3 Signs Your Print Business Has Outgrown Its Current Printer Setup

There is no single "best" wide-format printer. The right machine depends entirely on what you are producing, at what volume, and for which customer. After managing equipment purchases for a mid-sized print service provider for the last five years, I have learned that the most expensive mistake is buying the machine you like instead of the machine your business needs. Here is a breakdown of three common scenarios and which Mutoh—or alternative—fits each one.

Scenario A: The High-Volume Rigid Substrate Shop

If your business revolves around signage, POP displays, and packaging prototypes on rigid materials like acrylic, aluminum composite, or Dibond, you are in the market for a flatbed printer. The Mutoh XpertJet 661UF UV Flatbed Printer is a strong contender here. (Note to self: stop assuming every flatbed is the same. The difference between a UV flatbed and a hybrid printer is night and day.)

I spent three months reviewing user feedback and spec sheets before we pulled the trigger on this unit. What most reviews don't tell you is that the XpertJet 661UF's real strength isn't just print quality—it's the media handling flexibility. The vacuum table offers adjustable zoning, which means you can run a 4x8 sheet of Coroplast one minute and a batch of small, irregular pieces the next without reconfiguring the entire bed.

Here's what I wish someone had told me before we bought our first flatbed: the curing lamps on UV printers degrade over time. The 661UF uses LED-UV curing, which lasts significantly longer than traditional mercury vapor lamps. Based on our service logs (as of Q3 2024), we haven't replaced a single lamp head. That's a maintenance cost we just don't have with the hybrid roll-to-roll units.

Who this is for:

• Print shops processing 50+ rigid sheets per week
• Sign companies producing ADA-compliant signage (the 661UF can print white ink in a single pass)
• Operations where setup time for different substrate sizes is a bottleneck

Scenario B: The Garment Decoration Specialist

The direct-to-film (DTF) and direct-to-garment (DTG) market has exploded. If your customers are asking for full-color prints on dark polyester jerseys or blended fabrics, you need a dedicated solution. The Mutoh ValueJet 1638UH Mark II Garment Printer is one option. However, I want to talk about the Werx DTF Printer, because it represents a critical fork in the road for many shops.

Smaller DTF printer companies have flooded the market with entry-level machines for under $5,000. They are tempting. The technology works—mostly. But here is the hidden cost: reliability. The Werx DTF printer, for example, is a production-grade unit. It costs more upfront, but the printhead life is significantly longer. (I still kick myself for not budgeting for a higher-end DTF solution our first year. We bought a budget unit that required a new printhead every 400 hours. We ate $1,800 in replacement costs before we sold it.)

If you are comparing DTF printer companies, look at their warranty terms for the printhead specifically. Many budget companies offer a 3-month warranty. Mutoh offers a 12-month warranty on the ValueJet 1638UH Mark II. That tells you something about their confidence in the hardware.

Who this is for:

• Shops producing 200+ prints per day
• Businesses printing on 100% polyester or high-stretch fabrics
• Operations where machine downtime is a direct revenue loss (not just an inconvenience)

Scenario C: The On-Site Sign Maker (Avoid the Hype)

This is the trap scenario. You see a handheld portable inkjet printer at a trade show and think, "Perfect! We can print on-site at the customer's facility without bringing a 400lb machine."

Stop. Just stop.

Handheld portable inkjet printers are excellent for one thing: printing serial numbers, lot codes, and dates on boxes in a warehouse. They are not for signage. The print quality is inconsistent. The ink dries before it hits some surfaces. The movement speed has to be perfectly constant. I 'dodged a bullet' on this one when my production manager pointed out that our client's expectations for a 4-foot banner would never be met by a hand-held device. We almost bought one for a client demo.

If you need mobile printing, buy a small flatbed and a van. It is more work, but the output is professional. There is no shortcut to quality. Period.

How To Decide Which Scenario Fits You

Look at your last 30 orders. Ask yourself three questions:

1. What material dominated? If 20 of those 30 orders were on rigid substrates, you are Scenario A. If they were on textile, you are Scenario B.
2. What was the average order value? High-value, complex jobs demand the reliability of a Mutoh or a production-grade Werx. Low-value, high-volume jobs (like standard banner printing) might be fine with a mid-range hybrid.
3. What is your tolerance for rework? If a ruined 4x8 sheet of aluminum means a $500 loss, buy the machine that minimizes defects (Scenario A).

There is no universal solution. But if you can identify whether you are a rigid specialist, a garment specialist, or a generalist trying to do everything with one machine, you will know exactly which path to take.