Roland recently posted a story about a small home-based decal printer.
The point of the story was to tell how a hobby had evolved into a business using a Roland DG VersaStudio BN-20 desktop printer/cutter. And later, as the business grew, a Roland DG TrueVis SG2-300 printer/cutter was added. They explained how a printer/cutter combination in both machines saves space, how the equipment is efficient and easy to use, and the machines are easily maintained.
But while those are all good reasons to use Roland equipment, the article included a point that should be a consideration for any print shop regardless of size and regardless of the type of equipment. And that is that it makes sense when expanding operations to stick with the brand of equipment you already have. As the article pointed out, “Having two printers made by the same manufacturer shortened the learning curve for us and has made servicing easier.”
This is not a new concept. I’ve seen it in the aviation industry where staying with one type of aircraft in the fleet had all kinds of benefits that included maintenance and training and streamlined the parts inventory.