I have medium sized fleet graphics company in Salt Lake, we've been using the Summa Durachrome 2 for almost 3 years now as our large format digital printer. Does anyone have ideas on how to side step the inflated costs of the ribbons it requires? It produces excellent quality images however, we find that to produce competitive quality graphics we are using 2 sets of each color ribbon per 50 yr roll of vinyl. If you haven't bought a Summa yet beware the ribbons do not stretch as far as they claim they do, it's very much like the situation with an ink jet printer, the cost of the ribbons eventually outweighs the cost of the printer.
Posted by Neil D. Butler (Member # 661) on :
Hi Mike, we do a lot of printing as well, with the Edge, which is a great machine. Realistically how much is it costing you per Sq Ft to print 4 color?
Posted by Michael Franz (Member # 3901) on :
Depending on the type of vinyl ( control tack, 220, etc etc) It's costing me about $1.00 in vinyl and $1.52 ribbon. So $2.52 per sq ft not including lamination.
Posted by Mark Sheflo (Member # 3608) on :
I guess I'm not sure what the problem is. This cost is right in the range that Summa gives in all of the information that I have ever seen. And that cost is what we have seen in the past two years or so that we have had our DC2.
Posted by Neil D. Butler (Member # 661) on :
Not including Lamination? Why do you laminate? Is it for fade resistance or abrasion... Have you ever clear coated? Your costs seem to be the norm, what do you charge to the customer for 4 color finished product, on average? We charge around $15.00 per sq. ft.
Posted by steve simpson (Member # 3298) on :
Hey...finally seeing posts from some Summa owners. I have been searching for DC2 and DC3 owners to hear their opinions for a long while. It sounds like you two have the DC2—What are your experiences with the machine and are you making money with it? I'm considering the DC3...any input would be great.
Thanks Steve Simpson
Posted by Michael Franz (Member # 3901) on :
We love having the Summa, it really puts out a good product. It took us a while to get used to it, it's quite a tempermental machine.
As far as making money with it, yes you can be competitive on the print itself, like I said in an earlier post we pay about $2.50 a sq foot to print. The issues we run into are the 'hidden costs', we have to hand cut each image after it's printed, which can be time consumming and add up fast. The DC3 I beleive die cuts the image after printing but you lose the 50" print capability. We also find that without lamination the image fades and can be subject to abraisions much easier than summa boasts.
But it prints beautiful images and our customers are always impressed. The wide format really comes in handy when doing a full wrap or 53' trailer. The print head is bullet proof and we've found that we can print on all types of substrate with no problem, even perforated materials.
Beware the ribbons though!! Expect to pay for two sets per 50 yd roll of material, that's $953.00 or a $1.52 a sq ft just for ribbons. I know summa will promise one set does the trick but in a real application it's not true.
Posted by Michael Franz (Member # 3901) on :
quote:Originally posted by Neil D. Butler: Not including Lamination? Why do you laminate? Is it for fade resistance or abrasion... Have you ever clear coated? Your costs seem to be the norm, what do you charge to the customer for 4 color finished product, on average? We charge around $15.00 per sq. ft.
We charge anywhere from $9.00 a sq foot to $18.00 depending on the job. We find that in the commerical vehicle market most people want $6-8 per sq ft for a price and it gets quite competitive. The only way to compete is to keep you costs down as far as possible. I have not tried clear coating, what is it?
Posted by steve simpson (Member # 3298) on :
Thanks..for all your input. I am going into the DC3, even though it only prints 36"–I think that it will fit my format for small run decals and can contour cut them immediately. I am however a little concerned that the cost of goods that you metioned will become an issue in competing with the solvent inkjets... I will consider the fact of more ribbon consumption than Summa boasts when I do my pricing. The other issue...The DC3 only accepts 40" material which will be a definite downside. In your opinion will the DC2 be the better choice? You stated that you have run other materials thru the machine...Is this an acceptable alternative for not so costly projects?
