Ryobi 3304di

[Jimmyha]

Hello Friends,

Does anybody have experience about RYOBI 3304DI? this type of press is better than normal offset? Pls give me comment.

Thanks
Jimmy

 

[ziggy33]

Good press, but the press is only as good as its operator

 

[OkiTech]

I was told once by Ryobi tech - wanna go fancy get a DI want to pump the work buy 3304 HA with console and nice plate maker

 

[ziggy33]

Get a DI if you don't care for top quality

 

[Jimmyha]

Hi Ziggy33,

Why you told Dont care about top quality? I think waterless printing should be nice than west printing right. I worry the DI type have many problem there if. pls give me avise about it.

 

[ziggy33]

It's gonna cost more to maintain it cuz you'll have to have a tech every time compared to the HA where you can service some things yourself

 

[OkiTech]

Hi. Is situation really so bad? Our closest competitor owned a DI for years and just replaced it with brand new one. I don't think they would do that if experience of having it would be so bad. We had given them a few emergency orders to print and besides few hickeys it was not bad at all... I mean it does have it's limitations as pretty much every press in some way but it is about pros and cons. Say - no additional platemaking device which leads to one less person on the payroll, sure it has to be maintained so is every other press, I maintain my own presses, we don't have anything fancy but I spend less than $1000 a year on outside services. Basically everything is service manual if you're willing to read, understand and get your hands dirty a little...

 

[mc8305]

There is no need to call a tech to fix a DI, why? it's not more complicated than a 3304HA... Only if you are tempted to buy a $ervice contract from Pre$$tek then it will cost you! The 3304DI is not the fastest machine in the world (7000 iph) but it will produce HIGH quality work day in and day out, and that with a minimum of operator intervention and with less skilled operator too! Regarding the quality: Take out the old microscope and compare traditionel vs. DI/Waterless that will show you something!

 

[ziggy33]

You'll never get an offset pressman like myself to ever consider DI to be anything but a glorified laser jet printer

 

[mc8305]

You'll never get an offset pressman like myself to ever consider DI to be anything but a glorified laser jet printer

Ziggy33, you are absolutly not right! Yes a 3304HA with a good operator who knows the specific machine will run circles around the DI, but the DI has got it's place in the mix! Copy shops going in to offset, shops with unskilled labour and so on. We got both DI and conventionel offset in our shop and we just love the quality and ease of operation of the DI. Regarding quality: Have you ever seen the screening from a conventionel vs. a waterless DI in a microscope? To call it a glorified laser jet is not serious. Have you ever operated one?

 

[ziggy33]

For one you don't operate a DI you stand by it and watch it while pickin your ***, only thing good about them is the short run full color. I have stood by a couple one guy was very enthusiastic about how great his new DI was that he had purchased a year ago and I was not impressed at all plus he showed me one of his cheaper service calls let me just say it was not pretty. I'm a real pressman and i will argue all day about the digital garbage

 

[FFR428]

I ran a 3304 DI for almost a year. I came off a 5 color Komori right before I ran the DI (different shop). Being a old 3302 guy I found the DI pretty nice press to run. It takes time (like 20 min) to image the plates so I had a nice break between runs where I'd normally hang plates and go on the Komori. Waterless printing was ok to me. Just add ink and go. The inks are thick and the chilled fountian rollers add to it. And the inks do skin quickly so you need to do a nice washup to avoid hickeys. It was no Komori but it was a pleasant press to run. Image fit was what it was as there's no adjustment there other than blanket tension. So you got the best fit you could and thats all she wrote. When the room temps were hot you'd sometimes have problems with scumming if the inks thinned out too much. So tack increaser was the fix. For a small shop doing 4/4 runs 10k and under it's a nice press. The dots enlarge on those plates as they wear. So as the run went on I'd slowly need to back off on color to maintain correct color. That took a little getting used to. You still need to know color and how to run a press so it's not so much a copier to me. Just a digital press LOL.

 

[FFR428]

Oh just to add 1 roll of film for the press was about $250 x's 4 = $1000 for 4 rolls and you had about 64+ plates or so out of each roll with takeup more or less. This was about 7 years ago and Presstek was the only game in town for film. Might be more or less now or new vendors that sell film I dunno. I didn't pay the bills, was just a working stiff. It would lay down a nice full solid on 12x18 sheet running portrait. That was pretty impressive. Did a lot of 8 color work 4/4 plus pms and gloss/dull spot varnish. It's only as good as the guy running it.

 

[FSA]

JimmyHa
The DI is a good presss for short run 4/4. The plate rolls that i've used are only 28 plates per, a/c in the building no issues with heat. If you store plates to reuse, well that won't be it's new every time with the DI. In the long run you have to buget for more that one plate, and how long the plate last,depends on the age of the rollers and type of stock, clean and smooth or full of crap causes it's cheap.I'v run them both 3304 H or The DI, they both print good, just don't try and say they print as good as the Heidelberg 102 CD or SM, every machine has it's place. The bean counter says it's a money maker, and that why we work.
Good Luck
FSA

 

[FFR428]

FSA thanks for the plate count correction. I'm sure that's what it was. Thanks.

 

[Jimmyha]

Hi Friends,

Thanks for your all comment, it's very helpful with us.

For the operater, do we need the pressman with more experience skill to operate this press? Do we need keep spare part in stock to replace when some one there broken, what is major of Spare part need replace time by time? do you know about longevity of two imaging heads of this press? how long time or how many plate maker we will need to change Imaging heads? The RIP easy to use?

Thanks you somuch for your advise
Jimmy

 

[mc8305]

Hi Jimmy,

An experienced pressman will perform better, but i have seen totally inexperienced non pressman operate the machine with a minimum of instruction.
Just be sure to get one with densitometer control. I am not able to tell you which sparepart to store we haven't changed anything on ours, except rollers.
In my experience 2001 - 2003 presses (with the old style imaging head) tend to have a little bit weaker laseres than the newer ones. I have changed a few of them but not a single one after year 2003 of manufactoring. How easy the RIP is to use, depends on the model. You ae welcome to contact me at mutti8000@yahoo.dk if you want further information.

 

[Litho]

Jimmy-

We've had our Di for over 3 years now and besides changing out our rollers, which is part of your overall maint, we haven't had any major issues. I don't stock any parts but the one thing i had go on me a few times is the chain on the feeder table, and that is an easy fix. The more experience you have in printing the more productivity you will get out of it, esp knowing the 4/c process however overall this press is relatively easy to pick up and operate (I taught my boss how to run it in a crash course when i went on my honeymoon). We use this press for any and everything we can think of 4/4, 4/6, spots, metallic, varnishes, various envelope printing, it gives us fantastic quality. Our typical runs are 15k to 35k, with occasional 75k+ hits and besides a plate wearing out here and there it handles those fine with minimal down time on turns. The PDS-E system is great, but don't rely solely on that to manage your color, that's where experience comes in. Change overs and make readys are pretty much non existent when you get your curves dialed in. We have the latest Momentum RIP, pre-press has no issues using it. Imaging heads have plenty of power, no issues with the diodes burning out or weakening substantially but that does happen (recently the shop across town had to replace both units in the 1st tower) As long as you just keep up on your zone maintenance to keep the plates burning evenly there is less of a chance it will happen. Its a great press, but like any press its only as good as the operator!

 

[Jimmyha]

Hi Litho,

You are great pressman, thanks for your truely help.

Does is your boss have skill in offset press? and after you train him then we can do it well? About the Rollers if 3404DI, this rollers can use for UV Waterless printing? because I know that this press have option for UV curing unit. Our press have RIP :RIP for Ryobi 3404DI SV770 Specifications
Software RIP: Harlequin ScriptWorks. This RIP is ok for our best imaging?

Where we can buy Momentum RIP? how much it cost?

Thanks
Jimmy

 

[Jimmyha]

Hi MC8305,

Thanks for your advise, I will contact you soon.

Thanks
Jimmy