# Sublimation Printer for starting out



## stephm0621 (May 3, 2014)

I currently make jewelry and home decorations. I wanted to add sublimation to expand my market. So I am looking for a sublimation printer that wont break the bank but is great for metal and other hard porous surfaces.


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## ParrotPrinting (Feb 23, 2015)

The printer has nothing to do with the type of substrate unless it will be DTG, that being said you can use a Ricoh (which is what I have) or an Epson 1430 which from my understanding is a good printer for sublimation. For me a Ricoh is a better option as I don't print every day and the gel ink in the Ricoh hasn't clogged in the 7 months I've been using. I don't use it every day because I also do screen printing


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

You can also do a search on the forum for sublimation printer and get results. I use the Epson WF7110 and Cobra Inks with refillable cartridges. Everyone has their preferences so research well and ask questions. good luck


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## Printor (Apr 16, 2015)

stephm0621 said:


> and other hard porous surfaces.


Just curious, what kind of items do you have in mind? "porous surfaces" makes me feel anxious.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

stephm0621 said:


> I currently make jewelry and home decorations. I wanted to add sublimation to expand my market. So I am looking for a sublimation printer that wont break the bank but is great for metal and other hard porous surfaces.


I share Jay's (Printor's) concern.

When you say "metal and other hard porous surfaces" ... not to be the proper terminology Nazi here but metals we use for sublimation are inherently _not porous_. Sublimation the smoother the surface the better. A bit of a contradiction I think.

A porous medium (or a porous material) is a material containing pores (voids). Sponges, pumice, etc are porous. Any metal that is porous might like braided wiring or something like a Brillo pad.

Having said all that ...

The substrates we use must be either coated with a sublimation material ... a polymer of some fashion, or made from that type of material in it's surface's base construction.

There are metals available coated for this purpose and some offer jewelry pieces that can be sublimated.

Although I am not an advocate of DIY sublimation coatings, small jewelry pieces might be viable since the selection of pre-coated sublimation jewelry pieces are limited and small items with little surface area might be easy enough to do to get consistent results with.

If you can be more specific about the kind of jewelry, or style of jewelry you wish to do?

Desktop sublimation we use Epson or Ricoh printers. Printers sized 11x17 or 13 x 19 will get you most home decor items, jewelry can be done on a smaller letter/legal printer and many home decor items as well.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

Printor said:


> Just curious, what kind of items do you have in mind? "porous surfaces" makes me feel anxious.


I'm gonna jump out on a limb and say I think the OP was referring to mugs....I've heard that term used with them before...don't know why but it was. don't know if shirts, mouse pads, coozies are considered porous? maybe? maybe not....


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

lmcawards said:


> I'm gonna jump out on a limb and say I think the OP was referring to mugs....I've heard that term used with them before...don't know why but it was. don't know if shirts, mouse pads, coozies are considered porous? maybe? maybe not....


I just had a little heartburn with the context ... "metal and other hard porous surfaces".

My English teacher in school would whack my hands with a ruler if I stated something that way.  The use of "and other" makes metals now porous.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

mgparrish said:


> I just had a little heartburn with the context ... "metal and other hard porous surfaces".
> 
> My English teacher in school would whack my hands with a ruler if I stated something that way.  The use of "and other" makes metals now porous.


Mike your showing your age...they haven't taught proper English in public schools for decades...and the ruler on the knuckles is now referred to as a violent, ancient discipline and subjects the person in control of the ruler to jail time for assault and/or child abuse!
....couldn't pass up the opportunity


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

lmcawards said:


> Mike your showing your age...they haven't taught proper English in public schools for decades...and the ruler on the knuckles is now referred to as a violent, ancient discipline and subjects the person in control of the ruler to jail time for assault and/or child abuse!
> ....couldn't pass up the opportunity


So true.


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## Printor (Apr 16, 2015)

member the principles paddles, with airflow holes, for speed As a screen printer, "porous" is a bad word to me. When some one says "ribbed Tanks" I automatically feel sad


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## Sacman (Jan 20, 2014)

That non-porous threw me as well but to get back on topic if the OP ever comes back,

The 'doesn't break the bank' part of the post is the hard sell. Sublimation is inherently expensive. Even using the cheapest possible setup (mine) I still have about $500 in my initial setup. I have been fortunate enough to make my investment back pretty quickly but I have a couple of dedicated wholesalers that made it easy. So break the bank is all relative. You can easily spend $4,000 or more on a really good setup if you want the best printer, inks and press.

My setup:

Epson 1400 from craigslist - $100
Two sets of empty refillable cartridges - $35
15" x 15" chinese heat press - $150 I got really lucky on this one on an auction they were going for about $250. It works well enough but changing heights sucks!
6 colors Chinese inks 250ml of each - $89 Don't be hating on this. The colors are great and I've never had a clog.
100 sheets 8.5" x 11" paper - $13
100 sheets 13" x 19" paper - $39

Total: $426

Now add the price of the blanks which will vary wildly depending on what you want to make and realize you will sit on that inventory until it sells. 

If I had it to do over again, I would have purchased a bigger heat press, even a Chinese one. Everything else has been golden.


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## WalkingZombie (Mar 15, 2014)

stephm0621 said:


> I currently make jewelry and home decorations. I wanted to add sublimation to expand my market. So I am looking for a sublimation printer that wont break the bank but is great for metal and other hard porous surfaces.


Don't overthink it. I'm sure they meant hard non-porous surfaces like ceramics and such.

@stephm0621, there are only a handful of printers that are optimal for printing sublimation inks. Don't let some of the printers that you see on Amazon fool you. Now any printer can print sublimation ink but will it give you problems in the long run, is the question.

Take the advice in all forums with a grain of salt. When you start asking people in a forum about what to buy and how to use stuff, you are going to get so many different opinions of what's good and what's not. If you purchase equipment based on what 7 out of 10 people suggested works great and it doesn't work for you, you're going to be upset. You're going to wish that you just made that mistake based on your own judgement and not someone else's. Research, research, research.... and then research again. Watch videos over and over for 2 months if you have to. Get the process down. Don't rush into the sublimation industry without FULLY knowing what it's about, or you'll regret it. I've seen some people on here that have.

With that said, a couple tried and true printers are:
Ricoh SG 3110DN
Ricoh 7100DN
Epson WF7110
Epson 1430

The printer may not break the bank but don't forget you'll need ink, substrates, heat press and supplies like heat tape and/or tack spray, etc...


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## ChillaxTees (Sep 12, 2015)

Wow... I like that setup... Hmm Seeing what you did really makes me think thats the way to go. Thanks for the info and may need some guidance on all of this stuff


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## WalkingZombie (Mar 15, 2014)

Sacman said:


> 6 colors Chinese inks 250ml of each - $89 Don't be hating on this. The colors are great and I've never had a clog.


No hating here. My 1400 has Chinese inks and my 1430 has Cobra inks. Both are working for me. 

And the colors between them match pretty darn close. Though I never run a single job through both of them unless it's a last resort because someone with a good eye will notice the slight difference.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

WalkingZombie said:


> but don't forget you'll need ink, substrates, heat press and supplies like heat tape and/or tack spray, etc...


and extra substrates to practice on. did I say extra?..yes expect to have to play with the settings for each product to get it right and write down your program and printer settings (make sure your program is in charge of the color) then note your temperature and pressure and time for each product.
If you don't and the results are not immediate you can get confused with all the variations available with the settings and go round and round in confusion....I don't know why I know this....maybe I read it somewhere??


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

lmcawards said:


> *and extra substrates to practice on. did I say extra?..yes expect to have to play with the settings for each product to get it right and write down your program and printer settings (make sure your program is in charge of the color) then note your temperature and pressure and time for each product.*
> If you don't and the results are not immediate you can get confused with all the variations available with the settings and go round and round in confusion....I don't know why I know this....maybe I read it somewhere??


To this point, especially if one does mugs figure a lot of practice and trial and error required. Starting out one should get their practice in ahead of taking orders.

So many people take in an order before they have experience with a substrate then get into trouble at the last minute when they go to make it and deliver.


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

lmcawards said:


> You can also do a search on the forum for sublimation printer and get results. I use the Epson WF7110 and Cobra Inks with refillable cartridges. Everyone has their preferences so research well and ask questions. good luck


Are you using the WF7110 for sublimation or tshirt transfer. I'm thinking of the WF-7620 what do you think?


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

Is your epson 1400 a sublimation printer or inkjet printer?


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

I just bought a sg400 sublimation press. Was that a wrong move? Should I have bought one of these epson printers you guys talking about?


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

BJSPUTER said:


> Are you using the WF7110 for sublimation or tshirt transfer. I'm thinking of the WF-7620 what do you think?


My WF7110 is sublimation, hence the cobra sub inks. Works great and they provide the profiles.


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

So I can go buy a wf7110 or wf7620 with this cobra ink and do sublimation?


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

I just found one on eBay with printer, sublimation ink and paper and all for $359.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

BJSPUTER said:


> I just bought a sg400 sublimation press. Was that a wrong move? Should I have bought one of these epson printers you guys talking about?



Only you can make that call, and it depends on what you intend to do with it. I just looked up the SG400 and it appears your limited to 8.5 x 11 paper...that could be a big whoops if you want to print larger designs for mats, tshirts and such....you can buy an attachment that will allow you to feed longer sheets in it (up to 21") but you cannot increase the width of the sheet larger than the 8.5". Personally I wouldn't have gotten it, I like my Epson which I bought off Amazon and Sub Inks from Cobra. I researched for over 3 months before I made my decision. I understand the anticipation and strong urge to get going so hope you have great results with that SG400. By the way...it's a printer, not press.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

BJSPUTER said:


> So I can go buy a wf7110 or wf7620 with this cobra ink and do sublimation?


Yes you can, not sure about the wf7620, would have to look.....I suggest research all your options though. I have many posts covering from when I bought my set up a while back and others have posted their results also. Do a search on WF7110 and cobra inks here on the forum and you will find them. Others also use different printers with cobra and others use Epson with different inks....make sure before spending good money.


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

Lol I know it's a printer, I was typing so fast. But I'm going to cancel it as I did it yesterday and my paypal hasn't confirm me to release payment because of being the weekend. Can you go to eBay and look at this one and tell me if this is what I need? Item number is 301527757597 thanks.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

mgparrish said:


> To this point, especially if one does mugs figure a lot of practice and trial and error required. Starting out one should get their practice in ahead of taking orders.
> 
> So many people take in an order before they have experience with a substrate then get into trouble at the last minute when they go to make it and deliver.


Oh...and research the proper way to cool off your mugs....some people say put in water...so some people have invisible cracks in their mugs and may not know it...until the coffee stains them 
I posted a research article on this issue recently. I will see if I can dig it up and repost if you want to read it.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

BJSPUTER said:


> Lol I know it's a printer, I was typing so fast. But I'm going to cancel it as I did it yesterday and my paypal hasn't confirm me to release payment because of being the weekend. Can you go to eBay and look at this one and tell me if this is what I need? Item number is 301527757597 thanks.


Well, first they advertise it as a WF7110 but the photo is of a WF7620....hmmmm second they do not tell you what brand of sublimation ink your getting and no mention that there is a profile to go with it. This is important and can be very problematic in my opinion....also the CISS system is not installed....that in itself is not a big problem if you are comfortable around installing things...plus there are numerous tutorials to help. 
Here is my thread from a while back...when I got my set up and my trials and tribulations.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/dye-sublimation/t530649-2.html

Might give you some more insight....please anybody else chime in


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

I just bought the wf7110 now which ink pack I need from cobra for sublimation because they have 5 different ones. I would also like one for printing tshirt transfer as I will buy another printer just for that Wf7520.


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

I just bought one off amazon for $149.


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

stephm0621 said:


> I currently make jewelry and home decorations. I wanted to add sublimation to expand my market. So I am looking for a sublimation printer that wont break the bank but is great for metal and other hard porous surfaces.


Before one buys a printer, one should read every thread in this forum about the issues of printers. Always understand the sellers rules on these type of issues BEFORE you buy,not after. 

Frankly before you buy a printer you should first outsource the transfers for a few jobs then you will have a MUCH better understanding of Dye subbing.
The printer is the only hard part of making a nice profit in dye sublimation. Designing dye sub art, heat pressing and selling it is the easy part that almost any one can do.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

BJSPUTER said:


> So I can go buy a wf7110 or wf7620 with this cobra ink and do sublimation?


The WF7620 is a WF7110 with a scanner. The printer is the same and the ICC profile is the same.

Cobras sublimation profile for the 7110 covers the following models:
WF 7110/7610/7620/3620/3640.

You mentioned the 7520 in another post, it it an older model replaced by the 7620, but it is still around places in stock. Suggest the 7620 instead. It improves the 7520 and it has a rear sheet feeder.


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

I just got both Epson wf7110 and wf7620 today. I was wondering if I use the original ink how would that effect the printer when I get my cobra pigment ink? I mean will it be hard to flush out or should I just wait on pigment to arrive? I'm going to use the 7110 for sub and 7620 for shirts. Waiting on both ink to arrive.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

BJSPUTER said:


> I just got both Epson wf7110 and wf7620 today. I was wondering if I use the original ink how would that effect the printer when I get my cobra pigment ink? I mean will it be hard to flush out or should I just wait on pigment to arrive? I'm going to use the 7110 for sub and 7620 for shirts. Waiting on both ink to arrive.



Bonnie, no need to flush. 

There are no ink lines on those 2 models so when you change the carts the printer will do an automatic head clean then completely displace all the previous inks out. The print head itself only heads a tiny amount of ink.


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

Ok thanks. I really wanted to use the 7620 today on tshirt transfer but I didn't know the effect of changing to pigment. I should receive my sub ink and pigment Friday.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

BJSPUTER said:


> Ok thanks. I really wanted to use the 7620 today on tshirt transfer but I didn't know the effect of changing to pigment. I should receive my sub ink and pigment Friday.


As I mentioned you are not changing ink types, you are just putting in a different 3rd party pigment ink. Epson Durabite factory inks in that printer are pigment inks and wash very well. Just more expensive than 3rd party inks.

Epson WorkForce WF-7620 All-in-One Printer - Product Information - Epson America, Inc.


"4-in-1 with Wi-Fi® & Ethernet: Print / Copy / Scan / Fax
Ink:* 4-color DURABrite® Ultra pigment ink*
ISO Print Speed: Black: 18 ISO ppm†; Color: 10 ISO ppm†
Supported Operating Systems: "


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