Opinions would help, Alot!

[Shunns]

Dear Forum Members,

I am planning to upgrade my print shop from Offset to digital slowly, Very slowly. So I want to experiment by buying a 6,800$ digital printer able to cope with up to 350gsm, but I can't decide. Or maybe an Xerox 560/570? I currently run older offset machines, but cost is going up and re-runs are costing us due to the amount of maintenance needed and the age of the machine.

I plan on keeping the newer offsets and slowly shifting to digital, and would love to hear from you guys. I later on plan on getting a MGI Meteor DP8700 XL as I think it would be perfect for us and maybe a Heidelberg SX102 later down the road.

Thank you all in advance!

 

[Possumgal]

I like the fact that you are planning the switch slowly as demand picks up, but I don't know where you're going to get a machine for $6,800 that will handle 350 gsm nicely.

 

[Fatboysmart]

Xante Ilumina would be around that price level... Nice machine with some quirks, but all machines have those.

 

[Alith7]

Xante Ilumina would be around that price level... Nice machine with some quirks, but all machines have those.

I still haven't really seen consistent reliable quality from any Xante machine though... They are really just slightly modified and rebranded Oki machines, and Oki doesn't have a great track record.

We run a Xerox 700i.... Nice machine but pricey. The 500 series is more of an office machine isn't it? I don't know that it will handle the weight of the paper. Or production volumes.

Konica Minolta's are on the lower price end, but service can be a pain. (at least in my area) but all 4 of our copy centers run BizHub's and are doing quite well. I would recommend looking at Konica's for starting in the digital world. If you are really looking at production, I would also recommend probably a color and a B&W machine, as the click costs on a B&W only machine are much lower. But again, it depends on volume.

Whatever you get, make sure you run a bunch of sample sheets showing flood color coverage, image registration, color quality, Etc. especially on heavy stocks. At some point down the road, you will need those to fight with the techs to get the machine fixed when they try to tell you that the crap quality is how it prints, and having the reference sheets will be a HUGE help.

Also, go over your contract and click costs carefully, make sure there aren't any loop holes (like paying 2 clicks for 11x17). Most contracts are based on a certain monthly volume (clicks that you will pay for if you use them or not), don't take the risk of estimating too high, set a realistic goal number, you can renegotiate on the next copier when you know reliable numbers. better that than having to pay for clicks you aren't using.

 

[Midwestprinter]

Just remember... buying a digital machine can often times be the easy part! Note- GET a good service contact with someone. I bought a Xerox years ago... probably close to $10k and we did the service ourselves. It turned out to be a big mistake. The cost of the parts and consumables and our TIME was very expensive and we would have been way better to get a service contact on it and pay the click charges. We do that now with our Konica and I now make money on digital printing. It took 2 years with that Xerox to realize I made a mistake. You will be amazed at how much more work you will have for that machine once you get one in. A lot of places like Konica or Xerox have options that you can grow into. Initial 6 months at a lower rate and it increases every 6 months or year. Its a great way to get into a machine. Get MORE machine then you think you need because buying or leasing one you think is going to be "OK" probably won't be in the long run.

 

[Craig]

I have a lease on a machine that is 6,800/month LOL! Seriously, you will get what you pay for. Your not buying and AB Dick 9870 that will run for 50 years with little to no maintenance. The "digital presses" (just vomited in my mouth a little when I typed that) will KILL you if you try to maintain them yourself if you are not trained and have all the parts readily available. They are high maintenance.... much like an old girlfriend I had!

 

[Shunns]

Thank you guys, I have taken all replies into consideration.

I was actually planning to obtain the Intec Cp3400 (British Company), apparently it can handle heavy stock nicely. "Out of topic" We have a Miller TP41 that has been just sitting there for ages, since we had no use for it after one of the supervisors screwed something up 15 years ago.

 

[OkiTech]

Intec did to Oki something similar to Xante. One way or another, it is based on Oki engine just as Xante. Did you concider cost of supplies? / cost per page?
Oki cx3641 can go up to 330 gsm, and everything you might need for it cost about 30%-40% less than xante or intec.