6090 vs 2513:
choosing the right bed size
Bed size is the single most expensive decision on a UV flatbed, because it drives price, floor space, substrate cost and — most importantly — which customers you can serve. It is also the decision people most often get wrong by buying for a hypothetical future order.
What the numbers mean
Model names usually encode the printable area in centimetres: 6090 = 600 × 900 mm, 1313 ≈ 1300 × 1300 mm, 2513 = 2500 × 1300 mm. Our own range follows the same convention (IUV6090, IUV1413C, IUV2513), but always confirm the real printable area on the spec sheet — marketing names are not measurements.
6090: the sample and small-goods machine
Best for phone cases, gifts, awards, keyrings, small signage, magnets and personalised merchandise. It fits a small shop, runs on standard single-phase power in most markets, and lets you say yes to one-off jobs without setup cost.
Who buys it: gift shops, print-on-demand sellers, sign shops that need a proofing unit, and businesses adding personalisation to an existing product line. Who should not: a shop whose main revenue is full-size boards or architectural panels — you will be cutting sheets and turning down jobs from week one.
2513: the production board machine
The reason 2513 exists is sheet utilisation. Common rigid boards — PVC, MDF, acrylic, aluminium composite — are supplied around 1220 × 2440 mm. A 2500 × 1300 mm bed takes a full sheet with minimal trimming, so waste drops sharply and a whole job prints in one pass. That is the difference between a machine that does prototypes and one that does production.
Who buys it: advertising processing factories, signage and exhibition contractors, building-material and furniture suppliers printing decorative panels, glass processors. Their orders are measured in full boards, not individual items.
The trade-offs are real: more floor space, heavier handling, larger vacuum bed power, and a bigger working-capital commitment to substrate stock. If your orders do not yet fill boards, that capacity sits idle.
A decision checklist that actually works
- List your last 30 jobs with finished dimensions. If 80% fit within 600 × 900 mm, buy the 6090.
- Check the sheets you buy. If you are already cutting full boards down to fit, the 2513 pays for itself in waste reduction alone.
- Count the jobs you declined last quarter because they were too big. That number is your real demand signal — not a growth projection.
- Measure the room, the door width, the power supply and where the finished panels will go. A 2513 that cannot be delivered through the door is an expensive problem.
- Ask about thickness clearance and bed load for the products you actually print, and about white-ink circulation if you print on dark or clear material.
- Plan finishing. Larger panels need a cutting table, edge finishing and storage. Those are part of the purchase.
The mistake I see most often
Buying the bigger bed "so we never have to turn a job down". In reality, the shop then spends more on the machine, more on sheets, and still turns down the specialised jobs — curved bottles, textile transfers, flags — that a bigger flatbed cannot do either. Capability is not one axis. Often the better second purchase is a UV DTF unit or a roll-based machine, not a larger flatbed.
Send me the dimensions and volume of your three most common jobs and I will tell you which size I would shortlist — including when I would advise against buying at all.