Cammjet vs. Versacamm

[ff958]

This may not be in the right place, but I was wondering if someone could tell me the difference between these two machines. I know they are both print cut machines but that is about all I know about them.The reason I ask is I am starting to look at adding a good used print cut machine.

[James605]

Honestly I dont know nothing about the CAMMJET but i do know the versacamm is a solid machine...I would think the cammjet would be the same, maybe its just an older model.   I wouldnt hesitate to buy anything from roland

[ff958]

Hi James, nice to hear from you again. The deer and the fish turned out great. I have always heard good things about roland, I just don't know alot about the printing side of the business. I guess I am trying to find out if the cammjet could be used for outdoor printing or if it is only good for indoor stuff, and if it is ok for outdoor use would I be able to use it for car wraps , window perf, etc. I found a cammjet 54" for 2300 that is still in use, and was also just serviced by a roland tech recently.

[James605]

Glad to hear the you liked the decals...I thought they were pretty cool also, snap a pic if you get a chance....

You can get with Fivestar, I know he was looking at printers other than the versacamm when he bought his...He might have some good info, Im sure he will chime in here soon...Wish i could help...

BTW i think they use eco sol inks so they should be good outdoors, only thing i can see is they might be a tad on the slow side...But i bet if you have it set up right (media, heat settings,color profiles, RIP)you cannot tell the difference between a new printer and an old printer...

Go see it, watch it print, look close and see if you think you can sell the quality that its spitting out...

That sounds like a heck of a deal

[HowardI]

The most notable differences I can find is that the Cammjet is no longer in production (I can't find it on Roland's web site any more although they carry supplies for it) and that the Cammjet can use pigment based inks where the versacamm doesn't show that you can use pigment ink.

The Versacamm uses eco-sol inks which are solvent based for vinyl printing but the cammjet uses aqueous inks (it can do 6 color but it's not solvent based).

Howard Irwin
Support Specialist
US Cutter
425-481-3555
888-298-8143
  - Option 2

[fivestar]

The Cammjet can be converted to Eco Solvent Max inks.  That's what I got is a Cammjet.  It is alot slower then the Versacamm but parts are ALOT cheaper then the Versacamm.

[ff958]

Thank you for the info guys.  Fivestar what kinda cost would I be looking at to convert to solvent inks? The one I am loking at is the CJ-500.

FWIW They also said both print heads were replaced just over a year ago.

[James605]

i had a place tell me that too, and it would not print....Tell them you want to see a test print....
Not trying to scare you, just being up front.. you can replace the print head last night and one head strike and it looks like sh*t today...

[fivestar]

http://www.solventprinterconversion.com/ sells the conversion kits for $1995.00 I believe.  Give them a call and talk to Kevin or Dave.  They are very nice people, that's who I got my printer from.  I have the exact same printer/cutter you're looking at except it has been converted to ecosolvent ink and the mainboard has been flashed to an sc model.  

You wouldn't believe the quality of prints this puts out once you get everything adjusted properly.  I have a 2 prints sitting here right now, one was printed on a VP540 and one was printed on mine and you can't tell which was printed on what machine.  

Like I said, the Versacamm does print alot faster, but then again they are like $22,000 for the 54" model

[fivestar]

Yes James is correct, simply get a "test print" from the machine and that'll tell you how good the heads are firing.

[fivestar]

Another nice thing about the Versacamm is you can use Versaworks, whereas with the Cammjet you use Colorchoice unless you have something like Flexi Pro, which is what I use.

[HugoV]

well like Fivestar and Howard said, there are some differences in both performance and quality, plus in both cases you are getting Roland quality.
and with Fivestar's info you should be good to go if you went with the Cammjet.

hope to see your work in here soon once you are up and running

[ff958]

It turns out I am pretty sure the guy was full of Sh*t. I asked if I would be able to come and look at the printer and see it working and he says no, I will have to ship it to you. I tell him I am only about 25 miles from you and I still get the same response. It sure sounds like a scam to me.

If these people would put half as much effort into an honest living I am sure they could make a very good living.

Looks like I am still looking for a printer, but now have a better understanding of what each of these machines will do. Thanks for all the help.

[James605]

i just seen one on ebay for 5k buy it now

[neron15210]

Link, Five  posted earlier has all info you are looking for.I have exact same machine as Five and when you have everything set properly it works like charm. Talking about speed , yes it is slower then new models but ask yourself do you need super speed in this moment.
This machine is great printer cutter combo, easy to maintain and can earn new one if you put it to work.
Mine earn itself in about 3 month (considering I was completely newbie in printing world)
All I can say good luck and try to talk to people from place Five menioned earlier.