Does anyone use HP Pagewide?

[mhartel]

My shop is a little bit of a mixed bag & I do mostly letterpress and some digital printing on a Xerox and outsource all the offset printing. I used to have a Risograph that I mostly used for zine printing.
However, the fickleness of the Risograph (MZ990) and its limitations drove me quite insane and I finally unloaded the machine.

Here's my conundrum... I keep getting inquires that may reward a replacement for the Riso and I'm hesitant to get into the offset game for various reasons, although an AB Dick 360 with a T-51 and a Kompac dampening system would
do the job quite nicely in my opinion, and fit within the Riso philosophy. In the end I don't feel like opening this particular can of worms.

On another note I may have to add that I absolutely dislike the look of toner on some of the paper stocks I need, or chose, to print – so, a "better" toner system is 100% out of the question.

NOW – I started researching "fast" inkjet printers and came across the HP Pagewide line & picked up a desktop model at Staples and I'm quite impressed (well, I ran a few tests and a small zine cover job today)...
An enterprise model with 12" x 18" could fit the bill in many regards and add some serious flexibility to my shop. I may even add one of those continuous ink systems.

I have to add that I mostly do artistic print work, and don't really do a lot of forms, envelopes etc. but obviously could add something like it to my line to increase my bottom line...

So, here my question to you, dear forum members – Does anyone here use such a machine in production? What are the downsides? What are the positives?
Thank you for reading and any input you may have, which is very much appreciated!

 

[gregbatch]

I'm not aware that they have anything wider than 8.5" (other than the grand format). I was looking at getting several to do some variable transaction work. At that time the heads were unreliable. The ink will be expensive for high coverage. Not sure what is available out there aftermarket, OR if it will run in the machine. HP is making it very difficult to run non-HP ink. Not much out there in inkjet that will handle 12x18 at high speed except Riso Comcolor. The resolution is fine for transactional work. May be too rough for what you want. 300x600 interpolated.

 

[AP90]

On another note I may have to add that I absolutely dislike the look of toner on some of the paper stocks I need, or chose, to print – so, a "better" toner system is 100% out of the question.

Are they're specific reasons you don't like the look of toner for these projects? Granted we just run our B&W work on our Versant, but we have never had customers complain about our black and white quality. And we do a lot of booklets with mixed color and B&W.

 

[mhartel]

Riso Comcolor. The resolution is fine for transactional work. May be too rough for what you want. 300x600 interpolated.

Definitely out of the equation

 

[mhartel]

Are they're specific reasons you don't like the look of toner for these projects? Granted we just run our B&W work on our Versant, but we have never had customers complain about our black and white quality. And we do a lot of booklets with mixed color and B&W.

I use a lot of natural, heavy paper and the toner sheen, no matter how subtle is plain ugly. A toner system is fine for booklet interiors etc. In fact, I ran a zine yesterday... cover on the Pagewide and interior on the Xerox. Kraft cover and natural interior. Beautiful.

On the other end of the spectrum is newsprint. I ran some yesterday on the Pagewide and it is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm just trying to figure out if these machines are reliable enough and cost efficient in the long run...

 

[mhartel]

Are they're specific reasons you don't like the look of toner for these projects?

FYI I had samples in the mail yesterday from Xante, the new Enpress... looks great, except they suffer from exactly the same issue, toner sheen.

 

[gregbatch]

Definitely out of the equation

Then I think you are stuck in 8.5" world. Memjet devices (Colordyne, Rena, Printware) are all 8.5 width. Your only hope would be to find an Epson WorkForce® Enterprise WF-C20590. Contact Ron at Duplicator Source (www.yourduplicatorsource.com). He might have a used one.

 

[mhartel]

Then I think you are stuck in 8.5" world.

Thanks for the info! I'll do some further research & contact them... HP DOES make enterprise 12"x18" models.

 

[gregbatch]

Thanks for the info! I'll do some further research & contact them... HP DOES make enterprise 12"x18" models.

I'd love to know the model number. There are a few forms I do that it would work well for.

ADDED: I assume we are still talking Pagewide. I only know of 12x18 laser engine.

 

[mhartel]

I'd love to know the model number. There are a few forms I do that it would work well for.

ADDED: I assume we are still talking Pagewide. I only know of 12x18 laser engine.

yeah. Pagewide. Enterprise 765dn, 780dn and 785... I'm looking at the 765 as it's print only.

 

[gregbatch]

yeah. Pagewide. Enterprise 765dn, 780dn and 785... I'm looking at the 765 as it's print only.

These disappeared from the general site shortly after introduction. Links to the pages redirected to a general list of all their printers (but did not include those models). I assumed they were discontinued. I see they are offered only through dealers and a few web outlets. I too would only need the print capabilities.

The ink is very expensive though. At standard 5% coverage it's about .045 per impression. I'll probably stick with a Riso Comcolor. 1 litre of ink (aftermarket) is only $250. 5% is 1/3 of the HP at .015, but my actual usage is usually less than 1%. The high-rez mode is more than fine for my needs. Plus it's 3X faster.

 

[GregNac19]

I actually sell the HP’s and the Xante products. There are 12x18 color page wide inkjet machines for sale right now. They are crazy fast (60ppm) and have fewer parts to be replaced like a laser engine. The model you need to look at are the P77740 or P77950. They have good quality on regular paper but you get photo quality on HP photo paper. It has very limited finishing though. The price is ridiculously low to get. The supplies are not that expensive and we actually sell click rates at $.06 for color high quality and $0.015 for office quality. It has its place and won’t replace your main products by any means.