# realtiy of 11x17 vs 8x11



## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

Howdy
I was wondering from those of you that have purchased either the epson or ricoh's for dye sub that do the bigger 11x17/13x19 was it worth the extra cost over 8.5x11/8.5x14 ?

I am not talking about just having the abillity to print that big but are you printing enough of those sizes to have justifiied spending that much more ?

I am leaning toward the Ricoh gx5050n. The 7000 is aobut 4 bills more plus another 140 for the 13x9 tray. Saving the 5 bills I could buy more ink/paper and substrates. 

My main use would be shirts (mostly athletic like softball) then the mugs/tiles etc.

Thanks
Mark


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## Sports4Less (Jun 15, 2009)

It totally depends on your use. I have used the larger sizes for uniform shirts and also for clipboards. You can get about 3 mugs from an 8.5 x 11 though. Mugs and tiles you can get away with the smaller machine. I know that if you use a bulk ink system it will pay off in a short amount of time from the cost of the smaller ink cartridges. I haven't been doing it that long, but that is just one thing I took into consideration when I bought my larger machine.


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## BillyV (May 8, 2009)

I have the Epson 1400 and for my money it was worth every cent.
There have been many times I have had to make over sized positives because the design demanded it.


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## chonkymonky (Apr 1, 2007)

i use the epson 1400 wide format printer to make mostly my own designs. my best selling designs are the ones that cover alot of the tshirts' front. i could'nt make those with the 8x11 paper. if i need to make a small logo i can just cut the paper in half. ive sold enough tshirts that the printer has more than paid for itself. 

if all you're gonna make are numbers and small logos for mugs and tiles, then you probably have no need for anything bigger than the 8x11 paper and printer.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

You will regret every minute if you go smaller. The market is way past the 8.5" x 11" logo on shirt/jersey. One of the key components to separating yourself from competitors is by the size of designs you can offer. The larger the format the fewer competitors = higher margins.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

Thanks guys.


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## ggraphics (Nov 20, 2008)

And just to add to the good posts so far, most (but not all) sports teams want their logo big. And if it's adult softball, you'll realize pretty quick that there are some big softballers out there. An 8.5"x11" print would look like a left chest print size logo on a 3X shirt.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

good point.
thanks
Mark


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## BillyV (May 8, 2009)

I just finished an order for a softball team and had to do 2 different sizes on the logo because that very reason. ireally had not thought of it until I went to print the 2x shirts and decided I would rather burn another screen than put the small logo on them.


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## Susie (Oct 19, 2007)

Go as big as you can.


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## knucklehead (Jul 18, 2008)

Just remember, you can always print, cut or what-ever, smaller stuff on a larger machine, but vice-versa doesn't work out to good.


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## chonkymonky (Apr 1, 2007)

yeah..i actually cant wait to get a bigger heat press so i can start printing 13" wide transfers with my 1400.


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## donsignguy (Apr 5, 2008)

hooo heee errrrr bigger better..... but i would not be selling half of the things i sell with out the epson 1400 i carry a backup encase... cant afford to be down running around trying to get a printer


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## Red744T (Aug 4, 2009)

I too am looking into the Ricoh for venturing into the dye sublimation. I will be going with a GX7000 for its larger paper size. I figure we can always print two 8.5x11 at the same time and speed things up a little.


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