# Roland versacamm sp300 uses, please help



## purevinyl (Sep 13, 2011)

Hi there guys, 

I've just found an SP300 at a dirt cheap price and I'm going to go ahead and buy it however I'm not 100% sure of everything you can do with it.

Please help me by listing what you use yours for or what you know they can be used for

Thanks

Connor


----------



## kirkmansigns (Jun 22, 2007)

Conner they work great for making full color banners, any kind of printed decals, contour cut decals, bumper stickers, labels, ect. It will print anything a normal ink jet printer can print plus contour cut any shape you tell it to. Ink is not the cheapest in the world but it does last quite a while, plus you can control the density of the print to save ink. We have a VP series and love it. One of several Roland products we own and have never had any issues with it.


----------



## purevinyl (Sep 13, 2011)

Hi, 

Thanks for your reply, have you heard of anyone using them for creating custom iPhone cases, mouse mats and tea coasters?

Didn't know if you could do this using heat presses too 

Thanks


----------



## kirkmansigns (Jun 22, 2007)

I would think you could buy sublimation inks for these... but not sure. I do know you coudn't switch back and forth between the two.


----------



## bayswiss (Sep 19, 2011)

To do the mouse pads etc. you are referring to a process called sublimation. Sublimation works with inks specially designed for the process by which a special ink is printed on special paper. Once you have the printed image in the sublimation paper, you place it on the substrate you want to transfer the image to. So in this instance you would place the printed page on the blank mouse pad & apply pressure & heat via a heat press. The ink is converted to a gas which is then absorbed by the mouse pad blank. When you remove the paper, the image will have been transferred.

Long story short, the VersaCAMM model you have is not made for sublimation inks. However, Roland does make a sublimation printer (VersaArt RS Series). Check out the Roland site for creative ideas at Roland DGA - Worldwide leader in vinyl cutters, wide-format inkjet printers and printer/cutters, 3d scanners and milling devices and engravers!


----------



## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Versacamm is awesome. Had mine for 7 years. Heads up, no pun intended, the printheads are expensive, 800$ a piece. Depending on the year it has 2-4. If it has been sitting for a while the black channel will be clogged at least. Installed printhead 1250$. So if you needed two then 2500$. Just a word of caution.


----------



## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

Connor you can PM me any actual questions, but the information above could be in conflict with what I tell you. you can visit my web page and everything not embroiderd or lasered was produced on the VC. In short - SP has two heads - the slowest - VP has 4 heads twice as fast as SP, VS has one head with metallic and white options. These machines use EcoSolvent ink and can be used for signs or printable vinyl. So in addition to signs, clothes, you can do canvas, flags, so much more. You can get a nozzle test to see what is going on with the machine, a history report would give you much more details, but you need to know how to read it. I do wraps with mine. So I can wrap all the I's - you just need to know which vinyl to use - as for mats - I heat press some with apparel vinyl for christmas. The machines are workhorses if taken care of and usually have good resell value. After the cost of the machine, the media would be your largest expense and ink will last you a while and full CMYK is about $.30 a cc for OEM ink. So definitely no like a desktop. So in the last 4 years I have not had one bad day with mine. As for direct printing to some of your mentioned items - roland has the versart printer - UV - 30K. Nice but pricey for my pocket, but will accept all gifts.


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Flags, Banners, Decal, Poster, Trade show stuff, ect

OEM ink is actually highest cost in printing, manuf. says 30 cents a foot but you can have jobs double that easily. Media is cheaper 20 to 30 cents here, unless its fabric material or wall vinyl

If you gonna do alot of printing look into 3rd party ink, if not, stick to OEM


----------



## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

A lot of people have good luck with Triangle EDX ink. 
Luv the Versacamm.


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

mrbigjack50 said:


> OEM ink is actually highest cost in printing, manuf. says 30 cents a foot but you can have jobs double that easily. Media is cheaper 20 to 30 cents here, unless its fabric material or wall vinyl


How do you figure it is more than 30 cents per square foot. I ran a 12 inch by 12 inch square at 100% of all CMYK and still only got 32 cents worth of ink in the print. I have tested it wait many profiles and configurations and still the most I ever saw was 32 cents. Not sure how you are calculating it but just throwing numbers out does not work for me. 

Even looking back at ink usage over a 2 week period of heavy use on the printer I averaged 20 cents a square foot - this is over many different medias and print jobs. 

Put some solid data out and we can discuss.

BTW - third party inks can - and I am saying can for Sean as he will debate it - lead to many horrible problems on your printer. Stay safe and stay with OEM.


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

I done jobs for banners and based on cc on versacamm used a ton of ink.
Ink usage will differ on different materials... 

- Yes "some" third party will kill printer, not all, I have only changed one print head in over 4 years and I print a roll or two material a day sometimes. I check head and some heads are over 6 billion shots and working great.


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Just looked at a banner I printed 4' by 5' and used 55cc and in Roland ink more than 30cents a foot : )
Light weight banner material setting, high quality because wanted to get nice rich colors, thank God I ain't sucker spending $120 a cart and only $84 plus free shipping


----------



## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

Connor not to lose track of what you can do - You can do plenty. I stick by my earlier post that ink is the least of your expense. Ink usuage is never based on media used - do you think the machine will know which material you used. Ink usage is based 1st on profile selected and then on whether you pick HQ, Standard, etc. Not all profiles offer those options, but it will be the profiles that determine ink distribution. There are some good third parties ink, and for some highend users with their own techs - it makes sense to use them. But, if you use inks that are not up to the standards - then the damage from the ink misting can destroy lines, electronics, internal parts and so forth. So like many things people have their own experiences and stories and others have facts and interactions with many users with their experiences. Check the web I am sure I will pop up on some other forums with greater detail. It has been my experience that most problems with the printer are user related. I will say that I am not a fan of the V models and some of the newer technology. SP, SPis or their VP equivalent are sureshots.


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

mrbigjack50 said:


> Just looked at a banner I printed 4' by 5' and used 55cc and in Roland ink more than 30cents a foot : )
> Light weight banner material setting, high quality because wanted to get nice rich colors, thank God I ain't sucker spending $120 a cart and only $84 plus free shipping


Must be those third party inks you are using causes more ink to be needed to get good results 

I just went through the job log and can provide a screen shot for anyone that wants to see it and ran down a couple of recent big jobs with heavy ink coverage - using the OEM inks 

4.5 x 12 foot job - 53.12 cc of ink used = 0.98 cc per sqft = 30 cents
4 x 12 foot job - 46.80 cc of ink used = 0.975 cc per sqft = 30 cents
4x8 banner - 12.3 cc of ink (full coverage banner) = 0.38 cc /sqft = about 12 cents

you get the picture. I will be happy to provide excel spreadsheet download AND a screenshot of the job log showing ink usage for anyone that wants it. The excel spreadsheet can be altered but the job log cannot.


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

You wanna tell me my software is botched, i am sure it can't tell weather I use oem or third party
I can send you file and you rip as same setting as me, with same sq ft and if yours is 1/2 cc as mine than I will become a catholic
Unless using lc/lm uses alot more ink than cmky .. as I got an xc running in 6 color


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

mrbigjack50 said:


> You wanna tell me my software is botched, i am sure it can't tell weather I use oem or third party
> I can send you file and you rip as same setting as me, with same sq ft and if yours is 1/2 cc as mine than I will become a catholic
> Unless using lc/lm uses alot more ink than cmky .. as I got an xc running in 6 color


Send away my friend, I have a VP540, Sp300 and a VS300 using 8 color. i will test it on all and show results. I like a challenge 

PM me for a dropbox folder to send the file in. Please also send the excel and screen shot of the job log so we can produce a side by side comparison.


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

file small pm me your email it like 4 meg I think, you got me curious now : )


----------



## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

Hey I am game - Send me a square foot of anything or I will print a square foot of anything - take a picture of the print on my VP540 and a copyof my joblog showing job you name and CCs. Unfortunately I will not beable to report results until this evening but I am game. 

Now with all that - Connor - those damn Roland Printers are monsters and work horses - see if you can get a nozzle test and a history report and I can tell you if you will be having problems at the start.


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

screen shot : )

same setting, screen shot, post them here reminder I am using lm/lc so that may make a slight difference but no way double


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

mrbigjack50 said:


> screen shot : )
> 
> same setting, screen shot, post them here reminder I am using lm/lc so that may make a slight difference but no way double


PM sent

Irv - I will send you the file when I get it.


----------



## IYFGraphics (Sep 28, 2009)

LOL....Conner, while Sean and Steve duke it out over ink costs let me say we own a VP540 and it is the most profitable/reliable machine we own, the SP models print slower than the VP series but are still great printers, the name "workhorse" and "tank" go well when describing Roland printers.

JMHO

Hope this helps.


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Lol. me and steve are tight : ) even though we got our difference in opinion he is a good guy 

Just make sure you got a good tech. and never let someone automatically say you got bad head, I have saved mine a million times, and unless its melting it ain't dead in my opinion.
Thought other day head on cyan was gone, life of head shot what make it seem that way but 2 hours of syringing and cleaning fluid everywhere I rose it from dead


----------



## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

I agree that the tech makes a difference - but it is more important to take care of your machine so the tech is not needed. I have own my machine a little over 3 years, have been a tech for half that time - and have only needed my tech experience once to correct a problem. So I stated what I would need to evaluate - see if you can get those items. I am in NYC - so PM me if you get the results.


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

Well, you heard it here first, I have to eat a bit of crow on this one. While I did not get the levels that Sean did, it was the HIGHEST I have ever seen on any file for ink usage. I have attached the screen shots from both the vs300 (CMYKLcLm) and the VP 540 (CMYK) - not as high as the other but still VERY high ink usage. I am curious as to what in the file caused this. I have huge car wraps with tons of layers and dark colors that are less than half of the ink usage that this one uses.

Sean, you have my apologies on this one! I think we should investigate the files and see why it causes it to go so high though.


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

woohoo. and i had mine set at 720 by 720 not 540 haha

I will say its not common, but with this one client who does 3 to 4 grand a month in printing alot of the stuff I get uses a ton of ink.

Usually ink usage ain't bad, but banners uses alot more ink than vinyl does, I do a full roll a day, I know : )
I hope you kinda see why I b*tch about ink prices, in my opinion, I still pay way to much but it is what it is 

90 percent cheap solvent and 5 percent pigment and 5 percent something else, man they make a killing on the ink.

As a FYI all printer companies loose money selling printers and make money on there ink, why they give you 2 / 3 / 4 year extended warranty so you use there ink.


----------



## purevinyl (Sep 13, 2011)

hi again guys,

have any of you guys had any experience with using this machine to create full colour tshirt prints?

how do you go about doing this?

please share

thanks


----------



## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

Machine does not care what it prints for so it is a matter of which media you are loading. Doing banners - load banner media, doing signs, then sign vinyl - adhesive backing, doing garments use garment media - many available based on feel you looking for. Media comes on rolls so you can print as long as you want - width - 13, 15, 20, 30. So with that said the cautions: if vinyl used is to heavy feels like you are wearing a shield, vinyl to long, will need multiple presses - always tricky, so the machine is very versatile and a good one is a work horse.


----------



## danny95133 (Feb 3, 2011)

My roland SP 300 V need to change new print head . May I know if we can use the Epson printhead DX5 instead of DX 4 to replace the print head for my machine ? Thanks


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

danny95133 said:


> My roland SP 300 V need to change new print head . May I know if we can use the Epson printhead DX5 instead of DX 4 to replace the print head for my machine ? Thanks


I would only recommend using the correct head and getting it from a Roland dealer


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Get head from these guys:
Mimaki, Roland & Mutoh Print Heads and Parts - Solventinkjet.com

Bought a few from them never issue, great price and support.

If you get from Roland prepared to get screwed but paying 500 bucks more for same exact thing.

And yes its true it is a normal Epson dx4 head except manifold is one fitted with a solvent type.
Anyone who says is false is dealer and idiot


----------



## KnytFyre (Aug 2, 2013)

Hello there! 
My workplace just picked up a Roland VersaCamm SP-300. I noticed while looking at this thread that some of you mentioned getting a report on the ink usage. Would one of you be willing to instruct me on how to get this report.
Thanks!


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

KnytFyre said:


> Hello there!
> My workplace just picked up a Roland VersaCamm SP-300. I noticed while looking at this thread that some of you mentioned getting a report on the ink usage. Would one of you be willing to instruct me on how to get this report.
> Thanks!


in the view tab at the top of Versaworks you can select Job Log and it will open another window with the info you are looking for.


----------



## KnytFyre (Aug 2, 2013)

scuba_steve2699 said:


> in the view tab at the top of Versaworks you can select Job Log and it will open another window with the info you are looking for.


Thanks alot, looks like I have more software installation to do, we've be doing our test runs with only ColorRip.


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

KnytFyre said:


> Thanks alot, looks like I have more software installation to do, we've be doing our test runs with only ColorRip.


Def upgrade to Versaworks.


----------

