• Flatbed Facts Home
• Flatbed vs. Combination Printers
• Print Speed vs. Production Speed
• Evaluating Print Quality
• Defining Productivity
• Ink Performance & Economics
• Calculating Operating Costs & ROI
• Validation from the Field

Flatbed vs. Combination Printers

• The speed that combination printers produce rigid material in register and at an acceptable quality is far lower than their quoted speeds. Read more
• The market price for graphics printed onto roll stock is generally significantly less than graphics printed onto rigid materials. See example.
• Combination printers typically are not capable of printing multiple sheets in one print cycle / run, while a true flatbed printer is designed specifically for this function. Learn more.
• The cost of output on a combination printer for roll work is significantly higher than a dedicated solvent roll printer. See why.
• Combination units, due to the nature of their design and feed systems, have difficulty consistently handling thin gauge materials and holding print registration. Learn more.

A dedicated flatbed printer is designed to enable the printer to produce multiple prints in a single print cycle/run.

Demonstration Proof Point: Before you make an investment in a dedicated flatbed or a combination printer, make sure you:

• Test rigid materials of varying thicknesses
• Time the loading and unloading of rigid material
• Observe how well they print in register
• Count the steps necessary to achieve register
• Quantify the change-over procedure between rigid stock of varying dimensions
• Produce multiple prints of the same image to observe how well the printer maintains register and quality over a long print run.