Roland Model MPX-80 "Metaza"

[Steve Clarkson]

Anyone have this machine?

I was in a jewelry store today (believe it or not... I WASN'T shopping!!!!) and the jeweler showed me his Roland photo engraver.......he was selling photos engraved on dogtags......it looked better than any photos I have done!!!!!

Costs about $4K but the bed is only about 4"x4".

[Rodne Gold]

It's extremely limited as to what materials/items can be "engraved"

[Dave Russell Smith]

Won't be able to do Granite on that Steve

[Colleen Williams]

Hi Steve,

I have an MPX-70 (the predecessor to the 80). It does a great job on the items which it is meant to do, but as Rodney points out it is very limited in what you can do on it. It is meant primarily for jewelry and small items - lighters, business card cases, that sort of thing. Having said that, if that was what you were primarily looking at it for then as I said, it does a really nice job. I have gotten many compliments on some of the items I have produced from it.

The problem is that I don't use it that much - no where near as much as I was hoping to because to get the really good quality images you need special metaza stock which up here in Canada is really hard to come by.

Don't know if that answers your questions or not.

Colleen Williams

[Steve Clarkson]

to get the really good quality images you need special metaza stock

Hi Colleen,

I definitely wasn't looking to get one......but I was admiring the quality of the image it produced on the metal key tags. Why is the image quality dependant on the stock? Since I know the majority of work to get a quality image using the laser is done using photoshop or photopaint, I was wondering what, if any, special software is used with the Roland to get those high quality images.

It also says that you can do curved objects......but the reason I was in there was because he told one of his customers that he couldn't engrave a logo on her bracelet.

[Colleen Williams]

Steve,

The photo prep work is all done in the Dr. Metaza software which comes with the machine. Think of it as kind of a scaled back photoshop with only one purpose - to output to the metaza imprinter. It will allow you to lighten or darken via a tone curve adjustment and then you are able to add anything else that you might want to go along with the photo - ie text or clipart. That's probably a very simplified explanation of the software but you get the drift. As usual though - garbage in, garbage out.

As for substrate, Roland recommends the use of either rhodium plated or nickle plated pieces for the best quality of photographic imprint. Something to do with the constitution of the metal. Having said that I have successfully marked brass engraving plates as well, but there is a definite difference between that and the dog tags, etc. made specifically for metaza imprinting. I would love to do more, however, as I said it is very hard to find the metaza stuff here in Canada and the biggest supplier is in California. I just hate bringing stuff through the border, its a pain and increases the cost greatly. When I first got the machine there was a supplier in Alberta, however, they are no longer going to be carrying the stock. I guess I will have to decide on what I'm going to do there...might have to bite the bullet.

I know that the MPX-80 says that you can imprint curved items, but you are limited to the amount of curve which you can do. This was one of the improvements over the MPX-70 which I have. For instance you could do a concave lid on a business card case, or jewelry box, but not a ring or round bracelet.

One of the best selling features with the machine is it's portability and the fact that it is so quiet you could use it anywhere and almost no one would notice. It is nice to not need any venting as well. It makes it perfect for someone who might want to go on site to shows and events and produce items right then and there for sale. It is pretty quick. It will do a dog tag for instance, with a high res photo in about 2 minutes.

Sorry that's, probably more information than you wanted...sometimes I can get to rambling.

Colleen

[Steve Clarkson]

No, thank you......that's exactly the information that I was looking for.

If you can't get any stock, feel free to send it down and I'll keep it in storage for you.

[John Frazee]

I have the 70 and I think I wasted my money. Well, I know I wasted my money! When I bought it, it came with a very nice acrylic showroom sample display. Problem is you can't make the customers photos come out as nice as what the factory did. The advertisements make you think these printers do so great without problems. I have spent hours trying to get the contrast etc just right, not to mention the time it takes to engrave a small photo.

[james knutson]

Hi Colleen.
I am guessing that your MPX 70 is long gone?
I am interested in engraving anodized aluminum tags and am looking for a reasonably priced machine that is quiet and self-contained. Text only, no photos necessary, and I don't want the text to wear away...
I seem to have found a few still out there that are new, but I am wondering if they have to run on Windows 7 and are almost obsolete. I have a pvc card printer that presents this problem...
Any chance you still have yours and are interested in selling?
Thanks, Jamie Knutson

Steve,

The photo prep work is all done in the Dr. Metaza software which comes with the machine. Think of it as kind of a scaled back photoshop with only one purpose - to output to the metaza imprinter. It will allow you to lighten or darken via a tone curve adjustment and then you are able to add anything else that you might want to go along with the photo - ie text or clipart. That's probably a very simplified explanation of the software but you get the drift. As usual though - garbage in, garbage out.

As for substrate, Roland recommends the use of either rhodium plated or nickle plated pieces for the best quality of photographic imprint. Something to do with the constitution of the metal. Having said that I have successfully marked brass engraving plates as well, but there is a definite difference between that and the dog tags, etc. made specifically for metaza imprinting. I would love to do more, however, as I said it is very hard to find the metaza stuff here in Canada and the biggest supplier is in California. I just hate bringing stuff through the border, its a pain and increases the cost greatly. When I first got the machine there was a supplier in Alberta, however, they are no longer going to be carrying the stock. I guess I will have to decide on what I'm going to do there...might have to bite the bullet.

I know that the MPX-80 says that you can imprint curved items, but you are limited to the amount of curve which you can do. This was one of the improvements over the MPX-70 which I have. For instance you could do a concave lid on a business card case, or jewelry box, but not a ring or round bracelet.

One of the best selling features with the machine is it's portability and the fact that it is so quiet you could use it anywhere and almost no one would notice. It is nice to not need any venting as well. It makes it perfect for someone who might want to go on site to shows and events and produce items right then and there for sale. It is pretty quick. It will do a dog tag for instance, with a high res photo in about 2 minutes.

Sorry that's, probably more information than you wanted...sometimes I can get to rambling.

Colleen