# Roland VersaCam Sp-300



## Bttmline (Feb 5, 2008)

Can anyone give me some feedback on this machine. I am considering the purchase of one and wondered if they are all they are cracked up to be. I have a US Cutter and it does Ok but I am wondering if the Roland will help me in the long run?
Tim


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

I have one and cannot say enough good thins about it. It has helped expand my business beyond garments and now I can offer my clients even more like stickers, banners, signs and magnets. Go to Welcome to PrintCutPress.com to learn more about the garment end and feel pree to pm me with anyquestions you have. Hope this helps!


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Three simple words. MONEY MAKING MACHINE!!!


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

Yups.. just like printing money..

I have had mine for almost 2 years now.. the only maintance i had to have to it is changing the blade once.. and a well baby check up (lol) last month that was about 300.00. 
I have the sp54.. which is the 54 inch wide one.. 
The only complaint I have ever heard about the sp300 is that the people that bought one wish they had got the bigger one..


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

yep, I got the sp300 at first, and after 6 months, i bought the sp540. It's a very versatile machine!


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## JPD (Nov 8, 2006)

Sue is right on!! That is our only complaint. We just got done with a large trade show graphic job that really got me educated on what this machine can do. The job came out great and the images are up, as I type this, at the Los Angeles Times Travel Show being held this weekend at the Long Beach Convention Center!! Who would have thought that through one of my t-shirt contacts, I would be doing high quality, trade show banners??!!

Money maker is right!!

Eric


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

The one thing about these machines.. is they do take up room.. i swear ours is huge lol..


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

Eric.. Its amazing how things like this come about.. .. We also deal with a company that makes custom frames.. and we do work for them.. and they do work for us.. We have been doing large photos on the semi gloss paper and they have been mounting them.. Unbelievabe how these things look.. With one of these machines the sky is the limit


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## Screenanator (Feb 14, 2007)

JPD said:


> Sue is right on!! That is our only complaint. We just got done with a large trade show graphic job that really got me educated on what this machine can do. The job came out great and the images are up, as I type this, at the Los Angeles Times Travel Show being held this weekend at the Long Beach Convention Center!! Who would have thought that through one of my t-shirt contacts, I would be doing high quality, trade show banners??!!
> 
> Money maker is right!!
> 
> Eric


Eric....as soon as that VP 540 gets here...I'm gonna be on your heels and bending your ear !!!!Already building my dedicated RIP computer and designing my designated design CPU....Fast baby...FAST !!!!

Congrats on the high profile job.....maybe I'll be rep. Roland next year at Long Beach.....


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

Screenanator said:


> Already building my dedicated RIP computer and designing my designated design CPU....Fast baby...FAST !!!!
> ....


I read on another forum that you got to have the fastest Hardrive that you can afford (RAID or something?), in addition of course to the large RAM. Doing large, "actual size" editing on raster/vector softwares; the RAM alone can't take care of the large file size and so there's a lot of swapping going on with the hardrive.


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## JPD (Nov 8, 2006)

No problem!! Hit me up, because those who know me, know I can TALK!! 

Big Plus on the fast/powerful computer. Because the end products were 30" x 78", the files were huge! We are planning on upgrading one of our computers soon.

Eric


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## Screenanator (Feb 14, 2007)

vctradingcubao said:


> I read on another forum that you got to have the fastest Hardrive that you can afford (RAID or something?), in addition of course to the large RAM. Doing large, "actual size" editing on raster/vector softwares; the RAM alone can't take care of the large file size and so there's a lot of swapping going on with the hardrive.


....signs101.com?.......LOL...I've been watching that thread alot.....either one of those can be built alot more economically than what they are quoting...it's CRAZY the things they are arguing about.Oh well whatever works!!!!...


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## Screenanator (Feb 14, 2007)

JPD said:


> No problem!! Hit me up, because those who know me, know I can TALK!!
> 
> Big Plus on the fast/powerful computer. Because the end products were 30" x 78", the files were huge! We are planning on upgrading one of our computers soon.
> 
> Eric


Ya...I understand that big projects can take up to 10 hours to print !!!!!.....I may have bitten off something huge !!!!


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

When we first got our our versacamm we had all new computers in the shop.. The one i use for t-shirts and the bookwork.. we actually put versaworks on that puter too.. and I distroyed a brand new hard drive.. lol.. because the puter was not powerful enuff.. I mean the computer was like 2 weeks old.. thankfully it was still covered and they came and put in a new drive for free.. and no We now only use the powerhouse computer to work the versacamm.


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## Screenanator (Feb 14, 2007)

mystysue said:


> When we first got our our versacamm we had all new computers in the shop.. The one i use for t-shirts and the bookwork.. we actually put versaworks on that puter too.. and I distroyed a brand new hard drive.. lol.. because the puter was not powerful enuff.. I mean the computer was like 2 weeks old.. thankfully it was still covered and they came and put in a new drive for free.. and no We now only use the powerhouse computer to work the versacamm.


Thanks Susan....thats what I'm trying to avoid.....


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

We tend to build most of our computers like they are gaming computers.. meaning.. good graphics cards.. and loads of ram..

The files at times are so huge that they can take forever even to rip and thats where your problem will come in.. not with the printing.. by then its already to the printer.. its being able to rip the huge files..
If you can imagine what a file at 300 dpi would be that is 4 feet by 20 feet.. It can really take loads of ram.. and we had one banner that took about 45 mins to rip it to the the printer.


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## vctradingcubao (Nov 15, 2006)

Screenanator said:


> ....signs101.com?..........


uksignboards.com, actually. It's not as hyper as signs101, but I like to read signs101 too.


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

i know everyone prices are different but in an average price range what would one need to average a month (meaning banners sold per month) to pay for a lease on one of these babys.


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

2strong.. 
Everyone's lease rates are differant as it really varies.. when we got our versa camm sp540 it cost 18,000 that included extra ink and extra media.. .. In lease shopping we were qouted everywhere from 750.oo a month.. to 450 a month.. so shopping around for a lease is a good idea... (we also have great credit and a business that has been around over 10 years). We also had to send them a list of some of our customers.. lol.. to get the really good rate.. as our customer list is a bit impressive it helped to close a good deal ..
so at the 450 a month.. 
we sell our digital banners at 10.00 a sq foot that includes them being hemmed and grommeted.. and we coat all of our banners with a liquid laminate called clearshield.. 
so a 3 x 10 foot banner would cost the customer 300.oo 
so selling 2 of them would bring in 600.oo.. which more than covers the lease payment.
remember there are other cost involved than just the machine lease payment and ink.
the cost of the media where its really not that much a sq foot but sometimes it can add up when you concider how much comes on a big roll ..
the machine we use to put grommets in cost about 200.oo .. you can do it with a little punch thingie.. but why.. Im a firm believer in having the right tools to do the job right.
The clear shield that we coat the banners with can cost anywhere from 60 a gallon to 90 a gallon.. depending on your supplier.. but it makes the banner really look good and is why we can get top dollar for our banners..

So to make a long answer short.. in our shop we have to sell two 3 x 10 banners to cover all expences and make a little ..

we normally sell on an average between 3 to 5 grand of digital printed material a month (just the things from roland) and have had mnths were we have sold 10.000 worth in one month of banners and printed products from roland.


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

Thank you for that input. i saw them at the great garmet show and fell in love with it and had to walk away or my impulse buying habbit was starting to twitch with excitment. there is so many thing that can be done with that machine it crazy. the thing is i have to make sure i have the cusomers first before i even start. i find myself saying hey i know they need banners all the time but just because they need them dont mean they are going to but from me. but i really want one.


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## Screenanator (Feb 14, 2007)

2STRONG said:


> Thank you for that input. i saw them at the great garmet show and fell in love with it and had to walk away or my impulse buying habbit was starting to twitch with excitment. there is so many thing that can be done with that machine it crazy. the thing is i have to make sure i have the cusomers first before i even start. i find myself saying hey i know they need banners all the time but just because they need them dont mean they are going to but from me. but i really want one.


Well I've been looking at them for a few years...waiting for the right time...and now is that time!!!....so we did at Long Beach...we got the bigger faster VP540 because we know time is money in this game....so now again we are branching out and going into digitally printed media...banners...decals...signs and vehicle wraps.Our machine isnt even here yet....And I've got enough work to coming close to paying for the machine it's self...but we leased....our payment is 600.00 a month.....but the first order I took was 5 grand....so theres almost years worth of lease payments alreadY....good luck!!!!

P.S. We havent even advertised this machine yet...just kept samples that Eric(JPD)and Josh Ellsworth gave me on the counter and mentioned to our established customers we were going to be offering this !!!...they jumped on it !!!!


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

congrats on the purchase. so im assuming you got yours from imprintables. are your prices per sq ft also or did you create your own priceing method. by the way how big is that beast, what king of apace is needed for that thing to run? i am truly jealous!!!


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

2strong..
my machines measures 94.9" wide by 31.5" deep by 51" high.
we have it out from the wall far enuff that we can walk behind it
The rolls of media are so heavy at times.. there is no way to put the rolls on with out getting behind.

I would not use this machine in a smaller room.. even tho is it eco solvent no odors you can smell there is still gonna be some fumes and a room that is good size and has good ventalation is needed.

When we got ours we got it from a local dealer and really prefer it that way.. even tho i think imprintables is great and do purchase things from them. For a piece of equipment this large and this expensive i wanted it to where my tech was close to where my shop is.. When we purchased it.. it was delieverd and set up.. and all my color profiles were checked and taken care of.. and We got about 8 hours training that day and the Tech came back and trained us a few more hours a week or so later..


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

wow that thing is pretty big am i reading that right 94 feet. yes imprintables is a grat place but if i ordered it i would get one from someone close by like you it makes sense. by the way who did you purchase it from.


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

nooo.. 95 inches..lol.. 

I got mine from Ordway in southern calif..
I also get most of my digital media from them as they deliver it same day free..


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

lol i was like holy crap i would need a whole warehouse for that thing!! you got me with the .9"


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## personal2 (Aug 5, 2007)

I too want one but figured that I needed to get the customer base first. I really think that getting it would help me since it does everything. I wouldn't have to say no to small jobs. It is the semi small jobs that have been getting the big jobs. Did anyone get it from a show? I plan on going to one in Baltimore in July. I too almost got one from great garment graphics. With them being able to set it up and train me where I am...I was so close. I get so excited but i had to calm myself down. I have been told that people who start with the smaller one end up upgrading to the 540. I was wondering what do they do with the smaller one? Do they keep it or sell it? If they sell it, where would I go to see posts like that?..I would love to play with it...I too like the idea of just having the samples and going out and getting customers. I did get some from a seminar but haven't done that.


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## lmitch (Mar 12, 2010)

Who has a good and quick jpeg to vector program.


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