Anyone use Oki Pro machines?

[gazfocus]

We currently have a Konica C3070 and absolutely love it. Prints everything we throw at it without much issue. We have our service agreement direct with Konica in the U.K. and have been impressed with the service aspect so far.

We had a first floor built in our shop a few months ago and have moved sticker production onto the first floor. Initially we had planned on buying a Xerox C60 to have specifically for stickers but that fell through, and haven’t moved forward with anything since.

Anyway, the company that make our sticker cutting machinery (Intec) make some printers based on the Oki Pro9431 machines. The do a CMYK version and also a 5th colour version.

We’ve had some samples and they seem impressive in comparison to our Konica (couldn’t really tell the difference between them) so we are strongly considering purchasing the CMYK model, again, purely for sticker printing but they also have the advantage of taking up to 500gsm card stock.

I’m just curious to hear if anyone else uses these type of machines for any kind of production printing or should we perhaps be looking at something different?

 

[LabelMaster]

We have the Intec LP215 label printer and finisher. Prints ok. If you customer wants solids (which most do) won't print a good solid unless you use the expensive roll label material. Consumables are expensive and they have a problem with drum lives. Drum can say 40% life left and it will stop printing nicely. between machine payment and consumables we are breaking even. I would not do it again. Finisher is great and have no complaints.

 

[farcrowd]

I have an Intec CS4000 that's 'engineered' for envelopes. I also have a Konica C3080 with the IQ-501 and SD-513. We bought the Intec because we needed a digital envelope printer. We also have the envelope feeder, conveyor table, and Fiery XF for it. We installed it a couple years before we picked up the C3080 (previously we ran a C1060).

Don't expect the same quality that you get from the Konica. They are machines set at different price points. We do not have the 5th color option.

Our Konica runs on a Fiery, is well profiled, and is calibrated daily. Color is excellent. The Intec...ehhhh. For our purposes, it's good enough. The Fiery XF gives us better job and color control than just running it straight from the print driver, and it allows for easy VDP work. We don't have the optional Color Profiler Suite, so we can't create a linearization. That said...we've had it since 2017 and for the most part the color has been decent. The biggest quality issue with the Intec is CMYK solids. With certain shades/mixes...it just sucks. But like I said - different price point.

I've never had the drum life issue - I just replaced my black drum last week and it was at 1% life. When the drum life runs out - the press will tell you and give you the option to continue printing for X-amount of prints. After that number is up - it will force a drum replacement, but it's never forced me to replace one early. Toner is where I have run into issues. If the printer is saying the tank is ~10% full, it's time to change it. You can't squeeze every last ounce of toner out of the cartridge, you'll run into color issues if you do. That said, I did have one drum I had to replace at ~50%, but I think it was a defective drum from the start. Once I replaced it all the color issues I was battling went away.

 

[Mr Production Print]

The Intec/OKI devices don't have a click rate as such. Therefore, the cost of toner on each sheet depends on the coverage levels. It can be 12p on heavy coverage jobs. I was impressed by the envelope feeder and the fifth colour. It's not going to trump the KM/Ricoh or other devices for image quality yet.

 

[jwheeler]

We have an OKI here. I provided some feedback in this post: https://printplanet.com/threads/oki-c941e-c942dn-for-light-production.290411/post-293347

 

[gazfocus]

Thanks for the comments on the Oki/Intec.
I must admit, I had some samples from Intec and it looked very good. I also got samples on some label media that I sent to Intec and the samples that were printed with the Fiery seemed just as good as the Konica (the label media is compostable so not all printers will print on it).

I did consider buying a used Xerox or Konica instead but it’s whether I can get one on a service contract and from a supplier that will deliver it to a first floor.

The thing I liked about the Intec is that it can print on upto 500gsm through the bypass tray. Obviously the running costs are a consideration though.

 

[jwheeler]

I must admit, I had some samples from Intec and it looked very good. I also got samples on some label media that I sent to Intec and the samples that were printed with the Fiery seemed just as good as the Konica

Don't get me wrong...the quality isn't terrible, and is definitely sellable in most cases. Like @crajos alluded to, the Oki/Intec struggled with large solids (Oki/Intec are the same machine, just different labels). We also noticed it didn't do so well with small knockout text, which was necessary for our business cards. As for the 500gsm, I'd question the consistent ability to do that reliably. If you were to go see a demo in person, you'll see it's all cheap plastic components inside. We've had pieces break from just running envelopes and them getting jammed up.

 

[gazfocus]

Don't get me wrong...the quality isn't terrible, and is definitely sellable in most cases. Like @crajos alluded to, the Oki/Intec struggled with large solids (Oki/Intec are the same machine, just different labels). We also noticed it didn't do so well with small knockout text, which was necessary for our business cards. As for the 500gsm, I'd question the consistent ability to do that reliably. If you were to go see a demo in person, you'll see it's all cheap plastic components inside. We've had pieces break from just running envelopes and them getting jammed up.

Thanks, definitely food for thought.
The quote from Intec was £3K for the printer and £2K for the fiery. So, the question is, would I be better off going for a used Xerox J75/V80 for <£5k if I can get one with a fiery?

 

[Mr Production Print]

We can quote you for a refurbished Ricoh c5200? This can handle labels really well. Where are you based?

 

[gazfocus]

We can quote you for a refurbished Ricoh c5200? This can handle labels really well. Where are you based?

Im in Lancashire. Shoot me a pm with what you have and if possible, would need some samples.

 

[gazfocus]

Just to update the thread, I’ve decided against the Oki for the time being. I might still get one in the future for printing box board, but for the time being, and for what I want a machine for at the moment, I’ve found a decent spec Versant 80 at a good price with a service contract at good rates, so have ordered that.

The biggest thing that convinced me to go with the Xerox over the Oki wasn’t necessarily the machines themselves, but the Xerox being on a service contract, meaning I know exactly how much a sheet is costing me all the time.

The machine I’ve ordered also comes with the pro booklet finisher so I don’t need to buy an offline booklet maker which was going to be next on my list.

In all, the Xerox ended up only costing £2K more than the Oki with fiery so I think I got a fairly good deal in all.