# Ricoh Ri 100 DTG $5k



## GreenGiants

Does anyone have any experience with the new Ricoh Ri 100 DTG printer? The package, which includes the printer, finisher, two plates, and a set of ink, is $5,190.00. Which is an affordable option for me right now. 

The only drawback is that it doesn't utilize white ink (Only CMYK) so no printing on dark fabrics. And we all know that within a year (probably less) a DTG will be released at a similar price point that DOES print on dark fabrics. 

Does anyone have any experience with this machine? Are there any options that do print on dark fabrics that are under 10k that I haven't found yet?

Any help would greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## OpenDTG

Also check the max print size to make sure that works for you. It is smaller than most.


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## LancerFlorida

I thought this was a 'BRAND NEW' product.
I doubt there are many users available for comment who are not in Ricoh's marketing budget.
If I understand the R100 concept, the stackable desktop product moves the heat press into the office environment. That should not be a problem.


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## InkDragon

I just ordered one of these at $4995 for the printer and the little forced-air dryer.

The cost per liter of ink is $85. Crazy less expensive than the $150-$300 per liter of Brother or Epson.

For me, I can now do one-off, four color jobs. And it's not a transfer.

If we look over time, a few years ago the DTG printers were $25-$20k.
Then Brother ($17k) and Epson ($15k) came out.
Now Ricoh has a printer at $5k. A super huge drop. I think they'll sell a billion.

Screen printers will suffer a bit, but other DTG shops will see their margins shrink.

I'll let you know how I like the unit.

Eric


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## Tietje Creative

InkDragon said:


> I just ordered one of these at $4995 for the printer and the little forced-air dryer.
> 
> The cost per liter of ink is $85. Crazy less expensive than the $150-$300 per liter of Brother or Epson.
> 
> For me, I can now do one-off, four color jobs. And it's not a transfer.
> 
> If we look over time, a few years ago the DTG printers were $25-$20k.
> Then Brother ($17k) and Epson ($15k) came out.
> Now Ricoh has a printer at $5k. A super huge drop. I think they'll sell a billion.
> 
> Screen printers will suffer a bit, but other DTG shops will see their margins shrink.
> 
> I'll let you know how I like the unit.
> 
> Eric


How do you like the Ricoh Ri 100?


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## InkDragon

I love it. It's fast. The design software is great. And I can print right from Photoshop.

The heatpress / heater oven is simple to use.

A shirt takes about 2.5 min to print and 3 to cure.
The pre-heat/press takes 30 sec. It came with three platens (Two A4, and one A5). I purchased another A4. BTW, for us Americans, A4 is about 8.5x11.

With three A4 platens, I can be pre/heating one shirt, and printing another, while threading another. So that's about one shirt per 3.5 minutes. so about 15 shirts an hour - full color.

What this does for me, is it gives me the ability to take one off orders at $25 per. Or small, full color orders at $25/10 shirts.

I have never found a heat transfer that lasted that long. They all seem to fade.

I still screen print, but now I can do small jobs (as in one) really fast. And the cost per shirt is like $.30 of ink. Over the years I have lost so much money on Epson or Brother inkjet printers that jammed - losing me the cost of the transfer paper.

I suspect I've spent way to much time fighting inkjet printers. Now I only have a cannon (not multi-function) for screen positives.

The Ricoh Ri 100 has a small print field, does not do black without a hack, and is not super fast. BUT ... it's super small, under $5k, and prints well. For me, it fills a niche. I have found a way to print on dark shirts, and extend the print area.

For example, I screen print one color as an overall print, then use the Ricoh to print the A4 center area. The overall look is a full color, all over print - with only one screen.

I've also done dress shirts. The printer can do a left chest all day long.

A full color logo on a dress shirt, without any screens, is profitable without any set-up. I can print left-chest logos with each person's name in no extra time. Every shirt get's a custom name.

Overall the Ricoh fits a need for either small jobs or multiple variation jobs (like names or numbers). I think the Ricoh will help me earn more business this year.

For most dark one-offs, I have an OKI 711WT and the forever transfers. About $3 per print and three step process. About the same amount of time. For me, these two printers let me take small jobs at a profit.

One day I may get a DTG that has a larger field and can do black without a hack. The Kornit Breeze is about $40k or so. That's too rich for me right now. But the Ricoh lets me say YES to small jobs on light fabric, and profitably.

1,000 prints of transfer paper for lights might be $500 (paper + ink).
1,000 prints on the Ricoh is $300 and less time for the operator.
That's $200 is savings per 1k prints. So it will take a while to justify a $5k investment.

But with better quality than transfers (in my opinion), I can charge more. So I think I'll see this paid off in a quarter.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I love this printer!

Eric


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## djque

80 washes with the dtg then the ink starts to faded. silkscreeners will not suffer at all we heard this line before. the new silicone inks is what making headlines. guess what dtg cant print that. also i'm sure most that print we print bigger than 8.5x11.


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## InkDragon

djque said:


> 80 washes with the dtg then the ink starts to faded. silkscreeners will not suffer at all we heard this line before. the new silicone inks is what making headlines. guess what dtg cant print that. also i'm sure most that print we print bigger than 8.5x11.


You're right. Don't get me wrong, I purchased this DTG to help me get MORE clients that might want screen printing. They may start as a one-off client, but my goal is to convert them to more prints and screen prints.

With my screen print setup, I can print anywhere. And oversized or all-over-printing commands a higher price than DTG. There are some DTG printers that print 20x24 inch. However, being able to print one-off shirts, in full color, without transfers is huge.

Using my Epson (which I just tossed in the garbage), I could print a transfer, on quality paper, that faded in about 10 washes. So 50 would be an improvement. 50 washes would be years of wear.

I am not a fan of printing everything for the client. I don't do spangle, rhinestones, heat applied vinyl (I have a cutter for other stuff).

The DTG printer, fits a niche in the market to get clients. Once I have them, I upsell.

DTG is training the market that it can get a one-off shirt for about $25. The Big Frog franchise ($100,000 buy in) lets someone run a DTG retail business selling shirts at $20 for one. So that model exists. The screen printing is not on-site, but jobbed out to the franchise printing locations that print and ship. The retail stores are feeder sites.

But I don't want the retail overhead. So for me, this little DTG printer offers a market advantage. A way into the client's conversation about an order.

Eric


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## LancerFlorida

"The Ricoh Ri 100 has a small print field, does not do black without a hack, and is not super fast. BUT ... it's super small, under $5k, and prints well. For me, it fills a niche. I have found a way to print on dark shirts, and extend the print area.

For example, I screen print one color as an overall print, then use the Ricoh to print the A4 center area. The overall look is a full color, all over print - with only one screen."
-----------------------------------------------------
Do I understand correctly, you are printing on black using this DTG by first screen printing a base. I have never been able to get the DGT inks to adhere to the underbase. 
Perhaps you are discharging which injects a bunch more steps and concerns.

I hope you say you can print on the base and acheive the durability needed. If so, what ink is your base created with?
Thank you.


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## InkDragon

LancerFlorida said:


> Do I understand correctly, you are printing on black using this DTG by first screen printing a base. I have never been able to get the DGT inks to adhere to the underbase.
> Perhaps you are discharging which injects a bunch more steps and concerns.
> 
> I hope you say you can print on the base and acheive the durability needed. If so, what ink is your base created with?
> Thank you.


I don't use a base.
I discharge. Because I also airbrush t-shirts, I have a special airbrush attachment for fast, field spraying. Using a mask (airbrush speak for a blockout) frame, I spray the shirt with a special discharge that works for airbrushing. This discharges the shirt chemically.

I can do about one shirt very 5 seconds.

For most DTG printers, there is an pre-treatment for dark shirts. The Kornit Breeze I saw at a show, did the pre-treatment inline. It's $40k.

DTG printers under $20k need pretreatment (from what I've been told). So, unless you're spending upword of $25k, I suspect everyone is pretreating dark garments.

With the airbrush, my pretreatment is super fast and needs no heatpress step.

But again, it's a hack.


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## Jessmc

I have another post on this website and I am desperate for help from someone that uses this printer. I have the Ricoh 100 too and I am having trouble printing fonts and occasional graphics without a little double print happening

I am printing .psd from photoshop right to the printer.

If you notice the word three the first e comes out fine and the second has a little shadow. And in the other font it also has a shadow in the letters as well.

I was wondering if you have had this issue with this printer or if you knew a fix for it

Thanks


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## InkDragon

The problem you're having is because of Vivid mode.
Here is how to fix this.

The printer has four modes, and some heights.

In normal mode, it will printer either print unidirectional or bidirectional.
This is ONE pass.

In vivid mode, it printers the shirt TWICE, and you get this "shadow" effect.

This is do to a slight misalignment in the second pass registration.

Because vivid mode lays down more ink, it's kind of nice to use. However, it can result in this unregistered shadow.

Solution #1.
Adjust the height of the print head. I own two of these printers and when the printhead is at the right height, the off set will be reduced on the second print. That is, it's less noticeable.

Solution #2.
Run the alignment program on a t-shirt.
This prints a test pattern for you to set the alignment.

This can help you verify the height is correct.

Solution #3.
Because vivid mode, is really two prints, you can stay in standard mode and print two copies.
Vivid mode may have a slight off set, and printing two copies gives you the same effect, but may case the cassette to be returned to the true home position.

Let me know if any of these solved your problem.

Thanks Eric


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## Jessmc

InkDragon said:


> The problem you're having is because of Vivid mode.
> Here is how to fix this.
> 
> The printer has four modes, and some heights.
> 
> In normal mode, it will printer either print unidirectional or bidirectional.
> This is ONE pass.
> 
> In vivid mode, it printers the shirt TWICE, and you get this "shadow" effect.
> 
> This is do to a slight misalignment in the second pass registration.
> 
> Because vivid mode lays down more ink, it's kind of nice to use. However, it can result in this unregistered shadow.
> 
> Solution #1.
> Adjust the height of the print head. I own two of these printers and when the printhead is at the right height, the off set will be reduced on the second print. That is, it's less noticeable.
> 
> Solution #2.
> Run the alignment program on a t-shirt.
> This prints a test pattern for you to set the alignment.
> 
> This can help you verify the height is correct.
> 
> Solution #3.
> Because vivid mode, is really two prints, you can stay in standard mode and print two copies.
> Vivid mode may have a slight off set, and printing two copies gives you the same effect, but may case the cassette to be returned to the true home position.
> 
> Let me know if any of these solved your problem.
> 
> Thanks Eric


Thanks for the help. So here is the weird thing
This still happens even when I dont print in vivid mode. I attached another picture done in thin garment speed mode. The other thing is it seems to happen at the top of the cassette, i.e i make childrens baseball shirts, i put the name at the top of the shirt and it will print this way however if i put a name in the middle of the cassette it lrints fine. I am stumped and this is slowing down my production tremendously so its getting very frustrating.

Any other suggestions? Thanks again!


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## InkDragon

Have you done the test print to set the adjustment?

In the maintenance menu, there is a test print procedure.
Once the test print is done, you can do an adjustment for standard t-shirt, fine t-shirt and vivid t-shirt. Although I suspect the adjustment will be the same value.

Try that. Run the test print and make the adjustment.

If that fails, try the same print in unidirectional mode. See if the problem goes away.

Let me know what you find out.

Eric


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## InkDragon

djque said:


> 80 washes with the dtg then the ink starts to faded. silkscreeners will not suffer at all we heard this line before. the new silicone inks is what making headlines. guess what dtg cant print that. also i'm sure most that print we print bigger than 8.5x11.


Two points.

80 washes is a lot. That's two years of wearing the shirt more than twice a month.

And ...

90% of my screen printing customers wanted an 8.5 x 11 print area anyway. Kids clothing, large or smaller shirts. And, I can register the shirt for a second print (17 x 11) still faster than the four color set-up for screens.

I still screen print, but this printer is amazing in what it can do. And the customers it can serve.

It's been a money maker for me.


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## Calista20

I just received this printer last week and I've enjoyed playing around with it. Thank you to those who have posted on here already as it has helped me become a little more familiar with it. The instructions don't really seem to be all that thorough.

I am preferring to print in vivid mode right now from Photoshop. While I am getting good results, I am noticing that some of the test washes I have done seem to fade in the cold water wash I am putting them through after only 1 wash. 
Does vivid need a longer cure in the oven or should I be pressing them to get better washability results. 

Any help is appreciated! Loving this little printer so far.


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## InkDragon

Calista20 said:


> I am preferring to print in vivid mode right now from Photoshop. While I am getting good results, I am noticing that some of the test washes I have done seem to fade in the cold water wash I am putting them through after only 1 wash.
> Does vivid need a longer cure in the oven or should I be pressing them to get better washability results.


On this page you'll see all six print modes on one shirt.
shop.inkdragondesigns.com/ricoh-ri-100-test-print/

Vivid mode does two passes over the whole print. It's the slowest mode because of that. You don't need to cure longer. All DTG prints fad a bit on the first wash without a pre-treatment. 

I suggest you try some sample shirts from RTP apparel,
www.rtpapparel.com/products/sample-pak-rtp-apparel-sample-pack-of-dtg-ready-to-print-shirts

They offer samples of their pre-treated shirts. These fad a lot less with any DTG printer. I got a sample from them.

Also, any ring-spun shirt will fade less. I use a lint roller before I pre-heat. Then pre-heat and print. Then cure. So ... to minimize fade:
Use pre-treaded shirts - even on white.
Use ring-spun (RTP shirts are both ring-spun and pre-teated).
Pre-press/heat.
Vivid mode is best for intensity, but Speed or Quality works for me.
Cure.
Wash to test.

What fades the most are open-ended, carded (aka cheap) shirts.

Hope that helps.

Eric


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## APCUSTOMSHOP

I had this same issue. Double image means you have a defective printer. The prints I was getting were worse about 1/8 inch off. 


Call the Anajet customer service. They know about the double print issue with the Ri100. The cause is a bad encoder or carriage mechanism. I received a return FedEx label free of cost and the replacement printer arrived in a week. 

AP


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## InkDragon

APCUSTOMSHOP said:


> I had this same issue. Double image means you have a defective printer. The prints I was getting were worse about 1/8 inch off.
> 
> 
> Call the Anajet customer service. They know about the double print issue with the Ri100. The cause is a bad encoder or carriage mechanism. I received a return FedEx label free of cost and the replacement printer arrived in a week.
> 
> AP


I had this issue only in Vivid mode. And an alignment adjustment fixed it for me. But thanks.

Eric


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## edward1210

InkDragon said:


> I love it. It's fast. The design software is great. And I can print right from Photoshop.
> 
> The heatpress / heater oven is simple to use.
> 
> A shirt takes about 2.5 min to print and 3 to cure.
> The pre-heat/press takes 30 sec. It came with three platens (Two A4, and one A5). I purchased another A4. BTW, for us Americans, A4 is about 8.5x11.
> 
> With three A4 platens, I can be pre/heating one shirt, and printing another, while threading another. So that's about one shirt per 3.5 minutes. so about 15 shirts an hour - full color.
> 
> What this does for me, is it gives me the ability to take one off orders at $25 per. Or small, full color orders at $25/10 shirts.
> 
> I have never found a heat transfer that lasted that long. They all seem to fade.
> 
> I still screen print, but now I can do small jobs (as in one) really fast. And the cost per shirt is like $.30 of ink. Over the years I have lost so much money on Epson or Brother inkjet printers that jammed - losing me the cost of the transfer paper.
> 
> I suspect I've spent way to much time fighting inkjet printers. Now I only have a cannon (not multi-function) for screen positives.
> 
> The Ricoh Ri 100 has a small print field, does not do black without a hack, and is not super fast. BUT ... it's super small, under $5k, and prints well. For me, it fills a niche. I have found a way to print on dark shirts, and extend the print area.
> 
> For example, I screen print one color as an overall print, then use the Ricoh to print the A4 center area. The overall look is a full color, all over print - with only one screen.
> 
> I've also done dress shirts. The printer can do a left chest all day long.
> 
> A full color logo on a dress shirt, without any screens, is profitable without any set-up. I can print left-chest logos with each person's name in no extra time. Every shirt get's a custom name.
> 
> Overall the Ricoh fits a need for either small jobs or multiple variation jobs (like names or numbers). I think the Ricoh will help me earn more business this year.
> 
> For most dark one-offs, I have an OKI 711WT and the forever transfers. About $3 per print and three step process. About the same amount of time. For me, these two printers let me take small jobs at a profit.
> 
> One day I may get a DTG that has a larger field and can do black without a hack. The Kornit Breeze is about $40k or so. That's too rich for me right now. But the Ricoh lets me say YES to small jobs on light fabric, and profitably.
> 
> 1,000 prints of transfer paper for lights might be $500 (paper + ink).
> 1,000 prints on the Ricoh is $300 and less time for the operator.
> That's $200 is savings per 1k prints. So it will take a while to justify a $5k investment.
> 
> But with better quality than transfers (in my opinion), I can charge more. So I think I'll see this paid off in a quarter.
> 
> Sorry to be so long winded, but I love this printer!
> 
> Eric


 Thank you great info
question How do you do to be able to print on dark shirt?
do you charge $25 per shirt?


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## InkDragon

edward1210 said:


> Thank you great info
> question How do you do to be able to print on dark shirt?
> do you charge $25 per shirt?



Every DTG needs a pre-treatment system to print on dark shirts.
I use one of three methods to print on darks.

My shirt pricing is between $49.95 - $24.95.
I try to say away from the $14.95 market. But for larger orders I might.

Thanks Eric


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## boxxo

I had a Ricoh Ri 100 DTG and I'm using nearly 3 months. Now I had a Problem it says SC (28112). Do you know what was about it? Thanks


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## InkDragon

I contacted Ricoh, should have an answer soon.
Eric


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## InkDragon

boxxo said:


> I had a Ricoh Ri 100 DTG and I'm using nearly 3 months. Now I had a Problem it says SC (28112). Do you know what was about it? Thanks


I have no answer from Ricoh yet. Did you get one?

On Ricoh Sublimation printers, this code is a leak in the ink line. Not sure if it's the same for the RI 100. Can you check your lines to see if any has become disconnected or if you see a bubble in one of the lines?

Eric


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## boxxo

boxxo said:


> I had a Ricoh Ri 100 DTG and I'm using nearly 3 months. Now I had a Problem it says SC (28112). Do you know what was about it? Thanks


They sent me a sequence. They did not explain why it's happened. 
I attached PDF file as well. 
Thanks


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## InkDragon

Wow! OK. I notice that document comes from the 3110DN an inkjet printer for sublimation.


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## InkDragon

boxxo said:


> I had a Ricoh Ri 100 DTG and I'm using nearly 3 months. Now I had a Problem it says SC (28112). Do you know what was about it? Thanks


Got a better answer for you:

1. Turn the main power switch off and then back on.
2. Install the ink cartridge securely.

When the SC occurs at ink initialization:
1. Push the ink cartridge until it is inserted all the way.
2. Close the front right cover, and turn the main power on.
3. The ink initialization restarts.

When the SC occurs after an ink cartridge is replaced (after 20 prints)
1. Push the ink cartridge until it is inserted all the way.
2. Close the front right cover.
3. Do head-flushing for all colors in User Mode


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## vlcnmstr

i have always been told that 50 washes is considered "life of the garment" and some screen printers local to me have said "20" i live of the garment.. 
so if the t fades at 80, that's not too bad. and for things like bags that don't get washed (or as often) the bag will wear out long before the print


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## InkDragon

vlcnmstr said:


> i have always been told that 50 washes is considered "life of the garment" and some screen printers local to me have said "20" i live of the garment..
> so if the t fades at 80, that's not too bad. and for things like bags that don't get washed (or as often) the bag will wear out long before the print


This is actually, not true. Whoever told that to you was just guestimating.

If a fabric is dyed, the print will last the lifetime of the garment.
Waterbased inks and discharge will also last years. Over 80 washes.
Plastisol will last the least, BUT, if done right, will also last over 80 washes.

That said, plastisol and waterbased inks may fade over time, just as the garment will wear, and become thinner.

Heat transfers, fade the fastest. This is why DTG is superior to transfer. But a DTG print will fade on the first wash if not pre-treaded. My Ri100 prints do not fade if I use "vivid" mode. This double prints the image, but the one-wash fade test shows no fade, even on non-pretreated garments.

So there you have my two cents.

Thanks Eric


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## vlcnmstr

Thanks..
Do you find white with pre-treat about the same as the double print without?
I’m trying to get a handle on all the new stuff... last time I considered dtg was about 7 years ago


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## bowroadprint

Hi
I read you wrote The cost per liter of ink is $85 for Ricoh RI100
Could you please advise me where can I buy ?
Thank you


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## InkDragon

https://anajet.com/shop/ricoh-garment-ink-for-ri-100-high-yield

Thanks Eric


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## equipmentzone

bowroadprint said:


> Hi
> I read you wrote The cost per liter of ink is $85 for Ricoh RI100
> Could you please advise me where can I buy ?
> Thank you



Actually the price appears to be $72 for a 100 ml size cartridge. Comes out to $720 per liter (1000 ml).

_


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## momofboys

Hi there, I'm having a horizontal banding issue on red and pink prints. I have tried everything to fix this including multiple head cleanings, installed new ink and nothing seems to get rid of it. 

Does anyone have any ideas of how to fix this issue? 

Also, I have done the regular maintenance that is in the instructions. I am unsure what the cleaning ink cartridges are for that come with this unit though. Help?


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## Pipsy17

What do you recommend for pre-treatment? I am new to DTG (currently in the sublimation world). I am printing white baby onesies with bright colored designs, and it sounds like pre-treatment will get the best results.

Tips on the best method to do this and what product you recommend?

Thanks!


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## Raikun

Our supplier recommended the Light Pretreatment Solution to make the color pop. I haven't purchased it though - accessories for this machine is really expensive.


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## boxxo

Hello Everyone, 
I had a problem code SC20000.

I called Ricoh , They said it might be 

1. Maintenance motor not in the home position
2. Had a problem with Ink collector (I changed with the new one) 
3. Something else blocking Head (there is nothing) 

What I shall do?

Thanks


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## ianwebber

InkDragon said:


> I love it. It's fast. The design software is great. And I can print right from Photoshop.
> 
> The heatpress / heater oven is simple to use.
> 
> A shirt takes about 2.5 min to print and 3 to cure.
> The pre-heat/press takes 30 sec. It came with three platens (Two A4, and one A5). I purchased another A4. BTW, for us Americans, A4 is about 8.5x11.
> 
> With three A4 platens, I can be pre/heating one shirt, and printing another, while threading another. So that's about one shirt per 3.5 minutes. so about 15 shirts an hour - full color.
> 
> What this does for me, is it gives me the ability to take one off orders at $25 per. Or small, full color orders at $25/10 shirts.
> 
> I have never found a heat transfer that lasted that long. They all seem to fade.
> 
> I still screen print, but now I can do small jobs (as in one) really fast. And the cost per shirt is like $.30 of ink. Over the years I have lost so much money on Epson or Brother inkjet printers that jammed - losing me the cost of the transfer paper.
> 
> I suspect I've spent way to much time fighting inkjet printers. Now I only have a cannon (not multi-function) for screen positives.
> 
> The Ricoh Ri 100 has a small print field, does not do black without a hack, and is not super fast. BUT ... it's super small, under $5k, and prints well. For me, it fills a niche. I have found a way to print on dark shirts, and extend the print area.
> 
> For example, I screen print one color as an overall print, then use the Ricoh to print the A4 center area. The overall look is a full color, all over print - with only one screen.
> 
> I've also done dress shirts. The printer can do a left chest all day long.
> 
> A full color logo on a dress shirt, without any screens, is profitable without any set-up. I can print left-chest logos with each person's name in no extra time. Every shirt get's a custom name.
> 
> Overall the Ricoh fits a need for either small jobs or multiple variation jobs (like names or numbers). I think the Ricoh will help me earn more business this year.
> 
> For most dark one-offs, I have an OKI 711WT and the forever transfers. About $3 per print and three step process. About the same amount of time. For me, these two printers let me take small jobs at a profit.
> 
> One day I may get a DTG that has a larger field and can do black without a hack. The Kornit Breeze is about $40k or so. That's too rich for me right now. But the Ricoh lets me say YES to small jobs on light fabric, and profitably.
> 
> 1,000 prints of transfer paper for lights might be $500 (paper + ink).
> 1,000 prints on the Ricoh is $300 and less time for the operator.
> That's $200 is savings per 1k prints. So it will take a while to justify a $5k investment.
> 
> But with better quality than transfers (in my opinion), I can charge more. So I think I'll see this paid off in a quarter.
> 
> Sorry to be so long winded, but I love this printer!
> 
> Eric


Hi Eric, im running into same shadow problem on vivid and also regular one pass mode. only does the shadow at one end of the text, rest is fine. I have cleaned heads, flush heads, tried to raise height as per your suggestions, all to no avail. can u explain exactly how to adjust the heads? ie in maintenance when you have -4,+4 etc, and I want to change to -1 I cannot get it to lock on changes..
any advice? walk through etc? cheers. Ian


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## Raikun

So an update, A year owning this machine we experienced banding issues on magenta, and cartridge door not locking, ink cartridges keeps on coming off from where it sits. The inks doesn't last long - which means replacing ink cartridges too often will be too expensive. And yeah - ink cartridges is costly. Small and costly. Added cost too is the Ink Collector which fills up too fast. Expensive. And lately we're using light pretreat to enhance the color and washability.

Anyway, the last costly experience we had is the A4 tray breaking. The back hinge, the plastic where the screws are mounted are so hollow and brittle. I'm not even surprised now that it broke. Too flimsy and thin to hold the cover. Again, an expensive replacement. I'm trying to fix it but I experience ghosting issues with the print. So yeah - we now need a new one


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## APCUSTOMSHOP

I've had my printer since 2018 and had no issues. Nothing broke. Printing is clear. I do not use any pretreatment. When prompted by the console I follow all maintenance instructions. 
If you have banding or ghosting, clean the printhead several more times. Only use the cleaner solution that ricoh supplies. If you have double printing the issue is tray carriage mechanism.


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## boxxo

I had similar issues as well. 
I asked them to change, They give me a new one. 
Now everything is OK.
Thanks 



Raikun said:


> So an update, A year owning this machine we experienced banding issues on magenta, and cartridge door not locking, ink cartridges keeps on coming off from where it sits. The inks doesn't last long - which means replacing ink cartridges too often will be too expensive. And yeah - ink cartridges is costly. Small and costly. Added cost too is the Ink Collector which fills up too fast. Expensive. And lately we're using light pretreat to enhance the color and washability.
> 
> Anyway, the last costly experience we had is the A4 tray breaking. The back hinge, the plastic where the screws are mounted are so hollow and brittle. I'm not even surprised now that it broke. Too flimsy and thin to hold the cover. Again, an expensive replacement. I'm trying to fix it but I experience ghosting issues with the print. So yeah - we now need a new one


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## Raikun

What did they change, the whole printer or just the cassette tray?


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## Raikun

APCUSTOMSHOP said:


> I've had my printer since 2018 and had no issues. Nothing broke. Printing is clear. I do not use any pretreatment. When prompted by the console I follow all maintenance instructions.
> If you have banding or ghosting, clean the printhead several more times. Only use the cleaner solution that ricoh supplies. If you have double printing the issue is tray carriage mechanism.


I wish we had similar experiences. We follow all maintenance prompts from the machine, we never missed any. We are too meticulous too not to break the machine because it's a big purchase. Anyway - it has 2500 plus prints for a year now - and we just want to share these things so that some may share solutions for this.


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## Odyssey

Hey guys, great thread. I'm considering getting one of these to work alongside the single colour waterbased screen printing set up I have in my garage.
A couple of questions if anyone with any experience can help?
I get that Dark coloured tees won't work with this printer, but how dark are we talking before it starts to become ineffective? Would Heather Grey Tees work, or say, Royal blue, or is it only really for use with Whites?
Also can you print sweaters or is it just for tees?
Thanks in advance, Chris


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## Raikun

Odyssey said:


> Hey guys, great thread. I'm considering getting one of these to work alongside the single colour waterbased screen printing set up I have in my garage.
> A couple of questions if anyone with any experience can help?
> I get that Dark coloured tees won't work with this printer, but how dark are we talking before it starts to become ineffective? Would Heather Grey Tees work, or say, Royal blue, or is it only really for use with Whites?
> Also can you print sweaters or is it just for tees?
> Thanks in advance, Chris


My answer would be, I tried printing on heather grey - all colors except black will change, because of the lack of underbase. 

Printing on grey will be effective if you only use dark colors like black or blue or red - but it's really not advisable.


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## rooineck

InkDragon said:


> I love it. It's fast. The design software is great. And I can print right from Photoshop.
> 
> The heatpress / heater oven is simple to use.
> 
> A shirt takes about 2.5 min to print and 3 to cure.
> The pre-heat/press takes 30 sec. It came with three platens (Two A4, and one A5). I purchased another A4. BTW, for us Americans, A4 is about 8.5x11.
> 
> With three A4 platens, I can be pre/heating one shirt, and printing another, while threading another. So that's about one shirt per 3.5 minutes. so about 15 shirts an hour - full color.
> 
> What this does for me, is it gives me the ability to take one off orders at $25 per. Or small, full color orders at $25/10 shirts.
> 
> I have never found a heat transfer that lasted that long. They all seem to fade.
> 
> I still screen print, but now I can do small jobs (as in one) really fast. And the cost per shirt is like $.30 of ink. Over the years I have lost so much money on Epson or Brother inkjet printers that jammed - losing me the cost of the transfer paper.
> 
> I suspect I've spent way to much time fighting inkjet printers. Now I only have a cannon (not multi-function) for screen positives.
> 
> The Ricoh Ri 100 has a small print field, does not do black without a hack, and is not super fast. BUT ... it's super small, under $5k, and prints well. For me, it fills a niche. I have found a way to print on dark shirts, and extend the print area.
> 
> For example, I screen print one color as an overall print, then use the Ricoh to print the A4 center area. The overall look is a full color, all over print - with only one screen.
> 
> I've also done dress shirts. The printer can do a left chest all day long.
> 
> A full color logo on a dress shirt, without any screens, is profitable without any set-up. I can print left-chest logos with each person's name in no extra time. Every shirt get's a custom name.
> 
> Overall the Ricoh fits a need for either small jobs or multiple variation jobs (like names or numbers). I think the Ricoh will help me earn more business this year.
> 
> For most dark one-offs, I have an OKI 711WT and the forever transfers. About $3 per print and three step process. About the same amount of time. For me, these two printers let me take small jobs at a profit.
> 
> One day I may get a DTG that has a larger field and can do black without a hack. The Kornit Breeze is about $40k or so. That's too rich for me right now. But the Ricoh lets me say YES to small jobs on light fabric, and profitably.
> 
> 1,000 prints of transfer paper for lights might be $500 (paper + ink).
> 1,000 prints on the Ricoh is $300 and less time for the operator.
> That's $200 is savings per 1k prints. So it will take a while to justify a $5k investment.
> 
> But with better quality than transfers (in my opinion), I can charge more. So I think I'll see this paid off in a quarter.
> 
> Sorry to be so long winded, but I love this printer!
> 
> Eric


Thanks for the detail you went into and it has definitely piqued my interest in the Roland BT 12 ( same machine I understand but seems cheaper )
One question about combining screenprinting, do you screenprint first and then print the Image, if you use the Ricoh dryer does this affect the screenprint at all.
Also using the printer alone with no screeprinting, would it be possible to do 2 passes on one shirt on a non critical design, i.e print the top in landcape, dry and then print bottom half.


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## APCUSTOMSHOP

The Roland BT12 and Ricoh Ri100 price is the same. Both include the dryer unit and come with 2 sets of ink and 2 carriages. 
I print graphics onto the t-shirt first, then heat press some heat vinyl letters above and below. 
Yes you can reposition the shirt and print a second time to cover more area.


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## rooineck

Thanks for your reply, it sounds like worth investing even with some limitations.
My concern was not do much with executing the second print but the action of placing the shirt in the dryer for the second time and would this affect the first print.


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## InkDragon

rooineck said:


> Thanks for the detail you went into and it has definitely piqued my interest in the Roland BT 12 ( same machine I understand but seems cheaper )
> One question about combining screenprinting, do you screenprint first and then print the Image, if you use the Ricoh dryer does this affect the screenprint at all.
> Also using the printer alone with no screeprinting, would it be possible to do 2 passes on one shirt on a non critical design, i.e print the top in landcape, dry and then print bottom half.


First, the heater unit does not "dry" the ink. It sets it. I have printed, then moved the print, and printed again without heat setting. Then I just run the shirt down a regular convayor dryer. However, you could heatset, reposition and print again.

Next, You can screen print after the DTG print, and heatset in the "finishing" unit (which is what they call the heat setting part). If you use plastisol ink, you may need to use the spacers. These mean the finisher will NOT press the shirt. Only heat set it.


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## cy.nelson

hi guys, i am interested in ricoh ri100 dtg machine, just wondering if it can print on the quick dry t-shirt like 100% polyester eg nike quick dry?
thanks a lot


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## Faceandlens.com

Hi all, I'm new into this and I'm interested in this printer just was wondering is it possible to change one of the inks colors to white color and print only white (mono color) on black garments when needed? Or its not possible at all? It seems bec this printer only has 4 colors CMYK we can't do any work around or hacks to be able to print on dark garments. Correct?


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