machine? Or should I look at something else? Kind of sounds like the QM has a slight edge.

 

[Minny]

You may want to also look at a used Ryobi 3304. You can run 1-4 color printing and envelopes. Either with an envelope feeder or the feed table. You can get with or without a console etc. Prices are good now too

 

[RGPW17100]

If you have an envelope feeder you might get good enough registration to run a three color envelope but a 3302 will do a better job. There are good Quick masters out there but test them first. Biggest problem was getting gripper to tail registration. Do plates with 11 x17 crops and registrations and set some trapping across the sheet. See if you can get fit all across the sheet. Print masters already had the fit problem addressed and fixed.