I'm not summing up the advantages and disadvantages of inkjet - laser. I assume you know these.
What I can say about the primera CX
- It's pricey in its consumables
- you always need to run stock that is +- 200 mm wide or you will damage the fuser.
- Colour consistency is a problem, today you print a job, two months later you need to do a reprint, good luck with having the same color.
- Can only process PS files. You need to convert everything
- Sending the ps files is done trough a software based upon an opensource image editor (image magic)
- No rip, well you could say Image Magic is the rip, but no color managment
- There is a cost estimation program included, but it's accuracy is doubtful
- If you print black marks, you need to know the exact distance between them, 0.1mm of and the printer skips labels
The MemJet printer: If you are looking for a desktop model like the colordyne 1600, go with Astro Machine. They built them for Colordyne for Neopost and others. The printer from Astro is called M1C. The firmware and driver are the most flexible on the field.
- Main flaw of this technology is the printhead. During print, ink can get clogged in the head. The printer can not perform maintenance because the paperpath blocks the maintenance system. White lines are not uncommon on the printed labels.
- printing is super fast
- ink is dry when it comes out
- no minimum paperwith (50.8-216 mm)
- no heating -> no deformation of paper
- Regular maintenace is required to keep the printer clean inside
- Easy operation
- Easy to fix breakdowns, the printer itself is 50 mm high, you can perform most fixes by yourself
- Always the same colour
- rip's do exist, depending on the brand you go with
- Only pc driver, but with rip you can create a hotfolder to use Apple
- Can print transparant material, continuous, diecut, blackmark or notched media
- cost estimation is spot on, you know exactly how much a job will cos before running it (no use of ink or paper)
As I said earlier, the M1C is the most versatile desktop memjet based label printer. You can modify colors inside the driver, but you can also change the amount of ink that is spit on the label per ink channel in the printers interface.
Labelrolls with two different label shapes on one roll can be printed with this machine. You can not do this with rapid, trojan, speedstar, vortex (bankrupt), icube.
Full bleed prints are possible, but you need to stay near the machine to change the position of the label if needed.
If you have a bigger budget, then you can have a look at Trojanlabel Two labelpress (T2) or New Solution. These machines can perform intermediate maintenance during the job without removing the paper. This wll decrease the amount of white streaks you can have on the print.
The T2 has a very well thought unwinder and rewinder system. The position of the print will always be spot on, the web will practically not move. This is something that the desktop models do not achieve, this counts for the machine from New Solution too.
New Solution uses a click system, printheads and inks are included. But it is more pricey to run it on certain types of jobs, especially when you do not use the whole width of the printhead.
edit:
oh, not to forget that on a CX the remaining amount of toner is an estimation. The level can go to zero in no time, even when it was a minute ago on 60 percent. The printer will not stop printing when this happens. You need to stay around and visualy check the quality (if the colour is missing on the print).
Basically, my advice is: Avoid the CX... If you want a laser go with another brand.
