# Epson WF 7620 and sublimation



## teegee50 (Oct 5, 2014)

Hi all,
I might want to expand into dye sub but want to keep costs down. I currently have an Epson WF 7620 which I use with pigment ink for tees. Can I use it for dye sub and if so what do I need to do for cleaning down to switch from between inks.

Thanks to everyone out there for loads of useful information


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

teegee50 said:


> Hi all,
> I might want to expand into dye sub but want to keep costs down. I currently have an Epson WF 7620 which I use with pigment ink for tees. Can I use it for dye sub and if so what do I need to do for cleaning down to switch from between inks.
> 
> Thanks to everyone out there for loads of useful information


I assume you are wanting to swap carts and not CIS?

Just swap the carts. The printers firmware will automatically sense the cart change and charge the inks and do an auto head clean. This will completely displace any of the previous inks as there are no ink lines in this model and the print heads only store a very slight amount of inks.

After the swap is done and the printer comes back to "ready" then do a nozzle check. Do another head clean if needed.

I have the WF7110 which is the same printer minus the scanner.

Having said that ....

You will consume some ink up in this process due to the auto head cleaning, so if your inks are expensive this can add costs.

In most cases it is best to have a second printer. Situations where it might be efficient to swap carts.

1. You only sublimate on occasion and your primary use for the printer is regular inkjet ink printing.

2. You are able to print in "batches" and don't sublimate every day. This is my situation. I "que" my orders and have about a 3 day turnover for my stuff. As my orders come in I swap carts then I print all everything in one run or (batch). When I'm done with the batch I swap back.

I sell wholesale to a few accounts so my structure is different from most others. I use the printer the rest of the time as a regular pigment ink printer as I use it for general printing and for pigment based transfer and JPSS transfer paper. That way the printer never sits long without printing. 

Just my theory but I believe my printers last longer since I don't keep sub inks in them when sitting idle.

As your business expands it may be better to have a second printer dedicated for sublimation but certainly you can start out with swapping carts.


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## teegee50 (Oct 5, 2014)

Hi Mike,
Thanks for that really useful info. I was thinking of swapping the dye CISS for a sublimation CISS. Not sure if this is possible as I believe sublimation ink is more viscous ???


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

teegee50 said:


> Hi Mike,
> Thanks for that really useful info. I was thinking of swapping the dye CISS for a sublimation CISS. Not sure if this is possible as I believe sublimation ink is more viscous ???


I've never done that before. Unless you could clean it _thoroughly_ before you swap inks? Cleaning fluid is readily available and cheap. I wouldn't just pour inks into that w/o cleaning.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

teegee50 said:


> Hi Mike,
> Thanks for that really useful info. I was thinking of swapping the dye CISS for a sublimation CISS. Not sure if this is possible as I believe sublimation ink is more viscous ???


From my previous comment ... are you wanting to swap inks in the CIS or swap to a new CIS? 

The CIS would swap like the carts would, just replace it the auto head clean would purge out old inks. 

If swapping inks then you must clean the existing CIS.


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## teegee50 (Oct 5, 2014)

Hi Mike,
Yes I was thinking of having 2 separate CISS's. Great, that answers my question.

Thanks again.


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## ronrrico (Oct 30, 2015)

Hi teegee50, I've got a few WF Epsons with sublimation ink. The wf-7620 is a great printer for small jobs.
Here are some tips based on my experiences. First, I think you should keep the printers dedicated Pigment or Sublimation. For the cost of these WF printers, It is worth spending for the extra printer and having one less thing to worry about. The last thing you want to have, is a clogged printer in the middle of a job. Assuming that you purchase the wf-7620 new, you will need to install the epson starter ink cartridges that came with the printer to initialize and set up the printer for the first time. The printer will not allow after market/ciss's/refillable cartridges for the first set up. Once set up is complete, then you can switch to the ciss's/refillable cartridges with sub ink. I would do this right away before the pigment inks from the starter kit start to settle. One you have switched, do a couple good cleanings and test a print with a press. You definitely need a ciss with a auto reset chip for this printer. For some reason this printer thinks it's using a lot more ink than it does when using refillable cartridges. Example: I've had to manually reset my Cayan cartrige 6-7 times before it actually was empty. Curious thing, it happens with all colors except black,, go figure. Now I have them with auto reset ship cess's, smooth with no interruptions..
Thought I share my experiences, Might be different for others, always good you hear second opinions.


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## ronrrico (Oct 30, 2015)

Need a little advise! 
Just purchased an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 from craigslist for $200. The guy that sold it to me purchased it a couple years ago and barely used it at all. The printer still has the original cartridges and they are still half full. Not a scratch on the unit and it prints like champ, looks & works like it came out of the box yesterday. 
Now, i did mentioned in my posting earlier that I switched a couple wf epson printers from pigment to Sub ink. Never had any issued with those transitions mainly because the the printers were new and the transitions were quick, not allowing for pigment inks to sit in the printer for too long.
The Epson Stylus Pro 3800 I purchase has had the same ink in it for two years! How do I perform the transition to sub ink on this printer without clogging the heads? Is there something I can do to help the process? Should I expect a problem in this situation or, am I just being paranoid? lol 

Thanks, any advise will be well appreciated!


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## teegee50 (Oct 5, 2014)

Hi
Thanks for the info I haven't had this problem YET but not done much printing on it so far. 

Thanks


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## kimki1 (Jun 8, 2015)

ronrrico said:


> Hi teegee50, I've got a few WF Epsons with sublimation ink. The wf-7620 is a great printer for small jobs.
> Here are some tips based on my experiences. First, I think you should keep the printers dedicated Pigment or Sublimation. For the cost of these WF printers, It is worth spending for the extra printer and having one less thing to worry about. The last thing you want to have, is a clogged printer in the middle of a job. Assuming that you purchase the wf-7620 new, you will need to install the epson starter ink cartridges that came with the printer to initialize and set up the printer for the first time. The printer will not allow after market/ciss's/refillable cartridges for the first set up. Once set up is complete, then you can switch to the ciss's/refillable cartridges with sub ink. I would do this right away before the pigment inks from the starter kit start to settle. One you have switched, do a couple good cleanings and test a print with a press. You definitely need a ciss with a auto reset chip for this printer. For some reason this printer thinks it's using a lot more ink than it does when using refillable cartridges. Example: I've had to manually reset my Cayan cartrige 6-7 times before it actually was empty. Curious thing, it happens with all colors except black,, go figure. Now I have them with auto reset ship cess's, smooth with no interruptions..
> Thought I share my experiences, Might be different for others, always good you hear second opinions.


Hey Ron.....I hope you are not offended that I am jumping in on this post, but seeing as you have several WF 7620's for sublimation, I am wondering if you are using Cobra inks and have you had any problems with the new Cobra black ink? I am sublimating mugs and the black ink has a weird green tint to it. I have tried numerous profiles etc. but nothing seems to correct it. Any ideas? Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Kim


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## ACedia (Jul 16, 2017)

I know this is a old post post but I did not want to create a new one. I just bought the WF7620 and I read someone say I should switch from sublimation ink to regular printer ink from time to time to just keep printer running so it wont clog. Is this correct?


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## Amw (Jul 2, 2012)

Do a test print on it weekly and it should be fine. We have about 10 of them and never have any trouble with them unless we let them sit for more then a week with out printing or doing a test print.
I would not switch between dye sub ink and pigment ink.


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