# Dye Sub back to regular inks



## mnhim001 (Jan 25, 2010)

I have been thinking about going either dye sub or chromablast but was wondering if I do go eithe way can I go back to regular ink for printing on regular paper?

I would like to convert, but also would like to keep the ability to print photos with this printer.

I have an Epson 1400. Is there some kind of hybrid system or are the inks ok to be taken out and left sitting for a while or once I convert over its pretty much permanent?


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

it is not practical to 'switch' inks in the printer....when you switch, you have to completely purge the ink lines which wastes the ink...and sublimation inks are expensive,,besides the 1400 is not great for sublimation..oh it is a great printer but has 6 carts and you really only need 4 for sublimation. I did successful sublimation for years with just an Epson 88 series

The 1400 is great for photos but you can save $$ by going either with an Epson WF30 or WF1100 or a Ricoh gel printer


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

You should probably get a whole new printer for sublimation. You can buy an Epson Workforce 1100 with a CISS and Sublimation ink for $300.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

charles95405 said:


> it is not practical to 'switch' inks in the printer....when you switch, you have to completely purge the ink lines which wastes the ink...and sublimation inks are expensive,,besides the 1400 is not great for sublimation..oh it is a great printer but has 6 carts and you really only need 4 for sublimation. I did successful sublimation for years with just an Epson 88 series
> 
> The 1400 is great for photos but you can save $$ by going either with an Epson WF30 or WF1100 or a Ricoh gel printer


Charles,

Purging ink out of the ink lines of a Epson desktop printer ....

In an Epson _desktop_ (letter or tabloid size) printer the carts are sitting directly on top of the printer and move with the print head transport. _There are no real ink lines_. Only a very small volume of remains in the print head and the direct feed from the cart when you switch inks.

You can easily change carts back and forth and the only "purging" that is involved is when the printer does an automatic head clean when it senses new or different carts are installed. I routinely switch back and forth between pigments and sublimation on a WF1100 with refillable carts. Did this with the C86 C88 C88+ as well.

On a larger format Epson such as the 4880 I have ... there are real ink lines and they hold up to 55 mL of ink in those lines. The heads are seperated from the carts via the lines and the carts are stationary. In those cases when switching ink types then you must "purge" $$$. 

I do agree that the 1400 is not the best Epson for sublimation though. 

A reasonably question of being practical switching carts on demand does exist, but it is also practical to have 1 printer for both types of printer, especially on a WF1100 with a fairly large footprint. 

I do all my sublimation in batches and don't print sublimation every day. I don't think printing 1 item from a switched cart set then switch back again is efficient, so that's why I do all my jobs in batch runs. When I'm not using the WF1100 for sublimation I use it for pigment transfers. So the primary ink is pigment, then I switch to sublimation on demand. Works great and been doing it for years.

Michael


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

so reasonable folks can disagree. but since most us...I think...will use a CIS


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

charles95405 said:


> so reasonable folks can disagree. but since most us...I think...will use a CIS


Yes many options, based on the post looks like he has OEM carts installed and not using a CIS.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

mnhim001 said:


> I have been thinking about going either dye sub or chromablast but was wondering if I do go eithe way can I go back to regular ink for printing on regular paper?
> 
> I would like to convert, but also would like to keep the ability to print photos with this printer.
> 
> I have an Epson 1400. Is there some kind of hybrid system or are the inks ok to be taken out and left sitting for a while or once I convert over its pretty much permanent?


As was suggested by another the 1400 is not the best printer to do sublimation or regular tshirt transfers (like Chromablast).

The WF1100 is the cheapest larger Epson printer you can do sublimation on.

But you can use that printer (1400) for both type transfers and switch carts on demand. You cannot do this easily with a CIS system though. If you are doing a lot of sublimation *and* print frequently best to dedicate a printer to that task and use a CIS.

For a real hybrid solution you need to have at min a 8 color 2880, 4880, etc.

MultiRIP Screen Printing, Sublimation, Transfers, Photograph and General Printing RIP Software

But for the cost of the RIP and the much more expensive printer you can either swap carts on an Epson desktop or just buy 2 Epson desktops and dedicate them to a single task..

My opinon on Chromablast ... Why?
Just use good pigment inks and a good paper like Transjet 2 or Jetpro SS. Save your money. Use cheaper inks and paper and get better quality. The regular pigment inks can also be used for hardcopy photo printing.

Michael


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

You can still use your CIS, and have extra carts filled with Sublimation refillable cartridges. Just take them out, tape the botton whole, and set aside. 

I don't know if Sublimation dries or not, but pigment does. So, I'd keep the Pigment in the CIS. 

You can buy a CIS for under $100 with Pigment Ink shipped to you. 

I'm sure if you're on this Forum you should be able to install a CIS. If you can't, I'd look into another trade or hobby.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

selanac said:


> You can still use your CIS, and have extra carts filled with Sublimation refillable cartridges. Just take them out, tape the botton whole, and set aside.
> 
> I don't know if Sublimation dries or not, but pigment does. So, I'd keep the Pigment in the CIS.
> 
> ...


Yet another good option. 

I would add that when you remove the refillable sub carts that you need to put back the air flow bladder (right before you remove the carts from the printer) then take out the carts tape the bottoms and store upright in a sealable bag.

In addition, I find that Epsons last a lot longer if you don't dedicate for sublimation, the OEM inks, or good 3rd pigment inks, are what the printer was designed for, and the print head life is longer if you are using pigments, even if not 100% of the time. 

Even if someone is using a CIS system you really need a set of pigment ink carts handy when you troubleshoot for banding/clogging problems. 

Michael


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## conde tech (Nov 15, 2007)

No, doing so can cause damage to the print head.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

conde tech said:


> No, doing so can cause damage to the print head.


You have misread my comment

I stated:


"I would add that when you *remove the refillable sub carts* that you need to put back the air flow bladder (*right before you remove the carts from the printer*) then *take out* the carts tape the bottoms and *store* upright in a sealable bag."

(Emphasis mine.)

How would removing a cart from the printer and then putting back the CIS damage the print head? 

I do this all the time. *I am not stating that you print with the bladder installed !!!!! I keep the bladder on for storage and remove for printing, that is what it is for.*

I realize that Conde is not selling or supporting refillable carts for sublimation, however, those that do provide this instruction. 

Or are you saying that using OEM or 3rd party pigments inks damage the head if you have sub ink in there and switch back?

What specifically are you saying that will damage the head?


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