M&R Diamondback S or Sportsman

rockers · February 13th, 2012, 08:42 PM

Hello, we are considering buying a new M&R automatic and have to decide on either a Diamondback S 10/9 or a Sportsman 10/8. I`m kind of intrigued by the
AC printheads on the Sportsman but the lower price of the Diamondback and the fact of 9 printheads makes this press very attractive too. Furthermore what compressor is needed for the Sportsman 10/8? 3HP or 5 HP?
Thanks in advance.

Matt

jasonl · February 14th, 2012, 08:47 AM

I own the diamondback 10/9 and its a GREAT press. I would recommend it to anyone. I used to run a sportsman 10/8 at my old shop with ac heads and its great too. You can get good results with both, but if money didnt matter, I would get the sportsman. You need a 7.5 compressor for that diamondback, you could run the sportsman on a 5 since it has ac heads. I was told a GOOD brand 5hp compressor would run my diamondback, but a 7.5 would be better. So I bought the 7.5.

Admiral · February 14th, 2012, 07:30 PM

if you never have a job bigger than a few hundred shirts then go with 1 operator on the diamondback S

if you want a loader + unloader at times or want more throughput go with the sportsman

speed difference will be something like 550 an hour on diamondback and up to 800 or so an hour on sportsman

+A/C printheads are a lot nicer

rockers · February 14th, 2012, 07:36 PM

I feel kind of drawn to the Sportsman. AC heads + smaller compressor and a higher resell value sounds all good to me.

srimonogramming · February 14th, 2012, 10:19 PM

Depends on the volume you do, but I'd go with the sportsman no doubt if you can safely afford it. Buy the biggest and best that you can afford and never look back. I've never been a fan of the 9/10 configuration or 7/8 because of the way we run the auto but I can see why some shops opt for it. If we ran the auto with only a loader on it then it makes sense to get an extra print head.

rockers · February 15th, 2012, 12:56 AM

Just wondering if there will be much of a difference in print quality between those 2 machines. I don`t think we will do lots of runs exceeding 1000 pcs so the speed of the Diamondback will be just fine for us. I read a few post and the general opinion was that the AC heads do print better in terms of delivering a more consistent print over a long run. And of course having to use a less powerful compressor might be nice too.

GraphicDisorder · February 15th, 2012, 07:13 AM

I looked at the Diamondback and the Sportsman pretty hard. The AC heads made it a no brainier for me. So we bought the Sportsman. Its a great press, worth every penny and more. Decide the biggest one you can afford, then buy the one with 2 more heads than you *think* you need.

jasonl · March 10th, 2012, 01:02 PM

machines with ac heads run cleaner, by that i mean they don't sling ink everywhere. Also there is zero delay on the print stroke no matter how much pressure you have, unlike a pneumatic head.