KIP 5000 - opinions?

Have a chance to get a refurbished KIP 5000 at a reasonable
cost, looking for some opinions on this machine. The feller
tryin' to sell it us, is reassuring me it is the greatest thing since
sliced bread (of course it is, he is tryin' to sell it). Google didn't
turn up much for the 5000 model, so how about it? Hassle?,
drivers?, maintenance?, etc....

Thanks.

 

Hmmm... I guess this model isn't too popular.....

 

We have a KIP 2710 and love it.
These are complicated machines and part of our enjoyment is from having a
good service company.
I have no idea how that would relate to a KIP5000, though.

- jim

 

We've had a 5000 for a little over a year now. Quite an improvement over
the 2950 we had before. We haven't had any major maintenance issues with
the machine. I have two complaints about the machine: 1. We have to have
the Corona Wires restrung pretty regularly. 2. The machine will not plot
anything right to the edge of the paper without jamming. There needs to be
at least a 1/4" of blank space. We had an issue with our titleblocks. It
would just catch the edge of the trim line and this would cause the paper
to stick to the drum and jam the machine. I changed all of our titleblocks
so that the trim line will not plot.

Network Setup is easy. Does this one have an internal or external
controller? We created some folders on the network and then have the
Unattend software monitor that location for print jobs. Kip's software
works pretty good and is easy to tweak (ini files). Kip also has system
printer drivers and also Heidi drivers for AutoCAD. We usually make plot
files and then use the Windows Request software to send print jobs.
However we can also print directly to it as system printer.

 

Thanks for your comments. What is a Corona Wire? (I know
nothing about these machines). Margins are an issue, eh? Not
surprising.... As for the controller, looks like it is internal... a snip
from the product sheet "The startprint 5000 uses a high powered
embedded Windows NT controller that is" <snip>.

Could you describe a bit on how that software works? I have
some custom print/plot routines (that work like a charm), can't
imagine it being any easier than what we already do. So we can
keep it as a system printer or use their software?

Thanks for takin' the time.

 

Don't quote me on this but I think this was how it was explained to me: The
Corona Wires carry a charge that transfers the toner to the media before passing
thru the developer.... I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong and I very
well could be. Having the internal controller isn't a bad thing. Is this a
scanner/printer combo?. If it isn't you would want to setup a computer near the
KIP so you can run a remote management software on it to get access to the
internal controller. It comes with ControlIT but we use Netop. There isn't a
provision to hook up a monitor, keyboard, or mouse to the internal one without
cutting a hole for the monitor cable on the back.

There is a piece of software running on the controller called Unattend. You
specify the location of a series of folders that Unattend monitors for print
jobs. The two important ones are the LogDir (Roll Info) and Request (Submitted
Jobs). We can get print jobs to the Kip one of two ways. We either make plot
files for a set of plans then use another piece of software called Windows
Request to submit the files or the machine can be setup as a Windows System
Printer. All software is supplied by Kip. The printer is setup as a shared
printer on the controller. We find that making plot files is good because if we
need another plot of something it can be sent using Request rather than opening
the drawing and replotting again. The only downside is server space we currently
have about 20gb worth of files sitting on the network.

 

Nope, not the combo.

Sounds like I might be keeping it as a system printer, if nothing else, for the
sake of familiarity. Thanks again for the explanation. Oh, and that 1/4" margin
thing, is that for all sheet sizes or just the larger ones? My concern is the 8 1/2x11
and 11x17, need as much space as possible.

 

Sounds like I might be keeping it as a system printer, if nothing else, for the

For us the 1/4" is for everything.

 

One more thing, what OS are you using? Win2K, Xp ?

 

If you are referring to the controller it is Windows NT, that is what
KIP supplies for the OS. Not sure if there are any other options. As
far as workstations printing to it we have NT, Win2K and WinXP.