Roland Versacamm Buying Decisions
When researching and deciding whether or not to invest in the Versacamm you’ll be faced with a few initial decisions. What size of Versacamm do I need – 30″ wide or 54″? And do I really need the VP series Versacamm or will the SP series be just fine? Well unfortunately, I don’t have the right answer for everyone because it really depends on your type of business, but I can review some of the selling points of each.
Let’s start by discussing the size of the printer/cutter:
Which one should I buy? While the pricing differs between each size of printer/cutter, it really comes down to whether or not any of your applications will warrant the extra investment and larger size. Most garment decorators find the 30″ unit to be more than enough printable area. Most printable medias come in either 15″, 24″ or 30″ wide so the 30″ model will accomodate this just fine. However, businesses wanting to do signs and/or banners with the Versacamm should strongly consider the 54″ size as it is heralded by many signmakers as a wise investment. Regardless of which way you go with this, each size of Versacamm has hundreds of uses.
Now, let’s compare the major differences between the two different series of Versacamms.
The series options are either: SP or VP.
The 3 major differences between the SP & VP series Versacamm’s are:
Price, Warranty & Printing Speed
List Pricing:
SP300v = $10,995 vs VP300v = $14,995
SP540v = $16,995 vs VP540v = $19,995
Warranty: The VP series carries a 2 year warranty whereas the SP offers a one year.
Max Printing Speed: (Cutting speed is equal on both series’)
- 360 x 720DPI / SP = 66 sqft/hr / VP = 106 sqft/hr
- 720 x 720DPI / SP = 32.8 sqft/hr / VP = 56 sqft/hr
- 720 x 1440DPI / SP = 18.7 sqft/hr / VP= 30 sqft/hr
- 1080 x 1080DPI / SP = 15.4 sqft/hr / VP = 32 sqft/hr
Using as an example the most commonly used dpi for heat transfer medias, 360 x 720dpi, the VP model is 38% faster.
For example, if you had a job for 100 4 x 4″ designs to be printed, the VP would print these in 6 minutes and 20 seconds. The SP would take about 10 minutes and 5 seconds for the same job.
If you printed straight for an 8 hour shift the SP would pump out 4,752 – 4 x 4″ designs whereas the VP would produce 7,632.
It’s up to you to decide whether your volume warrants the investment. For most heat transfer users the SP does a fine job. However, if you plan to do signs which require larger graphics, speed will be more of a necessity.
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You have just completed another segment in my Versacamm series. I plan to elaborate on the Versacamm over the next couple of weeks and cap the series with a video and photos showing some results that I have made. If you have anything to contribute on this topic or would like to write an article for this blog, please feel free to email me at josh@imprintableswarehous.com
Also, I am willing to send samples to folks interested in the Versacamm. Drop me an email. Of course, I can provide a quote on the Versacamm as well, if you wish to purchase as a result of following this series.
Questions: 1-800-347-0068 x.236 or ask for Josh / josh@imprintableswarehouse.com
