Xerox DC6075 II or Konica Bizhub C5501

[atprinter]

Greetings fellow printers!

Would like to have some opinions and suggestions on my next upgrade.

I have a Xerox DC5065(DC250), I am doing small volume for the moment , so in a way DC5065 is "enough", but I found that I have spending lots of time working around the machine to get things done. I want a reliable and predicable production machine to grow my business.

Xerox came to me, offer me a DC6075 II(DC260), come with booklet and folder fisher but no high capacity unit. Konica offer me a C5501(2 and half years old), complete with high capacity feeder, booklet finisher, folder, xrite es-1000 spectrophotometer, cheaper click rate, cheaper monthly lease than either 5065 or 6075 II, only that Konica cannot fix the rate for two years which Xerox able to do so, but I think if I talk serious with Konica, they can offer better!

I have been to Konica demo on C5501 last week, It was impressive, the looks and the feel of the machine solid and tough! The prints are offset feel and professionals, although I also like Xerox glossy finish, hmmm...

I do found that C5501 has problem produce sharp text, not smooth, jitter edge! May be there is setting issue or what, the DC5065 can print smooth and sharp text, is this something to do with dpi? I have print samples from Konica C6000, text look perfect!

So to 6075 II or C5501? Is C5501 old... I know 5065 is about 6-7 years old and 6075 a bit younger...

Any suggestions are welcome.

Cheers and thanks in advance.

PS, I am going to Ricoh tomorrow and see what they can offer me

 

[Janidbest]

Not sure about the printers well, but I can suggest you that " Look for JDF compatible printers as this is going to benefit in doing automating your

 

[atprinter]

Thanks Janidbest, I am not familiar how JDF compatible printers works, but did get the C5501 under the JDF list, no DC6075 II there, which make me think 6075 is a bit old.

Not sure about the printers well, but I can suggest you that " Look for JDF compatible printers as this is going to benefit in doing automating your

 

[MailGuru]

Before making your decision, first, you need to nail-down your needs. Ask yourself questions like:
What volume will you be doing?
Does that fit within the average duty cycle of the printer?
What color quality do you need (600 dpi, 1200 dpi, 2400 dpi, etc.)? Is that printer capable of producing the color quality you need?
What paper size (minimum and maximum) will you be needing to print? Will that printer handle those sizes?
What paper thickness (min & max) will you be needing to print? Will that printer handle those?
Do you need to auto-duplex (front & back) of a page? What is the maximum thickness that your printer will auto-duplex?
In-line finishing options are not necessarily a "sales-point".
Take the time to specifically identify what your printing needs are, then, start investigating what printers are out there that will meet those needs. And lastly, once you've identified the printer, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate with the vendor to get the best terms possible.

Also, and most importantly, if you are looking at used printers, you will normally not have a choice of the RIP. Typically, you will need to accept the one that comes with the printer. What RIP comes with the printer? Is it one that you are familiar with? If not, will they let you substitute for the RIP that you want?

 

[atprinter]

Thanks for the advices.

I am not doing high volume at the moment, I know a light production machine is all I need for now, I am doing SRA3 most, 300gsm business card and 150gsm flyer are two the most.

I have been to demo of Konica and Ricoh, maybe I will also try Canon.

Quality, all these machine today are acceptable, they all produce fairly good result, most importance I guess are how reliable and predicable of the machines, and service!!

So far Konica gave me the best option, color reproduction look good, complete setup for light production, reasonable registration, but as you mentioned dpi, 5501 and 6501 only 600dpi, has "white" jaggies on the text (white text on colour background), basically text or object that was on a background clashed at the edges and created aliasing type effects. I asked Konica about this, they said result can be improve but not much unfortunately.

Konica C6000 is the best one I see so far, 1200dpi just cover what 600dpi can't do, but c6000 is a bit pricy for me.

Xerox 700, there are so many negative reviews about 700, I am doing light volume, may not be a problem, but they ask for $$ which I think is pricy!

Ricoh demo c651 to me, not bad but print look a bit flat, is brand new, expensive, (and lots of very negative reviews ), and it isn't suit for light production, they have told me there will be a new model coming April 2013, which is design for light production purpose, compact and new technology(unlike other machines are all 4-5 years old tech, fair enough), they ask me to wait till April, I am not too sure I can wait another 3 months. Anyone heard about Ricoh new machine?

All machines I seen so far are fiery on board rip, which I am familiar with, so this should not be an issue.

Cheers

 

[luisyesid]

Check it out

Check it out

As a former user of Minolta for over 3 years with the biz hub pro c5501 I will advice you to look at the xerox equipment and service carefully as the better option

The Minolta equipment breaks very frequently, we got it new so in your case it may break more, the technician will be at your place every week

On most cases is minor, but the amount of time that you or your operator will waste will be big

In my experience because of this being the only digital equipment we had other than our presses the equipment will leave you hanging when you needed the most (yes at 4pm when you are printing that job that is needed for 9am you will get the dreadful call service window)

Do not get fooled by the sales rep running a few sheets in the demo, this equipment can not handle 14pt cover no matter what they say, not consistently and not with you wanting to give up

Also this equipment can not handle envelopes (we were told by the sales rep it could if we use a specific brand) another lie from the sales rep

Also look at the response time for service in your area, if they can not service you within 4hours of your call in your area then this equipment will be useless, look at other options

Colour is very inconsistent, you could have good Colour today and tomorrow be totally off, so we have to calibrate every 2-3 days, more time