# Has anyone used sam ink for their roland versacamm?



## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

I am just wanting to see if anyone has used sam-ink for their versacamms and if so how did it work out. They said it is an exact match but wanted to see if anyone has tried it

Much cheaper than Roland, I know anajet has started price matching since everyone was going somewhere else for ink so just curious as to this ink for the versacamm.

Saw them at the NBM show a couple of weeks ago

Thanks
Teresa


----------



## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

Nothing but Roland ink going to go through my versacamm.


----------



## protech cnc (Nov 13, 2010)

theflowerboxx said:


> Nothing but Roland ink going to go through my versacamm.


 

good call....you get what you pay for


----------



## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

I don't either but was curious because it is half the price and they swear it is the same formula and it says that if their inks cause any problems they will pay to have it fixed because they are 100% sure it won't.

I only asked because now anajet has dropped their price to the other company prices because everyone started using the other inks so I thought maybe the same for Roland.

Won't try until I hear some good things about them then

Thanks for the replies

Teresa


----------



## stix (Feb 3, 2008)

I heard of people using Image Specialist for the Rolands with no issues.


----------



## protech cnc (Nov 13, 2010)

i have seen some nasty stuff happen with third party inks......some work well for a while......roland inks are matched to roland machines.

i dont like drama


----------



## johnbol1 (Aug 19, 2010)

They guy in our print dept changed inks about 2 years ago after some rep gave him the money saving hype...never again, they were too aggressive and clogged the lines also rotted the dampers or something, cost us $1800 for Roland to come out and fix ...Roland all the way ever since, not 1 problem.


----------



## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

stix said:


> I heard of people using Image Specialist for the Rolands with no issues.


 That is what I used when I had my CJ-500 but that was a little different machine than my VP-540.


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

Use Roland inks unless you want headaches and drama. Cannot tell you how many times we have serviced a machine that needed major overhaul for damage caused by inks that the sales person said were identical to Roland and gave major savings. Aside from the damage, you will need to re profile for everything as the gamut output is different and your profiles will not print correctly. Sum it up to say - it's not worth the headache!


----------



## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

Have never tried anything else, actually just purchase 3 roland cartridges but thought it was interesting. Guess I will stick with what I have been using. Roland inks .

Thanks for all the responses, they had a lot of people at their booth and said they were better with the scratch resistent stuff

Thanks again


----------



## printchic (Apr 3, 2006)

I would say it's not worth it to use other inks to save a few $$$ and risk possible repair bills. 

I know I tried years ago to use a compatible ink in my inkjet. I bought 2 sets. The first one I put in started leaking ink out of the cartridge once I installed it. I took that one out and installed the 2nd one. Shortly there after it clogged the head and would work. I had to buy an completely new machine.

I also had a laser printer that I purchased toner for. I thought I was purchasing the manufacturer's toner but somehow when it cam eit was a compatible. I was pressed to do a job so I went ahead and put it in anyway as I didn't have the time to send it back and get a refund. It worked for a while in my machine then suddenly my machine stopped working. Toner was everywhere inside my machine. The laser printer printed the most professional looking printouts and now it's dead. I will need to have it repaired (cleaned out) to get it back up running again but since it's old I will probably just sell it for parts. Cost for the repair is about $700 to $1500 just because I put in a bargain toner.

From those 2 incidents I will not risk putting anything in my machines but the original inks. I have a brother gt-541 and a versacamm and will "never" consider putting anything in them but the original inks. The printers I had go bad were worth $500 to $4000 and they both were rendered useless trying to save a few $$$. 

I would recommend not risking it on your versacamm which is a $10,000+ investment (depending on what model you have). If you are not making enough $$$ using the original inks maybe you can find other avenues to make sales with your machine instead of trying to cut costs by buying 3rd party inks.

Just my 2-cents


----------



## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies, I have never used any inks other than roland brother and anajet but was just curious after seeing that company at a booth in Indiana. I will not use any other inks in my machine but just wanted some feedback.

Thanks again for all the replies

Teresa


----------



## MapleImage (Nov 4, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I'm in Canada and using Samink for 2.5 years on my Hp solvent 9000s and love it . No problem and I can tell it works better than OEM HP... and I did start using Sam ink for Roland over 6 month so far so good.
I do trust samink.ca


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Haven't used it but heard good things about it, I think the are Japanese or Korean based company.
I been using Bordeux ink for 3 years and zero print head related issues, all issues I have had was due to cheap lemon components Roland puts out.

I save 1 or 2 grand in ink a month so well worth saving, also I get way way better greys, they aren't purple or green like Roland inks and your prints won't fade after a year.
Roland inks would scuff if you used a paper towel or got a drop of alcohol on it.

If you choose right third party ink, you will be very happy, don't forget, manuf. first of all don't make there own ink usually and have a "third party" to develop it for them, just like most of parts in your Roland is made by a third party, trust me, I seen alot of parts and how they have been rebelled.

Ironically, first time I ever had issue with printer was because of "Roland ink" says alot about OEM


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

mrbigjack50 said:


> Haven't used it but heard good things about it, I think the are Japanese or Korean based company.
> I been using Bordeux ink for 3 years and zero print head related issues, all issues I have had was due to cheap lemon components Roland puts out.
> 
> I save 1 or 2 grand in ink a month so well worth saving, also I get way way better greys, they aren't purple or green like Roland inks and your prints won't fade after a year.
> ...



Do we really need to go over this again?

I will refer to an earlier thread where you bashed Roland and I had to remind you of your choices and your past history.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/vinyl-signs-decals/t165691.html


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Do I have to remind you Steve that a sensor reader went bad after 3 weeks?
That a belt pully went bad after 1200 hours or a belt fell apart on me?

Sorry but I am stating true "real world facts" I ain't gonna sugar coat anything and look misleading.
Just as a FYI, you wanna go down that ink bad BS, a few of my caps hadn't need changing in almost four years, sorry inks are sooo good that I didn't need to change for 4 year but oh wait.. Roland says I should change every 6 month.

Soo oh please tell me how my POS inks you refer to makes parts last longer??

I can right now take a print I got kicking around for 3.5 years ago with roland ink take paper towel and see how awesome inks are.

$85 for a 440 plus free shipping Vs $130 and factor in I almost go though (2) 440 a day sometimes

Another side note, my tech said after 9 years of working on Roland machine mine was worse case he ever seen, and he seen machines in shops that do printer on two shifts with third party inks.
So if you don't know the reality of my case than save me the stories.


----------



## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

mrbigjack50 said:


> Do I have to remind you Steve that a sensor reader went bad after 3 weeks?
> That a belt pully went bad after 1200 hours or a belt fell apart on me?
> 
> Sorry but I am stating true "real world facts" I ain't gonna sugar coat anything and look misleading.
> ...


I am just reminding you of the inconsistencies of your posts and how you choose when you like something and when you do not. Do not blame Roland for bad tech support on your dealers end or parts etc. I feel you should point the finger at them and not Roland.


----------



## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Believe me, I know my tech are knuckle heads, but they did call Roland many times about issues I had and Roland said, oh change this, change that ect.
And do you think when I had wrong this changed Roland manned up and said oh whoops, sorry for false advise, let us take care of you..

I use to love my machine, I really did, but please understand, when someone goes through hell I gone through, do you think I am gonna be cheerful about my ordeal? 

If I was in your shoes that machine wouldn't break down in 6 years than yes I be backing up a reputable company, hell my Brother printer has been a champ 3 years and not a single issue, but with my Roland I am scared to walk in room and have it fail for no apparent reason.

As angry as I am with company, many points I make are very true, like there ink really really is fragile, I remember if alcohol touching OEM it would take it right off and the other day I accidently spelled 91% alcohol on a decal job, didn't notice I did for abit, until smell hit me and grabbed it whipped off with no harm done.

Also, I use same exact profiles, i'd use with OEM and I get much better grey scale prints without killing myself to mess with profile.

Lastly, If a manuf. doesn't make most of parts in there machine, or has them relabeled, am I to believe there ink is made by them? I ain't positive but pretty damn sure inks are made by Epson or Seiko whatever, because I bet Epson made proper ink formula to properly work with Epson head rank voltage. Once I open up a Roland ink and bladder was made by Epson but had masking tape covering logo.

At end of day, did or has my Roland made me alot of money and done good print work? Answer is Yes, ofcourse, clients been extremely happen with output, a few corks here in there but mostly extremely happy, but machine is by far not flawless, as nothing in life is I know, but I have had an unfortunate time with machine.
I am not only one though, I know other who have had many issues too, and they only ran OEM so wasn't ink.


----------

