Printer Review: Seiko ColorPainter 64S(1)
When it finally came time for The Sign Factory to purchase a wide-format printer, the decision had been a long time in coming. Founded in 1982, the wholesale, custom electric sign manufacturer based in Houston, TX was no stranger to the technology—even though they had never owned a wide-format digital printer previously.
“For the past eight to ten years, ever since the first introduction of water-based wide-format inkjet printers, we’ve been looking at them,” says Al Roberts, founder and president of The Sign Factory. “In our line of work and with the requirement for our products to be displayed outdoors, the water-based inkjet printers wouldn’t work. Most of the prints would end up fading within days.”
Instead, Roberts says that the company focused on other sign equipment during that time—using pressure-sensitive vinyl and some of the Gerber machines. Additionally, the Fargo thermal foil printer allowed the shop to do small logos on lighted signs which, according to Roberts, helped get them into digital, even if it was on a small basis.
Roberts, though, did not give up in his search. Every six months, he’d review the offerings from the inkjet printer manufacturers, waiting until the machines improved.
