Updated JUNE 2004FLAAR ReportsS E R I E S f o r p r i n t i n g w i t h S o l v e n t I n k s

Nicholas Hellmuth. FLAAR

Evaluation of Roland SolJet II EX Eco-Solvent Ink Printers

Contents

Introduction 1First Look Evaluation 2Specifications: Printhead 3Construction (Build Quality) 6Tech support 8Cleaning, maintenance 9General comments relative to maintenance 10Inks 10Media 12Image Quality Analysis 15RIP, driver and color management 15Price 16General or Miscellaneous 16Further research 19Please add your own suggestions 20Bibliography 21Appendix A: The First Generation Roland SolJet 21

Caption for front cover photograph: Roland VersaCAMM solvent printer at NBM 2004 trade show

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Licensing Information

If you wish to distribute this report to other people within your company, please obtain a site licensing agreement for multiple copies from FLAAR by contacting Sheila Irving, sirving@bgnet.bgsu.edu. Substantial discounts are available for licensing to distribute within your company. The advantage of a license is that you can opt for automatic updates. You may have noticed that FLAAR reports tend to be updated as additional information becomes available.

In some instances a license would be available to distribute outside your company, including in other languages.

To distribute this report without license violates federal copyright law. To avoid such violations for you, and for your company, you can easily obtain additional copies can be ordered available from www.wide-format-printers.NET.

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sIntroduction

Roland continues to be justifiably proud of winning several DIMI shootouts at PMA trade show. However in reality few sign shops would attempt to print at 1440 dpi, because it would take too long or run up the cost in ink. But it is good to know that indeed, if you need quality, that the Epson printheads in a Roland printer can provide top appearance on some selected media.

For all the other First Look evaluations on Mutoh, Mimaki, Opal Tiara, and other solvent and eco-sol-vent printers, we interviewed resellers at NBM graphics and sign trade show, Indianapolis. There are many advantages of interviewing printer sales managers: their comments provide insights into what they feel about the products. In some cases (not for Roland), the sales reps and managers were under the influence of the manufacturer’s tales (such as the Kodak myth that Kodak makes the inks for the Encad VinylJet; maybe they do now, but they definitely did not make this ink last year; trade magazines consistently identified DuPont as the ink manufacturer).

Obviously interviewing sales people is only one side of the coin. But the sales force has been a neglected source of vital information for reviewing wide format printers. After all, it is the sales people who interact with people who are thinking about buying an inkjet printer. Knowing what a sales rep thinks, and know-ing what a sales rep has available (their sales brochures) can help understand what you face when trying to figure out whether a particular brand of printer is ideal for your own needs.

Since the NBM trade show is only three days long, and as there were many other printers to study, I did not have an opportunity to sit down with a dealer or someone in the Roland booth. Fortunately Roland has relatively detailed information in PDFs that are readily available on the Internet if you have patience. These are the detailed sales documents that the sales force uses. They have more information than the simple spec sheets and ad sheets handed out at a trade show. None are as comprehensive as we would wish, but they have a surprising amount of detail.

So in essence this report is a book report on pertinent Roland advertising and PR literature that I had available. These are listed in the bibliography.

Because FLAAR is the leading resource center for reviewing wide format inkjet printers we receive mountains of information. While at trade shows we are told things that an average sign shop owner or printer operator would not be privy to. However we do not reveal anything that we have been told under NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement). FLAAR works with several printer manufacturers to assist them in overcoming the glitches of their current models by advising them as consultants on what new features are sought by end-users. You, as a reader of the FLAAR web pages, can actually influence the design of the next generation of printers by letting us know, via our Survey Form, everything you can’t stand about the current generation (and naturally we like to hear of all the features that you like).

Unfortunately there is a fair amount of misinformation and occasion-ally some disinformation floating around. And sometimes people simply make a mistake. But when we hear the same general concept from more than one source, we tend to feel our readers deserve to learn about this. For example, does Kodak make its Roland SolJet Pro II printer at NBM 2004

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sown ink for the Encad VinylJet, or does DuPont? Does Roland make its own ink for their printers? The word on the street is no. But it is not absolutely impossible that Roland specs for its inks (irrespective of source) are a tad different than the specs for the ink used by Mutoh. However our considered opinion is that the inks are essentially the same, and are not made by any manufacturer whatsoever (but are made by an ink company, as is far more logical).

But we have no way to guarantee or warranty the validity of individual statements or measurements. So be sure, before you buy any printer, of any brand, that you find a person who owns this printer. Ask them whether the printer functions as advertised, whether they got any rude surprises, are they making a profit by having this printer in their shop, did they wish they had bought another brand instead, and do they recommend this printer now that they have personal experience with it?

If you find a statement in this report that you disagree with, we are eager to hear from you. If you find an error in fact, upon verification we will change and update the report.

First Look Evaluation

Brand name, model:

SolJET Pro II EX. There are three models• 54” SJ-540• 74” SJ-740• 54” Print & Cut SC-540

These models are from Roland. There is an after-market model in England, I believe it is the B&P Lightbrigade “Uniform Grenadier.”

When was this model first introduced?

I am guessing this was new model was hurriedly introduced in late 2003 to quickly and quietly replace the first generation eco-Sol ink which seems to have been a failure. The first eco-Sol ink was introduced in December 2001.

Size, shape, technology, mechanical

Is this printer made originally as a solvent ink printer, or is it retrofitted with solvent ink? If retrofitted, what was the original brand? What other printers are the same chassis?

The Pro II EX version of the SolJET is based on a retrofitted regular water-based Roland Pro II chas-sis.

B&P Lightbrigade makes four different modified solvent ink printers. It will take a while to find out whether there are any mechanical or other distinctions or whether they are merely re-badged. And we have to figure out which of their four models is closest or effectively the same as the Roland SolJet II. The specs for the Uniform Grenadier do not indicate whether it is a SolJET “first generation” or “II” The first generation did not fare well being retrofitted by other companies. Be sure to do your own site-visit inspection before you buy any printer that does not fully indicate where it comes from.

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The Uniform Grenadier does not identify the origin of its inks, whether they are Lyson or not. This would impact on how long the Epson piezo printheads would last.

The SolventJET is a Roland Pro II modified by Splash of Color to accept Lyson’s kind of solvent inks. We cover the SolventJET in a separate report.

Is the width enough for target applications?

Yes, the width is enough.

Specifications: Printhead

What printheads are used? Xaar, Spectra, Hitachi, Epson, or other? Explain the pros and cons of each head relative to their ability to handle solvent inks.

Roland printers use essentially the same Epson printheads as you get with an Epson, Mutoh, or Mimaki. These Epson printheads were neverintended to jet solvent ink.

Is the brand and model of printhead identified in the specifications?

It is not traditional for the printhead to be identified by name and even less likely for the model number to be listed.

How many printheads per color? How many nozzles per printhead? How many nozzles per color?

Six one inch printheads; 360 nozzles per color.

If you have been reading FLAAR Reports for the past year or so you may have noticed that we began to introduce comparative tables early in 2004. The purpose is to provide more objective comparisons for those individuals who prefer to see statistics and specs rather than discussion of how to interpret these specs with an experienced eye. With over one million readers of our overall network on digital imaging hardware and software, we try to accommodate what our readers ask for.

Gathering the data for these charts is a challenge. Encad and HP both declined to answer. Encad declined twice. Of course that just provides the adrenalin to find out the facts on our own. Sooner or later we will fill in all the columns. Since this current report is new, it is a first edition, and some of the columns are still being researched by our staff.

If we have made an error or misunderstood a spec, please let us know. Very little of this information is available in the brochures handed out by dealers or at trade shows. We usually have to ask tech sup-port in person at a trade show. The next trade shows with solvent ink printers will be SGIA and others in October.

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sInk type Colors Printheads Nozzles per

printheadTotal

nozzlesNozzles per color

Canon 8200 Water based 6 1 combo print-head, Canon thermal

7,680 7,680 1,280

HP 5500 Water based 6 6 HP thermal 512 3,072 512Encad 1000i Water based 6 6 Lexmark

thermal640 3,820 640

Encad VinylJet Unique IR treated water based

4 4 Lexmark thermal

208 (?)uncertain 832

208 (?) zero info on Encad website

Epson 7600 Water based 7 Epson DX-3 piezo

360 96

Epson 10600 Water based 6 Epson piezo DX3

360 180

ColorSpan 72s True solvent 4 16 Hitachi piezo

96 1,536 384

Roland SolJET EX

Eco-solvent plus 6 Epson piezo 360 2,160 360

Mimaki JV3 160S

Close to true solvent

6 Unsure, 2 or 3, Epson

Probably 360

180

Mimaki JV316SP

Close to true solvent

6 4 Epson piezo Probably 360

1,420 180 in 6 color mode

Mutoh Junior Eco-solvent plus 4 1 for black, 1 combo for the other 3 colors

Mutoh Falcon II Outdoor

Eco-solvent plus 6 or 2 x 4

Epson piezo 360 1,420 180

Mutoh Toucan 64

True solvent 4 or 6 Spectra 128

Seiko Color-Painter 64S

Close to true solvent

6 Seiko version of Xaar head

512 3,072 512

Tiara Opal II, same chas-sis as Mutoh Falcon II Out-door

Lactate solvent 2 x CMYK

4 Epson piezo, 360 1,420 360

What is the true dpi of this printhead? How is this dpi calculated? How do you calculate perceived dpi that you use instead of true dpi?

A Roland product announcement brochure shows helpful detail of the nozzles and also helps clarify to some degree the dpi. It shows 360 nozzles per head. There are two rows of 180 nozzles per line. Each line is offset so that the total effect is 360 drops. This does not explain how they calculate 1440 dpi but every step forward is helpful. Merely being able to see the printhead in enlarged view is an asset.

I found this brochure on another company’s site, www.tropicalgraphics.com/lf/rolandimages/PRO_II_Intro.pdf.

What is the drop size? Is this listed in the published specs?

Since Roland was one of the first companies to tweak variable droplets out of an Epson printhead, perhaps somewhere buried in their literature they give the droplet size. But not on the specs and fact sheets that I have been able to find so far.

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NBM 2004 exhibits the Roland SolJet Pro II printer

How long do your printheads really last? Do you have that written in a warranty? If your longevity specs are in drops, please translate that into liters of ink or square footage of media.

One of the few attempts to answer the question of “permanent” Epson printheads is on the web site www.primjetcolor.com.pl/dx3_dx4_piezo_head_data.html

If you have been told the printhead is “perma-nent” you have been potentially mislead. No Roland printhead is permanent; it is a moving part and wears out like any other moving part of any machine. Look at this comment from an end user: “the head is only generally good for 8000 - 12000 meters (although we have ones last 25000 meters) and without a contract can be very expensive to replace.” www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=4077&view=previous

If piezo heads fail, who is responsible for paying for replacement heads?

Epson expresses printhead life in shots per nozzle. It is hard to translate shots into drops because of variable droplet size. Then you have to translate drops into milliliters. But all of this is mute because plenty of people who use their Roland printers for a long time, or Epson or Mutoh for that matter, wear their heads out and find they are not permanent at all. They only are long-lasting. They are only “per-manent” if you junk your printer before you have reached the end of life of the heads.

What does each printhead cost to replace? Distinguish price for the printhead and also price for the service technician to come and do the installation if it is not user-replaceable?

The printhead by itself may cost $500 to $550. The service call may cost from $1000 to $1500. Total may be $1500 to $2000.

How often can you expect head strikes? What causes them?

The Pro II Roland has edge clamps so you should not get a head strike on the sides of the media. Head strikes elsewhere tend to result from too much heat which causes the vinyl to swell up, hitting the head when it passes over.

Connectivity? Parallel, serial, SCSI, USB, FireWire?

Ethernet.

What accessories are extra cost? Are these same or similar accessories included with other printers at no extra cost?

The printer does not come with a take-up reel. You have to order one as an extra-cost option.

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s Construction (Build Quality)

What about solid-ness of construction of the printer?

We have no complaints on the build quality of a Roland printer.

What about heater or dryer? Is there a pre-heater and post-heater both, or just one? Is there a printer under the platen? Where are the heaters located? Is heater on top of, or under, the media?

The competitors point out that the SolJET has only one heater (under the platen). So why do profes-sional production solvent ink printers almost all have a pre-heater and a poster-heater in addition to a platen heater? There must be good reasons for needing the pre- and post- heaters.

We intend to update this chart with the specs of the first generation of mild-solvent and retrofitted solvent printers, circa 2001-2002. But since most savvy buyers won’t touch one of these beta-machines, this first edition lists only the current 2003-2004 generation of solvent ink printers. When you go shopping, just fill in this chart yourself as you do the research.

But more than that, ask end-users, ask pros who already run a print shop, � “which kinds of heaters are crucial?”� Should media be heated from below or above?� Is a fan okay to dry the media or is a post-heater essential?� What happens if you have no pre-heater?

The more you learn, the more we have been successful in our educational programs, and that is what a university ought to do, provide a learning experience.

We also hope that you can learn from us how to do research. You don’t have to be a professor to do research. Just ask questions. No PhD required. Besides, if you already run a sign shop, you probably know lots of tips and tricks we have not even found out about yet. This is why we appreciate it when you fill out the Survey Form and help us help others.

Ink type Pre-heater Platen-heater Post-heater Other Fan

Roland Pro II SolJET

Eco-solvent Evidently yes

Splash of Color Solvent-JET

Pentachrome Lyson Solvent

yes yes yes With three heat-ers a fan is not expected

Mutoh Falcon II Outdoor

Eco-solvent yes “fixer heater” Post-fixer heater

dryer Of all the eco-solvent printers this seems to be the most com-plete system

Mimaki JV3 Mild-solvent

Tiara Opal II Lyson solvent

Seiko Color-painter

Mild-solvent

ColorSpan 72s

True solvent

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Roland SolJet Pro II solvent printer at GOA 2004

Can you turn them on and off? Can you vary their temperature? What is average monthly electric bill?

I assume the heater can be turned off and on and can have its temperature varied. Otherwise the heater would not be acceptable.

What about fans?

No fans are shown in the brochures. If there are no fans, and also if there is no post-heater, that would make this printer unique… But maybe there are heaters that we don’t yet know about.

But if Vutek, ColorSpan, and other companies that make professional quality solvent ink printers include a post heater and a pre-heater too, the first question would be, how come these are missing on other printers?

Are any systematic mechanical problems documented? For example, consistent complaints. If you asked outside industry experts would they reply, “ah, yes, Printer XYZ is known for potential XYZ glitches.”

Other than banding and having a head block up and quit printing, Roland printers do not have a repu-tation for many glitches that I can think of. Just realize that at 1440 x 1440 dpi the output slows to a crawl.

We had hoped the new PRO II design would eliminate banding so we could replace our commentary with glow-ing reports on the improved engineering, but banding continues to be the most common complaints with Roland printers. To find out if ink dropout continues would require a user survey. Ink dropout means one color simply stops printing, usually half way through your print. Although the Epson piezo heads used by Roland are part of the prob-lem, we do not experience much banding or catastrophic color drop out with our Epson 7600 or Epson 7500 (only occasionally). But to be fair to Roland, these problems are not experienced by everyone. The temperature, humidity level, the media you use, the settings on your printer, the dust level in your print shop, all these factors make some printshops a place of constant problems. Yes, it is easy to blame this on the shop environment, but a printer is not supposed to require a Clean Room atmosphere. Where in the specs and advertising claims do they warn you about this?

We also highly suspect that if you buy any of these eco-solvent printers you will have to buy a laminator too, and learn how to use it, and have space for it.

Electrical needs: 110 or 220?

110 and 220; you can select which you need for your area.

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Tech support

What is setup of the printer like? Can I do it myself? Does your cost include sending a person to set it up for me?

We assume the local dealer installs the printer and provides training on that day.

Where are spare parts warehoused?

Roland has no known problems with spare parts; you should be able to get spare parts just as fast for a Roland as for a Mutoh or Mimaki.

How far does tech support person have to travel to reach my printer?

Roland is unique in requiring its dealers to stick to their region. So you don’t have to worry about a dealer in Alabama not being able to provide service to you in Iowa. If you live in Iowa you will be buying your Roland only from a regional dealer in your area. The downside is that you have fewer options of shopping around. This may keep prices fixed at the official levels.

Is training necessary? classroom training available? Is factory training available?

Roland probably has the best training program other than that of ColorSpan.

What on-line training is available?

Since “Roland University” offers training, we assume there is no on-line training separately.

Cleaning, maintenance

How is head cleaning accomplished? Vacuum (suck), spray/purge & wipe, manual, automatic, other? Can you take the heads out and clean them individually?

We have several levels of Roland brochures, but not one indicates precisely the head cleaning sequence. But the in-depth Roland literature indicates that there is both a wiper and then also a scraper to clean off the wiper. “’Scraper’ wipers help to keep the wipers that clean the printheads clean which reduces scattering of ink mists and media debris.”

That suggests that whoever paid for the previous Roland system did not get this feature and may have suffered from “scattering of ink miss and media debris.” It is no wonder that Rolands had band-ing defects with all this clutter on the printhead nozzles. Of course banding is caused by countless problems besides gunk in the printheads. Air in the ink system alone can be the largest single cause. Bi-directional printing can reportedly result in laydown of the ink in the inappropriate sequence going in the bi-directional direction. It is notable that there is no industry wide study of banding, its causes, and how to get rid of banding so that end-users don’t have to put up with it.

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sNo photographer will accept any print that has horizontal banding defects. You did not get these ugly lines and bands from a darkroom enlargement and there is no reason to accept such deficiencies in the digital era either.

Epson printheads are not made to be taken out by the end user, or exchanged, or cleaned individually outside the printer.

How hard is it to cap the system and turn it off, for overnight, over weekend, while you go on vacation? Is there a capping station?

Roland has a motorized lifting system that brings the cap up to the printheads. They offer one cap per printhead. This system looks well designed.

How often does printer automatically do its own head purge to keep ink from clogging? How much ink is used per month?

Roland has designed a separate flushing system. So flushing does not take place on the same ser-vice station as the capping setup. Reading between the lines, the debris from the flushing routine was contaminating the capping station. So the cap station (on earlier models) instead of protecting the printheads was potentially a source of polution. It sounds like it would be an adventure to do a site-visit case study of anyone who owned a first-generation of these printers. It is a wonder there was no revolution or other form of uprising.

Upon start up, do you have to swab the heads? How long does this take? How messy is it? What clean-ing materials are recommended? What is not recommended?

Most eco-solvent printers don’t require cleaning in the morning. But these are still valid questions.

Does this printer stay on the entire time once it is turned on? How often does it expend ink to clean its heads?

Most eco-solvent printers do not have sleep mode with auto-spitting. We have a lot more research to do on these printers. But at least this initial report is the most detailed; actually we have not seen anyone else attempt an independent report that is not merely an unconvincing Success Story.

General Comment relative to maintenance

It is my impression that all past models of Epson, and probably Roland, Mimaki, and Mutoh, if you had to clean out a blocked nozzle you had to purge all colors of ink through all heads. This infamous wast-age system of ink is one of several reasons why FLAAR has a general buyer advisory relative to piezo heads: they are pre-programmed to be excessively wasteful in ink. None of this waste is explained to the novice end-user in the dance that goes on while trying to entice a customer to make the down payment for the printer.

So we get back complaints from end-users that it is costing a considerable sum of money every time them do a purging cycle. We had to do more than SIX ! purging cycles to clean the heads on our Epson printer.

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sThus we compliment Roland on making a step forward to cut down on this expensive waste of costly ink. Roland Pro II EX now offers three pumps instead of the previous two pumps. So now you only have to waste ink in two heads at a time. Well, it’s better than wasting ink in three heads or more. Overall we are impressed at the improvements Roland has made to the Pro II models, but it is sad to think of all the people who paid their hard-earned money to buy the previous generation of printer that lacked these refinements.

Inks

How many kinds of ink are available? What kind of ink is this?

Eco-SOL ink.

Virtually no company reveals who really makes their inks. But in most cases the printer manufacturer does not make the inks. Neither Epson, Mutoh, nor Mimaki manufacturer their own inks. Nor does HP for that matter. Thus I highly doubt that Roland really makes their own ink either. I am guessing that Canon either makes or at least designs their dye inks, but does not make their pigmented ink.

Encad originally bought all their ink from other sources. Kodak now makes most, but probably not all the ink. I stress “not all.” I wager that the pigmented ink and the ink for the VinylJet are made elsewhere and simply rebranded by Kodak. I could be wrong and will correct this surmise if documentation and be provided otherwise.

Roland does not identify the source of their ink, nor whether it is the same as the eco-solvent ink of Mutoh. It is widely rumored that because Epson sells the printheads that all printers that are allowed a license by Epson are required by Epson also to buy ink through Epson. This is usually interpreted to mean that the Roland and Mutoh ink would tend to be identical. Mimaki tends to be a tad more independent.

What are the ingredients in the ink(s)? Is there Cyclohexanone? Is this a lite-solvent or eco-solvent?? What is the chemical composition of the ink?

We wrote Roland and Mutoh a polite e-mail asking for their MSDS for their inks. Mutoh replied immedi-ately. It has been a week and no one at Roland has replied. We do not know whether the law requires them to post or to make available the MSDS on their inks. Obviously we will get the MSDS sooner or later. E-mails do get lost in the shuffle, but the fact that Mutoh reponded and Roland did not is not exactly a plus point for Roland.

Does ink come in cartridges or bulk?

220 ml ink cartridges, the same size and shape as for Epson, Mimaki, and for Epson,

What kind of protective devices are on the ink system to keep you from using after-market ink?

We assume there is some form of chip.

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1 Figures on ink costs vary from honest to dishonest and everything in between. The only way to get factual ink costs is to run benchmark tests in a neutral and independent institute. Due to the expenses involved, this is traditionally done as sponsored research.2 Most resellers want you to telephone so they don’t list the cost of the ink. Some PO Box type of resellers use bait and switch. So we never know whether the prices stated are real. The only prices we believe are those listed by reputable companies that we know personally such as Scarab Graphics, www.ScarabGraphics.com. ScarabGraphics offers Mimaki ink for $68, but we do not know if this is the official ink or after-market ink. You can ask them.3 It is surprising how hard it is to get ink prices. Manufacturers don’t always sell the ink, so no prices on their sites. Some resellers are coy and want you to telephone. So we have a lot more work ahead to get the prices. One thing, however, is that if you ask a competitor, or read their “selling against” literature, the ink prices they quote for their competition are usually the highest list price, is sometimes out of date, and you can usually get slightly better prices on the Internet. We will correct any prices in this chart as we are able to obtain better information.

What is ink cost per liter (not per cartridge, but per liter)?

It was much more difficult than we expected to find out something as simple as the price per cartridge. Thus the costs here are the best we could find, but we have no reassurance that every figure is accu-rate. If you see a mistaken price, please let us know along with a complete web site URL and full page info on where we can find the information that will allow us to correct our chart.

Ink type Colors Cost per car-tridge

Cost per liter

Ink cost

per sq foot1

Ink and media cost

ColorSpan 72s Full solvent CMYK 2-liter contain-ers

$ 124.50

0.14

Encad VinylJet Water-based, inter-acts with IR

CMYK 400 ml, $120ink plus head is

$186

$ 300

Mimaki JV3 Full solvent 4 or 6 $ 73 per 220 ml, price on

Internet2

$ 332

Mutoh Toucan Full solvent 4 or 6, depends on

model

$ 390 per gallon (roughly

4 liters)

$ 1223

Mutoh Falcon II Outdoor

Eco-solvent plus $ 75, 220 ml $ 340 .30 to .50

Mutoh Junior Eco-solvent plus 4 $ 75, 220 ml $ 340

Roland Ver-saCAMM

Called Sol ink but allegedly is identical to Eco-solvent plus

4 We guess $ 75 per 220 ml

Roland SolJet Pro II EX

Called Sol ink but allegedly is identical to Eco-solvent plus

6 We guess $ 75 per 220 ml

$ 340 $ 0.36 and up

$ 0.65

Seiko Color-Painter 64S

Less aggressive than full-solvent but more strength than eco-

solvent

CMYK + light cyan and

light magenta

1 liter car-tridges $299

$299

SolventJET (Splash of Color)

Lyson solvent ink CMYK + red and blue

$89 per 220 ml $ 199 $ 0.28

Tiara Opal II (ScarabGraphics)

Lyson solvent ink, Lactate solvent

Dual CMYK $155 per 1 liter bottle

$ 155

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sHow many colors?

6-colors. The printer has two sets of 6-inks but you can’t park a second kind of ink. It all has to be the same kind of ink.

Mimaki also has 12 ink lines but with the JV4 (water-based ink) you can have 6 of one ink and simulta-neously another kind of ink in the other six chambers. We keep ink for silk in one set of chambers and a totally different ink in another set. This versatility is very useful.

Is output splotchy? What about banding? What causes the banding?

We will analyze print quality at the next possible opportunity and report back.

Is the printer enclosed? How is the enclosure vented?

The printer is not enclosed and there is no vent system that we are aware of.

How much ink is used up during installation of the printer? If a piezo printer, does that mean I have to buy practically a complete set of ink within a few days of paying off the cost of my printer? Does that mean ink will end up costing more than my printer?

Since most Epson-related ink systems soak up most of the ink upon installation, we would guess that the situation with the Roland will be comparable to that of the Mutoh or Mimaki. In other words, after you pay for your new printer, you may have to buy a complete new set of ink within a week or so of installation. But after that ink usage settles down to normal.

Do you need to have a band of printable colors along the edge, outside the main printed area, to keep all printheads and their colored inks firing on each pass and ready to print (so as not to dry out when not be used by the colors in the design)? If your design has lots of empty white space, and then just cyan letters, this would mean your black, magenta, and yellow heads were not firing for a long time. On an old-fashioned inkjet printer these heads would dry out, and clog.

I do not see a spit gutter listed in any spec. We will have to ask directly about this question.

Media

Media core diameter? Options for other core diameters?

I will assume the core diameter is the standard 2-inch core.

Front loading, back loading? Paper path? In the paper path, can you see wrinkles, incipient skews?

Most printers that use Epson printheads have backloading media and a straight-through printing path.

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sIs a take-up system present?

A take-up reel does not come with the printer. If you wish to have one, it is available at extra cost.

Precisely how many kinds and types of sub-strates will work in this printer? And rate them by “work perfectly” through a continuum to “function but not flawlessly.” Will this ink print on everything that a Vutek will?

It would be a useful historical lesson to go back in time and see what the ads claimed for Roland’s original generation printer, before eco-“plus” ink, to see what they claimed for printability, scratchability, and so on.

Today their ads are more sophisticated. They indicate “including both coated and uncoated substrates” as though this is a benefit that the ink works on coated media. But you are supposedly opting for a solvent ink printer precisely to avoid coated media all together.

What are preferred applications to print with this machine?

Roland ads state you can switch from uncoated vinyl to fine art paper or film. Naturally these media would have to be coated. If the eco-solvent ink gives equal adhesion to all materials, vinyl and fine art paper, then this would indeed be an advantage.

What kinds of substrates will not work with this kind of solvent ink? Does this printer’s ink require special media? Is it coated? Even if not coated, is it the really low-cost stuff, or is it limited (and hence by that very fact a tad expensive?) What applications would be better printed on another type of ink, media, or machine?

The answers to these questions are crucial. But it is not expected that a printer manufacturer will volunteer this information. Eventually we will be able to undertake site visit case studies and thereby gather the needed documentation.

What about adhesion? Are their substrates you can print on, but then have adhesion problems?

Roland claims, point blank, that their prints are scratch resistant without lamination. So, test sample prints and see for yourself.

As for adhesion, before you buy any printer, ask to see a rub-off test or wipe test.

• Windex – Ammonia• Acetone• Cleaning alcohol• Gasoline• Soap and water• Scotch-tape pull-off test

Roland SolJet Pro II printer close up at NBM 2004 trade show

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sIs printhead height adjustment available? Manual? Automatic? How much? What thickness media is accepted?

Roland has the easiest to understand head height and media thickness specs I have seen so far.

Head Height Acceptable Media Thickness1. low 1.2 mm 0.3 mm

2. middle 2.2 mm 1.0 mm3. high 3.2 mm 1.0 mm

Is there self-detection of media width?

Did not notice this in the spec sheet. Spec sheets don’t generally tell you everything that a printer offers. That is why we went to such effort to develop the standardized format for benchmarking printer features.

Is there a reliable counter of media length remaining?

Did not notice this in the spec sheet either.

Is there manual feed capability of sheets (sheet feed)?

It is normal for sheet-feeding to be facilited.

Do you get roller marks on some media? Which media? How bad are the marks?

Roland literature states “Wider feed rollers reduce pressure on media to prevent roller-related printing artifacts.” So far we have no indication that roller marks are a severe problem with Roland printers.

Is backlit saturated enough with one print, or do you have to print two and mount them together?

This we will have to find out through a site-visit case study.

Is 3M warranty available? Is Avery warranty available?

I would assume that one, or the other, or maybe even both warranties ought to be available. We will update this at the next opportunity.

Image Quality Analysis

Roland quality can be impressive, but this 1440 x 1440 dpi mode is NOT necessarily available for all kinds of media. This is not made clear in most advertising (not for other brands either).

What most brochures also fail to do is to bring home to end-users the reality that they will not be achiev-ing the promised 1440 x 1440 dpi output quality because the printer is simply too slow when it has to make 20 or 30 passes (whatever is required for the top quality).

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sBut for banners or signs viewed from far away, 720 x 720 dpi is plenty. 360 dpi may be plenty in many instances, unless 360 dpi results in horizontal banding defects. It is not the low dpi that causes the banding: but a higher dpi may cover over and hide the defects by microweaving. But it takes dozens of extra passes to cover over the weak image of 360 dpi. The same is true of any printer, including Encad, Canon, and HP: they print adequate quality only at slow speed caused by multiple passes; it usually takes 8 passes to achieve good quality. Some Roland models require up to 32 passes to get the best output. Of course multiple passes makes printing very slow.

RIP, driver, color management

Is a RIP included?

You get a 1-printer version of Wasatch RIP. This is a good RIP, indeed one we would recommend. Wasatch is definitely to be preferred over the former Roland ColorChoice, which was a lite version of Scanvec-Amiable. We do not know whether the Wasatch RIP is a full version or not. Roland calls it COLORRIP, but we understand it is basic Wasatch, probably with profiles added for Roland’s certified media.

Is this RIP fine tuned for this printer in particular?

We will assume the Roland version of Wasatch RIP has generic ICC profiles for certified media. Just realize that eventually you will need or want to do your own custom profiles, which will require a spec-trophotometer and ICC profile software from Monaco or Gretag.

Is the driver just for PC? What about using this printer with a Mac?

Since a RIP is included the device driver is not as crucial. There is no mention in the specs whether the RIP is PC only.

How many other RIPs work with this model of printer?

Most major RIP software would most likely work with this printer.

Price

What is the price, and what do you get for this price? Compare the price, and what you get, with the nearest competitors?

• SJ-640 EX is $29,995• SJ-740 EX is $32,995

Before you buy any printer be sure to fill out this form. On some cheaper printers, ink is NOT included. That may add $500 to $1000 to the purchase price. Be sure that replacing the printheads is listed as a line item in the warranty. If not you will have costly printhead replacement bills of between $800 and $2000.

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sBe sure to get a written list of all accessories and everything that will NOT be included in the purchase price of the printer “engine.”

Price How much training is included?

What is excluded in price?

Extended war-ranty cost

“out of war-ranty” fee

What about cost of replac-

ing print-heads?

Your first choice printer

Other print-ers you are considering

General or Miscellaneous

Please look at the ad claims for this printer in magazines and on the internet. What aspects of these ads will a buyer of that model soon find out are perhaps slightly exaggerated? In some ads it seems to be the goal to list as outstanding features precisely where the printer is weak. Do the ad specs include enough facts?

Roland says, point blank, “Revolutionary SOL INKs: Roland’s own solvent inks. Not oil-based…” We do not have privileged NDA information, nor would we reveal it if we did, but the general consensus is that Roland does not have its own ink factory. Not even Epson or HP make their own ink, so we doubt that Roland is making its own ink.

Furthermore, sources indicate that Roland’s eco-solvent plus ink is the same as that used by Mutoh. We will double-check this; there is a fair amount of misunderstanding, wishful thinking, and error float-ing around. But we are not yet convinced that the ink is “Roland’s own solvent inks.”

And the point is, who really cares? So why does a company make this claim? Why not just say it is a good ink that they are proud of, and leave it at that. Why claim it is their own ink. That implies it is unique and that no other printer uses the same ink. This is why we will keep on searching until we learn the actual facts.

Rather than us telling you what is over-stated and over-rated in the following ad, you might want to learn to understand the jargon yourself.

www.rolanddga.com/products/pro2/SJPro2ex/default.asp

The SOLJET EX Series prints stunning graphics directly onto uncoated materials without harmful fumes or expensive ventilation systems. With a built-in media heating system and advanced Eco-SOL INK, these wide format inkjets print signs and banners that dry fast and last up to three years outdoors.*

Like the rest of the Pro II Series, these heavy-duty inkjets can print up to 300 sqft/hr at 450 dpi for the production of signs, banners, POP displays and vehicle wraps; or they can print up to 1440x1440 dpi with variable droplet technology for photorealistic clarity.

* Eco-SOL INK * Aggressively bonds to uncoated, vinyl-based media with Roland EX heaters* Safe to use* Durable up to 3-years outdoors*

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s* 1440x1440 dpi with variable droplet technology * 300 sqft/hr at 450 dpi * Average running cost (ink and media) of 65 cents* Roland COLORIP (RCR) software included* High-speed Ethernet connectivity* Available in 64” and 74” models

* Outdoor durability is based on accelerated weather tests. Results may vary depending upon location and application. Dry times vary depending on specific media characteristics. Lamina-tion may be required for some applications or environmental conditions.

How in the world can you have “signs and banners that last up to three years outdoors” yet “Lamination may be required for some applications or environmental conditions.” In other words, if you buy this printer you will almost certainly have to buy a laminator.

The Roland PDF states, clearly: “water, scratch, and UV resistant up to 3 years outdoors without lami-nation.” There is no weaseling out; no footnote, no bait and switch. This raises the question, which is it? Either you do, or do not, need lamination. And either the material is scratch resistant, or not. This is easy enough to test: run your fingernail over it. Use the Scotchtape test too.

A Roland ad states “aggressively bonds to uncoated, vinyl-based media.” The word bonds assumes that this ink has outstanding adherence and that implies flawless abrasion resistance. So the question is, will the ink rub off if you run your vehicle wrap through a car wash? What if you use Windex? What if you are gassing up your car and gas drips on your car decals? What about running the vinyl around fenders and over rivets? That is a no-no with UV-cured ink; how about eco-solvent? Is that better?

And what about the subtle footnote, after claiming “aggressive bonding” and 3-year durability, telling us that “Lamination may be required…” How about, “if you don’t laminate your image may not hold up very long.”

So which is a better deal: printer A at $54,000 or printer B at $33,000 but which requires not only a $25,000 laminator, but space, plus the expense of lamination mistakes (air bubbles and countless other lamination mishaps).

Roland (and other ads) claim: “without harmful fumes or expensive ventilation systems” I would like to ask the staff and management of Roland whether they would install any such printer in their own homes, and especially if they have children.

I would also question the juxtaposition of the two completely different statements:• 1440x1440 dpi with variable droplet technology • 300 sqft/hr at 450 dpi

You won’t use 1440 dpi because it is too slow, uses more ink, and most of your clients won’t ask for this resolution. And you may not want to use 450 dpi if your clients are picky. In other words, you can’t burn the candle at both ends. Your clients will tend to prefer 720 dpi unless it is signage or banners that are visible only from a distance. In that case 450 dpi may be acceptable.

Page 15 of a Roland product announcement comparison of their printer with the Mimaki claims that Roland’s in-line printheads are superior to the staggered printhead design of Mimaki (Mimaki is not named, but that is who the competitor is). I disagree because we have a Mimaki JV4; we like the abil-ity to hold two sets of inks simultaneously, and run them one at a time and then switch directly from the software. So we can print on silk with textile inks and dye-sub ink with the keystroke in the RIP.

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sYou can’t do this with a Roland. As far as I know, Roland can hold only one set of ink at a time. So you cannot easily switch from one ink to another.

Furthermore, we see problems of banding with Rolands frequently; we do not notice this problem as often with Mimaki printers. Thus I fail to see the advantage that Roland is claiming.

What do other end-users say about this printer? Not what the reseller reports, not the Success Stories which are usually not representative of reality, but what does a normal buyer of this printer really feel about it?

We do not recommend buying, or deciding not to buy, based on any FLAAR Report. Our reports are solely to assist you in becoming a savvy buyer. We have had people buy a printer we ourselves would not prefer, and they love it and write us to say how happy they are. This means that their needs, back-ground, and clients are not the same as our needs or the wide range of people who bring their files to FLAAR at BGSU and to FLAAR at UFM to print (we run print shops at two universities so that we know what it is really like to run a sign shop; FLAAR is much more than just a university test lab with staff and professors in white lab coats). The absolute best way to chose a printer is to find several representative end-users that own this printer and ask them.

But be wary: all printer manufacturers have demo centers. They look like a regular commercial sign shop, but may have a privileged relationship with a reseller or with the manufacturer. Avoid them, because it is in their interest to “sell you” on the brand they are hawking.

Find a normal sign shop that paid the full price for their printer, is not beholden to the manufacturer nor has a relationship with the reseller. Learn what the printer does well; understand what the printer fails to accomplish.

Take the advertising claims, one by one, and ask the sign shop if the printer can actually achieve these? Can this printer really print a sunset red, or does this brand of printer tend to turn all reds into an orange? Can this printer really print a good sky blue? What about other cyan or blue colors? Can this printer do logo colors that are blue or cyan (or red, such as Budweiser red or Coca-Cola red?

Then compare the results with another solvent ink printer, one perhaps with a different class of ink. Seiko, Lyson and other companies have their own ink formulae and their own distinctive color gamuts.

Arm yourself with factual information. The FLAAR Reports are to empower you, the end-user, to enjoy the printer you buy and to prosper in your printing business.

Be absolutely sure to get your hands on our “Standards for Evaluating a Solvent Ink Printer.” This is part of our original FLAAR Series on solvent ink printers.

Please indicate the problems in the initial introduction of your printer, between the first ads and/or first showing of the printer at tradeshows? To what degree were early buyers also beta testers? Is this model of printer a mature model or is it still being redesigned and retrofitted?

With the first generation of the SolJET some sign shop owners may have finally realized that they were, in effect, paying to be beta testers. It would seem that the first generation of Roland eco-solvent and the first generation of Splash of Color printers would be prime examples of this sad situation. The Pro II has supposedly resolved the problems of the first generation, but only when we reach the point of undertaking site-visit case studies will be know whether the Pro II is a mature model or still needs improvements. It is probably the media and inks which need improvement first.

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sWhat will the resale value of your printer be in three to five years? Will either the brand name or model specifications cause a knowing buyer three years from now to shy away from your printer or cause a knowing buyer to only want to pay a very low price as compared to the other printers our company is considering? A company which is no longer in business may cause printers of that brand to lose value in the used market. Or is there some major technological breakthrough in your brand that will result in less value for your current model?

It would be interesting to see what is the resale value of the first generation of Roland SolJET inks, namely whether buyers of such a used printer would fully be aware of the situation. As for the current second generation, they are probably already available used. I would guess the resale value is hold-ing up relatively well. At DRUPA trade show there were no major technological breakthroughs though obviously many companies are working on new features all the time.

Further Research

This is a “First Look” in the sense that we realize we have a long way to go before we learn all the nuances of the advertising claims relative to the actual performance. We give the Roland team at the trade show booths good marks for enthusiasm. The Roland resellers who have communicated with us have also consistently been enthusiastic. So once the October trade show season is through (Photokina in Germany then SGIA and GraphExpo in the US) we will update these reports.

Do not be discouraged by our commentary. This particular report is really a professorial book review of the advertising claims. In many cases, such as the Epson 4000, the printer itself is great, it is only the ad claims that vary from delerious to downright misleading. So just because we point out the often total disconnect between reality and what the ads tout, this does not mean that the printer itself is bad. It only means that the ads would be construed by a savvy buyer and an experienced end user as potentially misleading. But the Roland printers themselves obviously function; just they may not be as fast, the color gamut may be limited in the reds (and possibly in the blues, though this deficiency may have been corrected).

So our review has mainly centered on what the printer can NOT do. The congenital weaknesses of Roland printers are horizontal banding defects in many situations, and the small selection of media that works on even the new generation of “Sol” ink. Just because you can print on a “wide variety of media” does not mean that the image will stay put if subjected to abrasion or chemical cleaning material. This does not mean whatsoever that the printer is uncapable. Roland spends millions of dollars to develop a good printer. If they would advertise what it can do, and not cover over its weaknesses, then our comments would be very different. Our comments will also be difference as soon as we have time and funding to begin site-visit case studies. The problem is we don’t know anyone in Guatemala that has a Roland. Here everyone has bought a DGI Rex. By last year already there were 46 DGI Rex solvent ink printers within 20 miles of our university in Guatemala. But we doubt there are 2 DGI printers within 200 miles of our university in Ohio.

The purpose of this and all FLAAR reports is to assist you in learning how, on your own, to evaluate a printer. So don’t take our results, but do take our method: use a standardized set of guidelines; use a tabulated comparative chart.

We feel proud to be the first independent institute to develop this class of assistance. Over half a mil-lion people read the FLAAR pages on wide format printers, so we must be offering something that is not available elsewhere. We have now over 28,000 e-mails from people asking help in deciding what wide format printer to purchase, so it appears that we are offering a service with a value.

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Please add your own suggestions

If you know of any questions we neglected to ask, or any aspect of the printer that we overlooked, please let us know.

If you own a Roland SolJET, of any generation, and would like to share your experiences, please let us know at FLAARtest@aol.com.

Bibliography

“Roland Pro II Series: The Next Level of Performance.” Roland DGA. About 25 pages. This is the type of document that printer manufacturers issue to inform the sales force of the features of the next generation of printer. Thus I am guessing this was issued in summer 2002 for the introduction of the Pro II SolJET which I am estimating (from the date on the brochure) was intended to be in September 2002.

“What are you waiting for” is a Roland DGA document that appears to be a sales booklet for custom-ers. It is 10 pages long.

It is virtually unexpected to find a report on the Internet that lists the things that a printer is weak at. 99% of what is on the Internet is merely a regurgitation of official PR releases, advertising slogans, or other situations where people are desperately trying to sell you one brand or another.

FLAAR does not sell printers. And we are not desperate either. We can afford to tell the truth.

What printer manufacturers don’t realize is that if their printer is really good, an honest report (including the pros and cons too) will result in selling far more printers than by increasing their advertising budget. More people read FLAAR reports than read all trade magazines put together.

As a university professor I prefer to write reports based on consulting other comparable research results. Of course no one else has time or a budget to research inkjet printers in exquisite detail, and especially not to develop, and then apply, a standardized evaluation format. So in this First-Look format of the FLAAR Reports, we don’t yet have a list of other people’s articles to cite. Frankly we don’t yet know any.

But surely someone has written on this printer, more than just the litany of problems that you get in sign printer user groups. If you know any articles, reports, or anecdotes about this Roland SolJet eco-solvent ink printers please let us know at FLAARtest@aol.com.

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Appendix A

The First Generation Roland SolJet

Based on what I have heard, and read in user groups, the first generation SolJet and Mutoh Falcon Outdoor were close to a disaster for some end users. The ink had so many problems that Mimaki with-drew their JV2 lite solvent printer quickly. Frankly it is surprising that no well-publicized class action lawsuit resulted from the companies that kept on selling their first generation eco-solvent inks even when it was clear there were major problems of adhesion. To be blunt, the ink rubbed off easily and you could not (despite ad claims) use all the raw vinyls that pure solvent ink could use. I have heard of a specific case in Florida where a woman who bought the Mutoh first generation eco-solvent demanded her money back. As a credit to Mutoh USA, her money was refunded.

I am curious what happened to all those first generation machines of all brands between 2001 and 2003? Frankly I feel sorry for the sign shops that bought them, often under misleading pretenses. FLAAR did not cover solvent ink printers in 2001; we initiated full coverage for solvent ink printers only beginning in June 2004. Our experience from 1997 was primarily with aqueous-based printers (including Rolands, but the regular Roland models, not their retro-fitted solvent ink printers).

But, like all other printers that have serious deficiencies, there were surely some users that got their money’s worth out of these printers. But the question is not whether they eked by, but whether, if they had bought something else, whether they would have been more successful, less trauma, and happier clients.

At least the Pro II appears to have resolved most of the missing features of the first generation. So if you buy the Pro II you get a better machine.