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  1. #11
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    Re: Printing Postcards

    Quote Originally Posted by TonerMunkeh View Post
    Best machine for this will probably be an MPC6000 or similar with the cards being fed from the bypass. That way, the paper path is straight through the machine with no turnarounds. It'll be much faster too.
    I shall enquire about that machine - thanks. It's not so much the thickness of the paper i'm concerned about, but the shinyness of it. I've seen what happens when you put photo paper through the machines and it's not pretty!

  2. #12
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    Re: Printing Postcards

    I wouldn't go that route. That machine is only rated for coated paper through the LCT with air assist turned on. DO NOT TRY THIS WITHOUT THE LCT. I have a church that tried this. Sure it works for a while then fails later on down the line and the only thing we could do was to walk in and tell them to buy the LCT. Once that happened problems went away. You can try the new C651 which basically replaced that machine but its more expensive. The other problem with the C6000 is the duplex only supports I believe 136 g/m2 so don't expect to print on both sides with any reliability. If your going to print that stuff you need a machine that can actually handle it well.

  3. #13
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    Re: Printing Postcards

    Thanks wfinn.

    What is an LCT, (not heard of that before) and what does it do?

    It is possible to put something through the machine twice though on the bypass? Print the front then put through to print the back? (Forgive me if this is an unmentionable thing to do!!)

  4. #14
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    Re: Printing Postcards

    Quote Originally Posted by Samantha View Post
    Thanks wfinn.

    What is an LCT, (not heard of that before) and what does it do?

    It is possible to put something through the machine twice though on the bypass? Print the front then put through to print the back? (Forgive me if this is an unmentionable thing to do!!)
    If you find paper rated for the right machine then yes you can. Its actually LCIT sorry, large capacity input tray which sits beside that machine and for that model for coated paper you have to use the LCIT with the air assist. It has turbine fans on two sides of the paper to lift the sheets off each other and feed in better. I would have to have the paper specs to let you know if it could run in a machine like that.

    If its something you are going to do a lot or run a variety of stocks then you really need to go with more of a production machine like the C651 or C901 which these machines are made for this. They have the Fiery which is basically a color matching device, the machines have paper libraries which allows you to customize the machine in almost every way to try and run as many different kinds of papers as possible, they can print on different thicknesses without slowing down like the C6000 would. Printing coated paper on the right settings on a C6000 series almost cuts the speed in half or more.

    I work with lots of churches and print shops using many types of a paper on different machines. PM me with more details on the paper or what you want to do with the machine in general.

    ADDON: The LCIT that is needed for coated paper actually replaces the bypass tray and yes you can print one side, flip then the other.
    Last edited by wfinn; 10-20-2011 at 03:00 PM. Reason: ADDON info

  5. #15
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    Re: Printing Postcards

    My two cents...

    Contradicting what everybody else is saying or hasn't said...don't use copier or printer, even the "production" lines to produce postcards.

    Several reasons:

    1. None of these machines were truly made to handle such thick paper. Even the production lines that konica minolta, ricoh, and canon make. The fact is even if you can run the card stock many parts will wear out prematurely.

    2. Postcards printed on digital devices are inferior to offset press printed postcards. I love laser devices but the manufacturers are bs'ing everybody when they try and call their products presses. Presses still are in many regards superior for specialty printing work. There's a reason why true presses are used to print on things as thick as corrugated boxes and why some presses run into the millions. No one will ever buy a laser device priced at near a million dollars.

    3. There's a reason cardstock printed on a press works better. First of all the ink. The ink has no wax component and bonds differently to the paper compared to toner. This makes the ink more stable and permanent.

    4. The second point of why postcards printed on a press are better is because of the coating options. Especially when doing full color postcards, I recommend UV coating on at least one side. This further protects the printing and makes the colors outstanding.

    5. If you're mailing these postcards, definitely go with a true press. Why? Because toner based printing rubs off when the cards go through the USPS's high speed sorting equipment. I've seen it many times, from cards printed b/w on a 20ppm or less machine to a full color card printed on a KM 8000 press...the cards get messed up going through the sorting equipment.

    6. Unless you're doing like a dozen or so postcards, offset press can actually be less expensive.

    7. A printing firm and/or mail house can take the printed cards and add variable data to them.

    So until the "inks" on laser devices change, postcards should be done on presses...but change the "ink" on a copier/printer and what will you have?

  6. #16
    Service Manager 1,000+ Posts Polarbear's Avatar
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    Re: Printing Postcards

    I agree with the comment about the MPC6000, because the straiter the paper path, the less chance that your print will be misfed or damaged in any way.

    Gloss or "shiny" paper is another nightmare altogether. Some gloss papers produce a residue when fed through a laser printer and this seems to be rather abrasive on colour drums.

    About the only machine that comes to mind that will do this without too much hassle is a Textronix Phaser, that uses dye sublimation printing (with wax blocks) and not toner or ink. It is also less likely to produce banding on detail prints, as Ricoh/Gestetner/Savin machines are designed for what is called business colour - and not something that you can compare to lithography for instance. It is also a bit more resistant to friction damage: what I mean by this is rubbing against the image, which in some cases causes the toner to come off the page or distort the image.

    Question: Do you know the weight of the card stock?

    In my opinion you are looking for trouble printing heavy + glossy card stock through a 3235c

    Lastly, thicker paper also prints slower, as the machine needs more time to get the toner into the paper (in the fusing unit) so remember that as soon as you set any of the THICK paper settings the machine's ppm will drop considerably because of this.

  7. #17
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    Re: Printing Postcards

    The MPC6000 might handle the paper but the engine is a POS (print quality and reliable - wise) and probably way above the price and volume region the thread starter is looking for. Every MPC6000 better should have sold with a tent for the technician.

    I don't know what kind of image (text, photos, graphics?) will be printed on the cards but I'd go with a better inkjet (like HP Designjet) for quality prints. The MPC4500 that has been mentioned is a good machine for most purposes and should also handle color-laser certified thick mediums as well, but there's no way to satisfy serious quality demandings with color laser MFCs. IF the demanings aren't overdemanding, this might be even a good machine.

    So finally I'd probably recommend a professional inkjet printer or - as a plan b for high volume needs - find an external print shop that does the job with professional offset machines.

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