# Epson or Ricoh Sublimation Printer



## DallasP (Jul 20, 2014)

I am torn between the different inks for sublimation and which printer works best for small to medium runs. 

I found an Epson 4880 but the guy steered me toward a Ricoh SG 7100DN.

I am also looking at the Epson 4900 and 7980.

Thoughts? 

Thanks.


----------



## HarpPastor (Nov 23, 2013)

We have the ricoh 3110, which we have had great success with but if I had it to do again I would go with the 7100. There are just times when a bit more area would be handy and the larger paper handling of the 7100 would be just the ticket. 

I hear a lot of people saying that if they let the epsons sit that the heads dry up and do not work well. We shut our ricoh down (off) for days at a time and never had a clogged or dried up head. That has saved us a lot of hassles when we have some time between runs.


----------



## jackie29 (Jul 21, 2014)

I started with he Ricoh and love it. I do shirts, key chains, flip flops, mousepads and the list goes on. I've never had a problem. Just be sure to download the power drivers and the color palette to be sure the color on the screen is what you'll get on the product. I didn't do that right away and it causes a lot of aggravation.


----------



## mgtGrafix (Feb 24, 2014)

I originally was leaning toward the epson printers but read allot about nozzle clogging if not used. Most of my business is cotton apparel but wanted to get a sublimation printer for phone cases and the occasional poly shirt. I decided on the ricoh and love it. I leave it on all the time and have not had any clogging at all. I print a test page weekly just to be safe.

The only thing I regret is not going the large format ricoh. Other than that I'm very happy

Sent from my SCH-i705 using T-Shirt Forums


----------



## jackie29 (Jul 21, 2014)

I did get the bypass tray for the 13x19 and it's worked well so far. What are you using for cotton? I just started using cotton and I bought a chromoblast system.


----------



## keepitspinning (Jan 13, 2014)

If you decide on the Epson, I have a deal for you on a set of ink. First your questions. I can only speak on the Epson 4880. We've been using one for sublimation for the past 4-5 years, and using the ArTainium UV inks since we started. There are days you want to take a sledge hammer to the 4480. It will be printing perfectly, you come back in the next day, and the color is all off and several jets seemed to be plugged. If you run the internal cleaning, you can almost see the $$$ going into the maintenance tank. Bottom line is this. When it works it provides pretty decent results. Our experience is sometimes it would work flawlessly for weeks on end, and other times, we couldn't get through the day without fighting with it. Ink cost is high, especially when so much of it is purged through cleanings. It is possible to make money with the machine, however Epson has a new machine that has a higher initial price tag (more than double), but lower operating cost to run. A complete set of 220ml ink for the 4880 is $1,760.00 (I've got a new set listed in the classified for less). Something I just learned when shopping for a new machine. A sales rep told me that it has been his experience that the life expectancy of sublimation printers is between 10-20 months. Make sure you base you pricing for sublimation with the equipment figured in on the low end. I guess I was luck that I got 4-5 years out of mine.


----------



## DallasP (Jul 20, 2014)

I will be doing t-shirts and other smaller cotton/cotton blend items.


----------



## DallasP (Jul 20, 2014)

I was given a great deal for two Ricoh printers but I am looking toward the larger format printer. I did not know that Ricoh created one as well. I guess hearing Epson for so long, maybe I blocked it out.


----------



## DallasP (Jul 20, 2014)

Initially I wanted a Epson 4880 but they cannot be found any where. That is when my attention focused on the Ricoh. 

Since I am hearing stories of clogging more with Epson than Ricoh, I may go for the Ricoh Chromablast and possibly get a large format printer. I am unsure if I will go with Ricoh or Epson. If Epson has clogging issues with their smaller printer, it is quite possible they have the same issue with the larger.


----------



## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

The Epson 4880 will blow the Ricoh's out of the water in terms of print quality - remember that the Stylus Pros are professional level printer aimed at commercial print, whereas the Ricoh's are office printers aimed at printing Excel piecharts and powerpoint slides.
If you want the printer to last more than 20 months, then avoid Sawgrass' consumer level inks and get a commercial/professional grade sublimation ink to match the quality of the printer. We've run 4000/7600/9600 series printers you years on InkTec's inks, and not had problems, and this includes leaving them unprinting for weeks if we go on holiday for instance - no way would I put Sawgrass anywhere near them.


----------



## keepitspinning (Jan 13, 2014)

Just found out that Epson recently introduced a 44" and a 60" printers that are true sublimation printers that they supply the ink for (also introduced a DTG). Both come with a 1 year bumper to bumper warranty, that can be extended for up to three years. That is the way I'm headed this time around. I'm fed up with the 2nd party ink issues. I feel going this direction will end the finger pointing.


----------

