# Changing my epson sublimation Printer. What choices do I have?



## lizacwilson (Mar 9, 2007)

Hi everyone, 

It's been a while since I last posted, as I have been really busy! My problem now is my epson D88 printer and bulk flow system is letting me down BIG TIME with printing my mugs!  

I had this problem with black flecks printing all over the mug, and I read somewhere on these forums that this problem was known for the D88 printer! Sometimes its not so noticeable, but predominantly white designed mugs look extremely speckled!! 

So anyway, I'm thinking I'm gonna need to change my epson printer and bulk flow system. I believe the ones I have are Durabrite inks. 

Am I right in thinking there are only a few I can change to? And Is there one better than the other? I really wanted to change my printer to an A3 size anyway, so I can do bigger items, so its not too much of an issue! 

My next question is what the heck do I do with my old one? (It prints just fine for t-shirts and everything else, so I'm thinking maybe I can sell it on e-bay? 

Final question!! Can I use the 4 bulk flow inks that came with the epson D88 and use it with my new printer, by just adding the 2 additional inks? Or should I just sell it with the printer?

Hmm, sorry so many questions. If somebody could just answer a couple, that would be great!!!! 

On a high note, to finish, I just want to say how glad I am that I finally spent out on a mighty heat press from coastal, (your sponsers) and got it shipped all the way to the UK! It was the best move I EVER made. (even though I had to pay £72 pounds in taxes!) 

I LOVE my press, and for the first time ever I dont have to worry about cold spots, uneven pressure and everything else associated with a cheap e-bay press! My stuff looks great, so now i want to get everything right, and get myself a decent printer! 

Any pointers in the right direction would be great! Thanks.


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## writeonvinyl (Feb 19, 2008)

I would love to know the best type print to get to do shirts, mugs, and hats... I'm really hoping to only buy once and invest in an economic, but good printer that will last... that's a lot to ask, huh?


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## azballbusters (Jan 8, 2008)

Of course it all comes down to money and cost justufying a purchase. Iwent through so many issues with the Epson 1800 and 1400 with bulk system that I threw in the towel and purchased a Epson 4800. There are just too many things to go wrong with an open air bulk system in comparison to a crtridge based system. Just the savings in aggrevation alone was worth the extra outlay for the 4800.


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## lizacwilson (Mar 9, 2007)

azballbusters said:


> Of course it all comes down to money and cost justufying a purchase. Iwent through so many issues with the Epson 1800 and 1400 with bulk system that I threw in the towel and purchased a Epson 4800. There are just too many things to go wrong with an open air bulk system in comparison to a crtridge based system. Just the savings in aggrevation alone was worth the extra outlay for the 4800.


Hi Mark, are we talking major problems with the 1400 and 1800, cos I', not sure if I can push to the epson 4800! That's the top one on the market isn't it? Can they be worse than the D88? I havn't really had major issues with clogging or anything like that. Its shredded quite a lot of my paper though! 

Has anyone else had any issues with those printers?


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## writeonvinyl (Feb 19, 2008)

Does the Epson 4800 have the issues with the specs that are being reported with other Epson models? I hate to spend that much money and find out that the items aren't the quality that I want to put out there for my customers!


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## rrc62 (Jun 2, 2007)

azballbusters said:


> Of course it all comes down to money and cost justufying a purchase. Iwent through so many issues with the Epson 1800 and 1400 with bulk system that I threw in the towel and purchased a Epson 4800. There are just too many things to go wrong with an open air bulk system in comparison to a crtridge based system. Just the savings in aggrevation alone was worth the extra outlay for the 4800.


I just bought a 4880 for exactly the same reasons. I had a 1400 and it only lasted 6 months. I was told by Epson that it is just not made for heavy usage. There is a cleaning mechanism under the head that gets gummed up with heavy usage and it's not serviceable.

I might be selling the 1400 to a friend so he can make his own race team shirts. Epson sent me a brand new replacement.

PS...My 1400 had the same spotting issue. Your C88 CIS and inks won't be usable with onother printer.


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## azballbusters (Jan 8, 2008)

I had the paper feeding issue with dye sub paper. I also really think the ink problems lay in the bulk systems. I was using the Artanium system and maybe it was just me but the one I had for the 1800 and the 1400 were just problematic. First, in my opinion, they are not designed well although the one for the 1400 is significantly better in design then the one I had for the 1800. I had to constantly monitor it. The final straw came when I ran a job of 23 19X13" designs only to come back and see that after the 3rd page the black had stopped printing. Earlier I had the same issue with yellow. It got to the point in my mind that if the stress, missed deadlines, etc. etc was not worth the effort and either shut it all down or get a real printer. I chose the latter. 

It is just hassle free, in comparison, when dealing with a closed system (cartridges). If you go on Ebay you can find some really good deals on 4800's. I found one with less then 250 prints, 1 1/2 years left on the Epson Warraty for $1100. Plus I got a bunch of unopened Epson ink I sold for $200. In this case - Bigger is Better


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## lizacwilson (Mar 9, 2007)

Wow! I'm glad I just didn't go straight out there and buy one! Thanks for everyones input here.

Can I just clarify one point though. You are saying to use ordinary cartridges with the 4800 as opposed to the bulk flow systems?

Isn't that a really expensive way to print?

Hmm. Why can't someone invent something that works properly?? 

I hate making choices! Especially when they involve vast sums of money! 

Ok, any other input would be good here. I'm still thinking.............................


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## rrc62 (Jun 2, 2007)

The 4800, now 4880, is more economical on ink to begin with. They don't make a bulk ink system for this printer because the stock carts are as big or bigger than the bulk carts/bags for the other printers. Carts come in either 110ml or 220ml sizes. Naturally, the larger the cart the less the ink per ml. So you are paying less per ml for ink and you are using a better, more economical printer. The 4880 actually has the least cost per print, but you pay m ore up front.

The 4880 is a professional, commercial grade printer. The 1400 is consumer grade. The 1400 is working well for some people, but it's not made for the rigors of commercial use.


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## lizacwilson (Mar 9, 2007)

That makes more sense now. Perhaps I will look into getting one of these printers! 

Does anyone know where to get a good priced one? I am based in the uk, but it was definately cheaper for me to get my heat press shipped from America, than it was to get one here in the UK! Even with duty and taxes!

I'll start searching around anyway. Thanks for the help so far.


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## lizacwilson (Mar 9, 2007)

Hi,

I know this is an old post, but, I am finally getting around to changing my printer, as the inks are now really low, but I still dont know wether to go for the more expensive 4800!

I have found one on e-bay with these specs

*epson Stylus Pro 4000 A2 Network Printer* - Only 3 years old, has had light usage. superb condition.  supplied with additional extras worth £760.00 as follows: x1 10/100 T Base Ethernet Card for printer networking (new retail value £350.00) x8 / full set of Epson Inks already installed (new retail value £300.00) x3 unopened Epson Inks (new retail value £90.00) x1 unopened Epson maintenance tank (new retail value £20.00) x1 Epson Pro 4000 driver CD x1 Epson net 10/100 base print server CD x1 Epson Pro 4000 driver for Intel Mac / Utility 2 / Paper feed adjuster x1 Folder with full printer manual. Full specification for the Epson Stylus Pro 4000

I dont know if I need all that stuff, and presumably those inks aren't the ones I need to use for sublimation printing? Would I need to buy other inks to use for this purpose?

Also, would it be worth purchasing a printer that old? (its had regular maintenance apparantly)

Thanks


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Hi Liza. If you have a printer that's not been used with sublimation ink, then you'll need to flush the system through before filling with sublimation ink. You can either do this with cartridges filled with flush solution, or print out a few sheets of heavy full colour graphics, which will unfortunately waste some of your sublimation ink. Until the old ink has been cleared out, you won't be able to sublimate correctly.*

*When using the term 'light usage' for printers, there is often a world of difference between one that's been used privately and one that's been used commercially. People seldom buy an A2 size printer to just print a few letters off. Unless you have a distinct need to go above above A3 size printing, it's something you need to consider very carefully. Parts and service costs can be significantly more on some of the large format printers. I used to own an Epson 3000 and nothing was cheap on that model. There are lots of good printers come up on EBay, you just have to choose wisely.*

*Hope this helps.*

*Will*


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