What are Roland wide-format printers and why are they so expensive?

[nickbatz]

No, I'm not going to buy one, just curious.

I see them for sale all the time, and they're several thousand dollars used vs. a few hundred for old HPs, Epsons, and Canons. (And of course the ads for the latter always contain "needs cleaning to work.")

 

[wilberforce_1]

I believe Roland specialize in sign and banner printers, which use solvent inks for exterior exposure (and apparently use Epson printheads, btw).

Epson also sell sign printers, they are a different class of printer, costing $15,000+

I don't have any experience with either.

 

[nickbatz]

Got it. Thanks.

 

[md lucero]

Roland solvent...prints on papers, films, vinyl and banner material. Waterproof/water resistant. Outdoor signage.

Roland UV...uses UV light to "cure" the ink on almost any substrate including boards, wood, metal, even glass. Very large flatbed printers.

Roland dye sublimation....textile printing.

They also make aqueous inkjet printers..

Regards,

Michael

 

[Gesture]

Our 13-17 inch fine art printers are an almost infinitesimal drop in the ocean of what inkjet printing has become. Epson similarly has huge industrial printers, including for direct to garment. Think if you had $200,000 invested in a offset printing shop a few years back.

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epson.com

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epson.com

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www.imagingspectrum.com

I'm actually surprised at times that Epson even bothers with these small printers.

 

[A Owens]

No, I'm not going to buy one, just curious.

I see them for sale all the time, and they're several thousand dollars used vs. a few hundred for old HPs, Epsons, and Canons. (And of course the ads for the latter always contain "needs cleaning to work.")

As others have said, they are a commercial grade inkjet printer. They cost extra because they are built to last. I have one in our factory that was purchased in 2005 IIRC. Still prints all day, 5 days a week. Similar brands are Mimaki and Mutoh. Canon, HP and Epson also make commercial grade printers. Epson makes a range of textile printers called Monna Lisa.

But these are dwarfed by soft signage printers from the likes of EFI of Italy. These print up to 5.2 metres wide and are quite the thing.

https://www.efi.com/products/inkjet...e-roll-to-roll-printers/efi-matan-5/overview/

 

[nickbatz]

I want one of those printers.

A couple of my pictures would work really well at about 4'x8'.

Nothing extreme, I don't need them to be 15 meters wide.

 

[Timzee]

As others have said, they are a commercial grade inkjet printer. They cost extra because they are built to last. I have one in our factory that was purchased in 2005 IIRC. Still prints all day, 5 days a week. Similar brands are Mimaki and Mutoh. Canon, HP and Epson also make commercial grade printers. Epson makes a range of textile printers called Monna Lisa.

But these are dwarfed by soft signage printers from the likes of EFI of Italy. These print up to 5.2 metres wide and are quite the thing.

https://www.efi.com/products/inkjet...e-roll-to-roll-printers/efi-matan-5/overview/

Sweet:

 

[Gesture]

Our 13" and 17" printers are just toys.

Who imagined that inkjet printers would become printing presses.

Wonder if every piezo printer has to be licensed from Epson. Cha ching!

 

[nickbatz]

Our 13" and 17" printers are just toys.

Who imagined that inkjet printers would become printing presses.

Wonder if every piezo printer has to be licensed from Epson. Cha ching!

Mine isn't a toy!