Best envelope printer?

[dallasprinting]

We are looking to add another envelope printer to our mix and needing some suggestions.

We currently have an OKI C942, which we have outgrown. It is just too slow for us when we're trying to print 5000+ full color envelopes with variable data.
We previously had a Xante Impressia but hated it - the color was never correct and it was just as slow as the OKI.
We have looked at the iJet NXT, but I have read mixed reviews on here about this model.
We had a Versant 3100 before, and printed envelopes on it, but traded it in for an Iridesse.

We are mainly printing #10s and A series envelopes. Occasionally a 9x12 or 10x13, but not regularly.

Any suggestions or recommendations?
It doesn't have to be the best quality machine, just something that has good output and is reliable, without a lot of maintenance.

Any machines out there like this?

 

[jwheeler]

We're in a similar situation. We have the same OKI C942 and don't care for it. We've pushed it into the corner and it's collecting dust now.

In the meantime, we purchased the envelope fuser kits for our Konica Minolta's (our b/w and color units) and those do a pretty good job since we have the vacuum feed drawers. Switching the fuser is really fast and easy. We can run just about any size. The only downside is you can only load about 150 envelopes into the drawer at a time. There is a DIP switch setting that allows us to load out of multiple drawers-this way the machine will auto switch to the next drawer when one runs out and you can load the drawer that just emptied while running. The challenge with this is the stacker doesn't hold too many envelopes, so it requires some coordination to manage the output and input.

I'm curious to watch this thread for feedback from others - I've also looked at the iJet. Several shops in the area seem happy with the predecessor model.

 

[kslight]

We're in a similar situation. We have the same OKI C942 and don't care for it. We've pushed it into the corner and it's collecting dust now.

In the meantime, we purchased the envelope fuser kits for our Konica Minolta's (our b/w and color units) and those do a pretty good job since we have the vacuum feed drawers. Switching the fuser is really fast and easy. We can run just about any size. The only downside is you can only load about 150 envelopes into the drawer at a time. There is a DIP switch setting that allows us to load out of multiple drawers-this way the machine will auto switch to the next drawer when one runs out and you can load the drawer that just emptied while running. The challenge with this is the stacker doesn't hold too many envelopes, so it requires some coordination to manage the output and input.

I'm curious to watch this thread for feedback from others - I've also looked at the iJet. Several shops in the area seem happy with the predecessor model.

I wish I had known about this dip switch setting…as someone who has pushed 10k envelopes through our 6085 this week (yay holidays and our vendors not being able to meet our deadlines).

It works okay but I agree the big limit is the input and the output…requires a ton of babysitting. Honestly the “dedicated envelope fuser” feels a bit smoke and mirrors to me, I would rather have a spare general purpose fuser to swap, because envelopes will run fine through the regular fuser if you disable the double feed detection on your paper profile and if you aren’t running large enough quantities to generate a wear line.

 

[scotts]

We have a Xante Impressia, and do not like it. Slow and the color is not that great. Interface for the software is ok.
But we do have 2 Mach 6 machines. One is a Rena, and the other is an Astro. Same exact machine, just has different branding depending on who you buy it through. It uses Xitron Navigator to push it. Which does a good job with color. We run all sizes of envelopes through it. #10, A series, 9x12, 10x13, multiple sizes of remits. And also labels. It is inkjet based. And after having it for a bit, you learn the qwerks of the unit. The great thing of the Mach 6 series is that you can move the whole print head assembly away from the media for thicker envelopes or just plain issues.
We've had 2 Mach 5 machines before this, and both were replaced after we ran them to death. I don't remember the numbers exactly, but they both were something like 2-3 million impressions on them.

 

[Shawnd]

We all are waiting for that affordable envelope printer that will run at rated speed all day long that has the same type of output as our OKI's, I have yet to find that beast.

I was pinning my hopes on Ricoh releasing an envelope feed kit for the 7200 series but that looks to have been put on hold, but then again it would just push the issues to the stacker section like others are seeing.

I saw someone post the other day they have a Xerox 280 setup just for envelopes, had the envelope feeder on it and it output to a conveyor, pretty slick setup but out of my price range as I do not have that kind of volume.

 

[kslight]

We all are waiting for that affordable envelope printer that will run at rated speed all day long that has the same type of output as our OKI's, I have yet to find that beast.

I was pinning my hopes on Ricoh releasing an envelope feed kit for the 7200 series but that looks to have been put on hold, but then again it would just push the issues to the stacker section like others are seeing.

I saw someone post the other day they have a Xerox 280 setup just for envelopes, had the envelope feeder on it and it output to a conveyor, pretty slick setup but out of my price range as I do not have that kind of volume.

Where I used to work we had Xerox J75s…I made several sizes of shims using chipboard and binder clips and used them to feed various envelopes through the top document feeder, lol. Worked pretty well considering, just couldn’t load a ton at a time. That’s the budget option if you aren’t ready to buy a dedicated machine.

 

[famerdave]

I’ve had great success running envelopes on our Canon C710. The envelope attachment for the paper deck is incredible at feeding. However, the smaller A envelopes don’t work.

we just got an Xante Enpress, and I haven’t been wowed yet. The only thing is I can load a box of 500 instead of 250 on the canon. But canon is faster….

 

[MacDaddy]

Not sure how much you want to spend but I would look at the Ijet Pro 1175P. iJetColor Pro 1175P — iJetColor
Inkjet not toner and fast.

 

[Whitaker]

We have looked at the iJet NXT, but I have read mixed reviews on here about this model.

MacDaddy:
The OP mentions the iJet NXT as having mixed reviews, so I'd be interested in your take on that. We need another option besides our Oki 931; it's a frustrating piece of equipment that we have had for a few years, so we're looking at the iJet product line. Do you have an iJet?

 

[dallasprinting]

MacDaddy:
The OP mentions the iJet NXT as having mixed reviews, so I'd be interested in your take on that. We need another option besides our Oki 931; it's a frustrating piece of equipment that we have had for a few years, so we're looking at the iJet product line. Do you have an iJet?

We do not have the iJet. I was interested in them and we received samples from the manufacturer. The printing looks fine (acceptable), and the capability to do thick envelopes as well as full bleed envelopes is appealing. However, when I did more research (mainly on this forum), a lot of people said they weren't that great, or they had issues with the print heads, and that the actual cost per piece was much higher than what iJet original stated because they weren't getting the full rated length from the consumables. We have started to do more mailings, and need something that is just transactional quality for the envelopes, which I feel the iJet could be. We just haven't made that decision yet.

 

[Whitaker]

We do not have the iJet. I was interested in them and we received samples from the manufacturer. The printing looks fine (acceptable), and the capability to do thick envelopes as well as full bleed envelopes is appealing. However, when I did more research (mainly on this forum), a lot of people said they weren't that great, or they had issues with the print heads, and that the actual cost per piece was much higher than what iJet original stated because they weren't getting the full rated length from the consumables. We have started to do more mailings, and need something that is just transactional quality for the envelopes, which I feel the iJet could be. We just haven't made that decision yet.

Thanks for the response. I was looking for the user MacDaddy to respond to his recommendation for the iJet. He's recommending it, but I'm not sure if he has one or just read about it, or why he's recommending it.

We're in the market for an envelope printer too. The print heads issues are giving me second thoughts on the iJet line of printers.

 

[Craig]

Thanks for the response. I was looking for the user MacDaddy to respond to his recommendation for the iJet. He's recommending it, but I'm not sure if he has one or just read about it, or why he's recommending it.

We're in the market for an envelope printer too. The print heads issues are giving me second thoughts on the iJet line of printers.

What printhead issues? Maybe with Memjet but not the HP Fl-1000 heads. Almost 700,000 on mine since August and it is trouble free. The best running envelope printer we have had, out of 3 Xantes, and a Riso 7335. The iJet 1175P will run laps around all of them.

 

[Dmiller35]

The iJetcolor NXT uses Memjet heads and we've had alot of issues keeping quality consistant on ours. We've had a Rena Mach5 for years that uses the same printheads and haven't had nearly the amount of issues that the NXT gives us. I'm not sure if it's just an issue with how those newer models cap and wipe the printhead, but it's definitely worse. FYI, the iJetcolor NXT is the same model as the Rena (now Quadient) Mach6 and Formax Colormax8. We looked into printers with the HP FI-1000 heads but the quality didn't seem to be as good as the memjet heads.

 

[Craig]

Exactly why I didn't get Memjet heads. Also the quality is equal to or better than Memjet. But that is dependent on what setting you run at. The colors tend to pop more than Memjet as well.

 

[Matt Revard]

I just purchased the iJet 1175p with the HP heads and it will be installed next Monday. I was impressed in our demo all around and the DFE was also impressive. Hoping to get it straight into production so I can report back. Printware has also been really good to work with.

 

[Lorenzo lab guy]

We were never happy with lightweight envelope printers and it looks like that is a common experience. When we added a Xerox Versant some years ago, we were able to take our envelope printing to our main machine and it worked OK or at least better than the small solutions. I bet you could get a used off/lease Versant for $8000 or so. Just an out of the box suggestion.

 

[Matt Revard]

We had our iJet1175 Pro installed earlier this week and it's exceeding expectations. The speed and ease of use compared to our previous Oki is borderline ridiculous. We have had no misfeeds out of the feeder and ran a wide array of test envelopes over the last few days. One thing is the inkjet quality will be great for some but others coming from offset will have to adjust to it. There's nothing wrong with it in my opinion but it does have a different look to it. Maintenance is nearly nothing and you realistically have two components to swap out outside of ink. The service sled/station and the actual head once it reaches end of life. Highly recommend if it's a feasible option.

 

[Craig]

We had our iJet1175 Pro installed earlier this week and it's exceeding expectations. The speed and ease of use compared to our previous Oki is borderline ridiculous. We have had no misfeeds out of the feeder and ran a wide array of test envelopes over the last few days. One thing is the inkjet quality will be great for some but others coming from offset will have to adjust to it. There's nothing wrong with it in my opinion but it does have a different look to it. Maintenance is nearly nothing and you realistically have two components to swap out outside of ink. The service sled/station and the actual head once it reaches end of life. Highly recommend if it's a feasible option.

Over 700,000 and not a single complaint about the quality. Also I was told by iJet people that one client has over 3 million on their head without issues. That means the operation cost they are quoting is even lower.

 

[larryg4b]

iJet1175 Pro sounds like a superior machine, what is the cost difference between the iJet1175 and the NXT?

 

[namelessentity]

iJet1175 Pro sounds like a superior machine, what is the cost difference between the iJet1175 and the NXT?

Quite a bit. I think an NXT is about 12-15k, 1175 quotes around $60k+