Which Print Production Press to Buy?

[muminn]

Hello there,

At last, I thinking about to open my own shop. I was in printing industry for 10 years, and probably my orientation will be for a Cut Sheet Digital Press.

I will work myself and i will looking for a Digital press with perfect quality(offset based) and for short run printing, such as: Art Galeries catalogues, Corporate Brochures, Different Colored and tonal Booklets, etc.

I would like to ask anyone who has experience with those machines, pro's and con's:

1. Konica Minolta - bizhub PRO C65hc
2. Kodak Nexpress2100
3. Hp Indigo 3000, 5500 or 7000
4. Xerox iGen4 - No thanks!
5. Heidelberg
6. Canon

Waiting for your advice,

Regards,

 

[ddigen3]

Hello muminn-

I operate an iGen3 and have printed a handful of art gallery prints, including photographs & paintings. The strong points are:
> control of color (profiles or curve adjustments)
> several line screens to choose from (150, 175, 200 & 300) & you can assign them individually to text, artwork, and photographs!
> color registration (its always perfect!)
> printing speed & toner adhesion
> solid black at 100% K
> PANTONE certified & prints them far more appealing than an offset build of CMYK.
> ITS A GREEN PRESS! so you help the environment too.
> Minimal maintenance. 99%+ uptime.


The biggest pain about the press is in regards to the service agreement with Xerox. They've been making some corporate "changes" due to the economy, so it can be a challenge at times to get expedient help. They're usually on top of it, and do a great job when you get a hold of them, though.

I hope this helps.

-Solomon