# Wide Format Sublimation Newbie....need advice on printer/heat press purchase



## kbupp (Aug 11, 2010)

My wife and I currently have a "spot" dye sub business that specializes in printing performance apparel for runners and triathletes but we're looking to take our business to the next level by offering full custom dye sub gear (cut and sew) and need some guidance on what setup would be best for our needs (printer/heat press).

Our max print width would be 40".

Thanks in advance for all your advice

Kevin


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Do you have a heat press? What size?

For fabrics, I like the mutoh rj900 with subliM
ink. You will need a rip like Wastach to drive
the printer.

What other questions do you have?


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

We have both an Epson 9800 and a Mutoh RJ900. We used Sublim in the past and now have used J-teck ink for the last couple years. We also use Beaver tacky paper. If I was new to wide format I would probably lean towards the Epson. It is a work horse, very simple to use and is 100 times better designed than the Mutoh. Ink is in the front and easily accessible on the 9800. The Mutoh the ink is in the back and a pain unless you have such a large space you can place the printer in the middle of a room to walk behind it. The real issue is the paper handling. The Epson 98XX is a zillion times better than the Mutoh. The Epson 98XX paper roll is located on the top of the printer. Again the Mutoh is in the back. Very easy to change the paper rolls on the Epson not so easy in comparison on the Mutoh. 

The paper feeds from top and drops through the bottom on the Epson - works perfectly. The Mutoh feeds from the back and comes out parallel to the ground - NOT good to say the least. It is fine if you use the take up reel but that does not work in the way we do business. The way the paper feeds out of the Mutoh causes all sorts of paper issues to the point there are multiple bulletins on crazy ways to fix the issue. One even calls for removing screws, bending sheet metal and then taping the edges of the sheet metal so you do not cut off your fingers. We have rigged a cardboard support system for the paper to come out onto. Should you really need to do this when you buy this expensive of a printer? The advantage of the Mutoh is it is faster. For ink there is not a better ink on the market than J-Teck. If I am not mistaking it has the finest ground particles of any ink on the market which means two things - No clogs and less wear on your printhead. Whether you select Epson or Mutoh you will eliminate clogging with J-Teck ink. To top things off it produces great colors and way way less expensive than the Sublim/Sawgrass Cartel ink. 

My personal opion is that it is insane to buy ink from a company (Sawgrass) that screws the desktop market with poor quality ink at outrageous prices. I would never ever buy a drop of ink from Sawgrass unless I was forced to like the poor souls in the desktop market.

The Beaver tacky paper will eliminate any ghosting. It is a quality paper. 

We use a GeoKnight Maxipress and we have had a few issues with heating elements failing. With that said Aaron at GeoKnight provides excellent customer service and we would recommend them as well. 

Good luck with your upcoming adventure!


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Mark has some good advice.
Love the forum.
The mutoh is still my choice but
We will start shipping the new epson 9700
In a few weeks. It may change everything.
Both are fine inks.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Conde_David said:


> Mark has some good advice.
> Love the forum.
> The mutoh is still my choice but
> We will start shipping the new epson 9700
> ...


I also would not go back to the Epson 98XX simply because of the speed of the Mutoh but if I was a first time wide format person the Epson is so simple and easy to use. If Epson has a faster wide format printer coming out it would be a home run.


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## kbupp (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks Mark your advice and quick responses are greatly appreciated. 

I had the opportunity to check out your website and it looks great. You guys have a pretty cool niche. Do you do your own cut and sew? If so do you have any advice on sourcing fabrics? We're in that process now and it seems like Vapor are the only choices unless you're willing to buy 1000+ yards. Thanks again!


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

kbupp said:


> Thanks Mark your advice and quick responses are greatly appreciated.
> 
> I had the opportunity to check out your website and it looks great. You guys have a pretty cool niche. Do you do your own cut and sew? If so do you have any advice on sourcing fabrics? We're in that process now and it seems like Vapor are the only choices unless you're willing to buy 1000+ yards. Thanks again!


We do everything in-house and cannot say enough about Vapor. They treated us like one of their biggest customers right from the start. There are others including Yarrington Mills, Pacific Coast fabrics, etc. Vapor stands above the others - at least for us.


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## dt (Aug 12, 2007)

kevin,

You have to find a good *contract* seamstress first (not a printer and heat press)
and she will *guide* you in all the steps you need to know.

DT


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

dt said:


> kevin,
> 
> You have to find a good *contract* seamstress first (not a printer and heat press)
> and she will *guide* you in all the steps you need to know.
> ...


99.9% of contract seamstresses are just that and have no clue about printers, heat presses, inks, etc. for dye sublimation. They are two completley separate worlds and need to be treated as such.


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## dt (Aug 12, 2007)

mark,

sorry to mislead you 

i was talking about step to do sport garment for an unexperience person that it is more difficult than doing sublimation 

even if you want to *copy* everybody else's pattern you have to find the chain of subcontractor to do 
a finished product

and it's only the begining of learning the process of making sport's garment by computer from xs to xxxl
man and woman style with straight shoulder and/or raglan

to answer the poster question if i had to buy a new printer epson 9700(ricoh head)
i have a 4700 (24 inches) that i do poster with and the speed is amazing for an epson printer and epson are cheap 
heat press no heat a calander roll to roll

DT


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## avee2010 (Jun 7, 2011)

Hey Kevin,

I use a Mimaki JV22 (slightly modified, nothing scary) up to 60" wide for my roll to roll transfers. I currently have it setup so that i rip all my files and set it to run as i close down the shop, and it's finished before i come in the morning. My usual daily run is anywhere from 20 linear feet to 100 linear feet, and the printer never clogs, jams, or stops. It's pretty rock solid. Having said, i don't believe it's available anymore, but you can convert almost any large format aqueous inkjet to dye sub with minimal trouble. I even buy solvent heads now for my aqueous printer (who would have thunk it!)

I run a digi heat roll transfer press (60"), and absolutely love it. If you are running semi stretchy or stretchy materials (they are more forgiving), you can do an entire 150' long transfer in one shot in about 30 minutes. Power requirements are 12kW as a 3 phase, so as long as you got 200 amp service at 120V no problem (with a 3 phase converter, if running from home, can send you specs too).

If you need any info just let me know, i've been doing roll to roll transfers for 4 years now and have been through all the troubles you could imagine (through the learning process). My current roll to roll press (and the printer) have run over 150k square feet with only about $2k in maintenance.

Would be happy to share.

Cheers

Jack


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## russntracy (Jun 5, 2015)

Hi Jack - I just read your reviews/comment on the Mimaki printer for Dye Sub. It's been a few years since you wrote on the forum about the Mimaki. Can you tell me if you would still recommend them? We are a relatively small company and rely on our Epson 6070. When the Epson goes down, production time goes down. My Epson is just over a year old and out of warranty, it's difficult to find Repair/Maintenance for it and I need a reliable printer. I hope you can give me some insight on the Mimaki or any other wide format dye sub printer. I will be attending the ISS this weekend in Long Beach so I wanted to get some ideas before I chat with the exhibitors. Thanks! Tom


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## Eric A (Jan 8, 2016)

do you have heat transfer??


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

I like the Mutoh RJ900X


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JYA (Jun 2, 2008)

russntracy said:


> Hi Jack - I just read your reviews/comment on the Mimaki printer for Dye Sub. It's been a few years since you wrote on the forum about the Mimaki. Can you tell me if you would still recommend them? We are a relatively small company and rely on our Epson 6070. When the Epson goes down, production time goes down. My Epson is just over a year old and out of warranty, it's difficult to find Repair/Maintenance for it and I need a reliable printer. I hope you can give me some insight on the Mimaki or any other wide format dye sub printer. I will be attending the ISS this weekend in Long Beach so I wanted to get some ideas before I chat with the exhibitors. Thanks! Tom


I'm not Jack, however, depends how wide you want to go.

We've had Mutoh RJ-900s (44") for 7 years and had great success. We recently added the Mutoh 1628 (64") and that thing not only prints fast, but crystal clear!

Beyond thrilled with the dealers we've worked with and the service they provide!


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## russntracy (Jun 5, 2015)

Eric A said:


> do you have heat transfer??


Hi Jack. Yes we use the GeoKnight Heat Press, I'm pretty sure it's 44"x60".

I'm relaying the answers to the owner - he's in Long Beach at the ISS Expo and he wants to look at printers but he wanted to get feedback and reviews before making a purchase.

Thank you for your time.


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