Starter HP Indigo 5000 questions

[sbleed]

My company is purchasing an Indigo 5000, which I am to care for like a baby. I have a few questions to get me started. Any advice is helpful as it has been 10 years since I ran an Indigo, and even then I was kept in the dark about a lot of its maintenance. I'll be running an average of 80,000 clicks per month, so about 20,000 sheets.
All questions are referring to a monthly period.
So here we go:

1. How much imaging oil will I be going through?
2. How often will the blankets need changing?
3. How many pips will I go through?
4. How much liquid toner will I be using(including violet, and orange)?
5. How often should the scorotrons be changed?
6. How often do I need to use the calibration ink?
7. Can I store the calibration cans after use, or are they shot after one use?

That's about all I can think of for now. The company I work for isn't willing to shell out the money for the Indigo training classes, so I'll probably be on here asking many more questions. I really appreciate any advice I can get. And Thank you in advance.

 

[FFR428]

New press or old? The new ones recycle the imaging oil with much less consumption that the older presses. Blanket and pips will show the normal life in the consumables windows. But it depends on the substrates and types of jobs you run. Uncoated stock beats the blankets up a bit more as will running many different size sheets. Like 11x17 to 12x18 to 13x19. On average you should meet the expected life cycles of each. But there are always exceptions. Ink use again depends on job runs and coverage. Not sure of the new 5000 has EPM mode (CMY) but it's a nice feature. Violet, green and orange are upgrade options and pretty expensive to add on if not with the press already. Scoretron grids and corona wire, I change the grids when I change the wire bobbins. You can use them longer but they are no cost comsumables under contract. Same with the wiper blades, new pip, new blade. I don't flip them and use all 4 edges like suggested. I used to but they sometimes scratch the image anyway. So I'll flip it once then use a new one next time. Calibration cans are used when you rebuild the inks. One shot deals to get your density and conductivity to spec. Then you add your regular ink cans after they run out. We have a new 5600 and the classes were part of the deal. Level 1 op training is pretty basic stuff but the level 2 shared maint class gets more advanced. Depending on your skill and comfort level it might be worth their time to send you. New presses can have a few bugs to be worked out. QC isn't what it used to be. But overall decent machines. The little videos show you step by step how to do things as do the manuals. There's also the live chat and camera thing besides the basic phone tech and support. When your service tech comes in keep a list of things to ask and have him show you. They are very helpful. Keep a good supply of consumables on hand and you can request extra's of things. But they might require approval. I've had no issues if I run very low on things and need more than the basic quota. Good luck!

 

[sbleed]

Thank you for the in depth reply. It's a used press. Though, not use very much which is why they sold it. After going through the installation we found that the previous operator did not take for care of the machine. I'm having to clean everything, and replace all crucial components. It's been a taxing week, but we finally got it up and running. I'm looking forward to bringing this machine back from the grave, and making it an efficient device again. Idk how an indigo on a service contract could've been so abused.