indigo good progression from digital?

[kristianeyman]

i am a small pay per print company with 2 xerox digital presses turning out 1000+ tabloide/13x19 impressions daily. my dilemma is that i have a heidy DI, but its VERY problematic (understatement) so i am looking for something to grow into. what would be the plus or minus for a turbostream or 1000 model unit? i am going to need something that can handle 500+ static (same image) jobs and have good (+/- .2mm) sheet to sheet registration. in essence looking at one of these machines that i can run and do maintenance on but that will take place of my DI press, as most work is 1000 pieces and not more! thanks for your time, and once again sorry to steer this thread another way. K

 

[GusG]

What's wrong with your DI? Reason I'm asking is that I've been thinking of getting one but if it's so problematic you're considering an Indigo instead then I'm worried.

 

[V-P]

I am in the same boat as GusG. What is wrong with DI ? Except the start up fee ?

 

[Craig]

Why not a platemaker and a more automated press? Is the DI under a service contract? If so have them fix it. I would think an Indigo would just as much maintenance as a DI.

 

[T_Roast]

the 1000 models of the indigo have a lot of maintenance daily and weekly. I would look toward the 2000 or 3050 model if you are going to stay with indigo.

 

[kristianeyman]

i cant seem to get the di up and running (mexico) heidy will sevice it, but for a very shiny peso having problems with the svk board, and numberous other pther items, think i got a lemon?

 

[Craig]

The indigo is NOT a progression from digital... it IS digital. The "Liquid Ink" is toner suspended in a fluid. It still uses a FUSER just like the xerox.

If you want to progress AWAY from digital you have 2 options. Get your DI up and running with proper maintenance by either Heidelberg, Presstek or another reputable service company. Get a platemaker and a traditional press with automation features. Either way you will need to be prepared to shell out some $$$.

 

[kristianeyman]

Craig, if not indigo or DI what would you suggest? I have given some thought to continue using my 7655's for pay for print, and purchase 2 additional 6060's. I could have 3-7655's for walk up business and 2-6060's for production/contract work. What do you think of staying within a all digital realm?

 

[Craig]

If you are going to stay all digital why would you stick with 6060's? That's old technology, I don't think Xerox even sells the 6060 new anymore. Get something that is a bit more current where you can have room for growth without having to have 5 pieces of equipment, all doing the same thing.

 

[kristianeyman]

my shop is 100% based on pay per print. i like the quickness of being able to produce quickly off the 240's within 100 sheets (11x17 or 13x19). the 6060s are older tech, but battle proven the idea is that runs of 100+ i could send to the 6060 to relieve the other 240's. what would you suggest, i want to be able to offer or to service a bigger client base and this is my first thought. 6060's are easily attainable monetarily speaking, but what would you suggest or think would be best for long term growth?

 

[Craig]

Based off the same platform as the 6060's you could at least take advantage of upgrades and speed by going to an 8080 or jump from the xerox ship and get a KM 6000/7000/8000. At least with that you are using current technology.

 

[GusG]

Based off the same platform as the 6060's you could at least take advantage of upgrades and speed by going to an 8080 or jump from the xerox ship and get a KM 6000/7000/8000. At least with that you are using current technology.

Those of us who don't work in the first world often can't get a good leasing arrangement or if you can get a bank loan it is very expensive, so outright purchase of the equipment is often the only way. A DC8080 is some $250,000 whereas DC6060s can be picked up for well under $10,000. So I think I understand where Kristian is coming from on this.

 

[Craig]

Understood now... no matter how you cut it, it's still a lot of money!

 

[NTXSOL]

6060's

6060's

We are a shop that is moving away from our 6060's in Texas. We outgrew them and moved into newer machines. 240's and even the newer Xerox 700's dont handle the paper weight or larger sheet sizes that the 6060's can. Even the newer Xerox ( 8000's and 7000's) have their problems and the 5000/8000 AP's can be purchased around the same price but are harder to find.
The 6060 is a great machine as you said and is battle tested. If it could handle our daily volume we would definitely be sticking with it. Its been quite a few years since Xerox sold these machines new and now its harder to find them in the US as they don't bring in much money ( most companies are still able to get quite a bit of money for a 240 in comparison.) If you were to be interested in 6060's we would be interested in letting them go for less than 10k each for certain. The only concern you might have is how long will they continue to sell the toner and how easily can you continue to get parts for the machines. Given your situation and what you want to do the 6060 is a much better choice than 240's and the 700 comes with a steep price still. The 6060 would be a great way to do what you want to do for a cheap initiation fee. They will definitely require less hands on work than a Turbostream. A 6060 will look different from a 240 however and not exactly something you would want to have as a direct back up for the same jobs. We use a 240 for all of our office printing and certain jobs that we run just 8.5 x 11.
The other option you might consider is the KM 6500. I'm pretty sure for just over 10k you could get those and you would be getting into newer technology. We stayed away from the KM models due to the fact that they were very similar to the 240. Not really designed to run the heavier stock and registration was an issue.

 

[GusG]

Kristian, I just remembered that you used to talk of having a 6060, what happened to that? Wouldn't that be the machine to do what you want to do?

 

[kristianeyman]

Gus, yes I did have a 6060, and I recently thought of purchasing 2 more. The only drawback that I can see with the 6060's is that they do have problems with the fuser module and oiling system. I would also have to keep a additional set of different consumables and parts on hand vs my 240's. The electrical is 240v vs 110 , and the larger paper format is also different. All of this is not really a big deal, but since I am a pay for print the product coming off both machines is very noticeable to the public. So that's my conundrum, I wanted to make work easier for me but I for see it becoming more problematic if I add these machine. I have another 240 being delivered today, and thinking of adding another 1-3 after the first of the year, so with 4-6 machine I should be able to handle any work thrown at me. Also on the note of my DI, I found a specialist and he helped me get it back up and running, so we will see where that can take me for the longer static runs. I will keep you posted on the progression through the busy season, and how everything runs!