# Which one is better: Epson or Brother?



## 7amasha (Sep 21, 2011)

Hi all, 
I want to start my business in personalized sublimation gifts, like t-shirts mugs etc... but I'm confused, which printer is better Epson printers or the brother, because where I live they dont import sublimation Epson printers any more! but I can order it online, So I want to make sure which printer is better before ordering?

and I have another question, what is the difference between 4 color printer like Epson workforce 1100 and 6 color printer like Epson Stylus 1400??

Best Regards,


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

I am not aware of sublimation ink available for the brother. The Epson is best in this case. The1400 has 6 carts..one each CYMK and a light Cyan and a light magenta. The 1100 has 5 carts one each CYM and 2 K. You do not need the extra C and M in the 1400. It only increases costs, not results


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## BigRigGrafix (Sep 1, 2011)

I just Got a Richo N3300 Prints really well.


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## tshirtgirl214 (Aug 4, 2009)

7amasha said:


> Hi all,
> I want to start my business in personalized sublimation gifts, like t-shirts mugs etc... but I'm confused, which printer is better Epson printers or the brother, because where I live they dont import sublimation Epson printers any more! but I can order it online, So I want to make sure which printer is better before ordering?
> 
> and I have another question, what is the difference between 4 color printer like Epson workforce 1100 and 6 color printer like Epson Stylus 1400??
> ...


Epson is by far the best printer! The 1400 is just an upgrade to the .1100, so the 1400 ddoes print faster, but the 1100 has 2 black cartridges, which is nice. 
I have both and to me the print quality is about the same.
Charles really breaks down the cartride info for you in his post.
Good luck


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

For information, the 1400 comes with Claria inks, which they say is water resistant, but it is not good for garment transfers....and I think the 1400 came out sometime before the 1100 which does with pigment inks, which are good for inkjet transfers


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## ChameleonPrints (Apr 7, 2007)

charles95405 said:


> For information, the 1400 comes with Claria inks, which they say is water resistant, but it is not good for garment transfers....and I think the 1400 came out sometime before the 1100 which does with pigment inks, which are good for inkjet transfers


Kind of a moot point if they plan to use the printer for sublimation.


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## ChameleonPrints (Apr 7, 2007)

7amasha said:


> Hi all,
> and I have another question, what is the difference between 4 color printer like Epson workforce 1100 and 6 color printer like Epson Stylus 1400??


It's going to depend on what you are sublimating. T-shirts and other fabrics, you won't notice much difference in quality between a 6 color and 4 color printer. If you are doing tiles and plaques, then you may get better results with a 6 color.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

Not a mute point as sublimation ink is available for both..but with the 1400 you have expense of an extra cart


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## ChameleonPrints (Apr 7, 2007)

charles95405 said:


> Not a mute point as sublimation ink is available for both..but with the 1400 you have expense of an extra cart


What I was referring to as a moot point was your comment on claria inks vs pigmented inks.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

charles95405 said:


> Not a mute point as sublimation ink is available for both..but with the 1400 you have expense of an extra cart


Add to that the additional risk of head clogs and banding as you have more print heads.


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## 7amasha (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks all for replying, and for the useful information! I think I'll buy the Epson 1400.

so can you help me, what should I do as I get the printer, ex: shall I try it first in printing ordinary paper with the inks which comes with it and then put the sublimation cartridge and start working or what? (getting started)

Best Regards,


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## BlineBob (Jun 19, 2011)

I have the Ricoh 7000 love it. I had a epson 4000 . the 7000 is so much better alot less problems


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

7amasha said:


> Thanks all for replying, and for the useful information! I think I'll buy the Epson 1400.
> 
> so can you help me, what should I do as I get the printer, ex: shall I try it first in printing ordinary paper with the inks which comes with it and then put the sublimation cartridge and start working or what? (getting started)
> 
> Best Regards,


You will eventually need to get sublimation paper for transfer, but you should install Epsons inks and make sure the printer is OK and "prime" the printer with Epsons inks by printing maybe 10 pages or so using all the colors. For the "priming" just use regular inkjet paper.

You want to make sure the basic printer is OK and all software installed, you need to know everything is OK before you add more complexity to it with sub inks.

Look for the "purge 6" file in the zip file from the link below, it prints all 6 of your base colors. It can also be a more comrehensive way to see how your heads are doing, vs. nozzle checks if you have trouble later.

http://www.inksupply.com/html/zip/purge.zip


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

BlineBob said:


> I have the Ricoh 7000 love it. I had a epson 4000 . the 7000 is so much better alot less problems


Highly recommend before anyone spend over a $1400 for that GX7000 printer setup with SG inks take a look at this thread, buyer beware. 

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/dye-sublimation/t132123.html#post780138


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## BlineBob (Jun 19, 2011)

Had for 2 years so far it been great. lets hope it stay that way.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

BlineBob said:


> I have the Ricoh 7000 love it. I had a epson 4000 . the 7000 is so much better alot less problems


 
People do not seem to get the simple fact - printers do not clog. Poor quality ink in a printer does.

99.9% of the people claiming to have problems with Epson printers forget to mention they use old technology ink from Sawgrass that will not only clogg the printer constantly but destroy the head in short time.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

If you buy the 1400, you are buying old technology..I got mine over 3-4 years ago. You will pay more, get less and cost more for ink I have had 4c88series 2 c86, 1280, 1400, WF 1100 and a WF 30. Still using 3 of them. All are Epson units and all have had clogs whether using sublimation or pigment or claria. Just stating my experience. I have been in the biz about 13 years and have a store front

If you do get the 1400 get pigment from someone lime cobra ink


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

BlineBob said:


> Had for 2 years so far it been great. lets hope it stay that way.


Most having issues are those that don't print often, with a few exceptions.


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## 7amasha (Sep 21, 2011)

mgparrish said:


> You will eventually need to get sublimation paper for transfer, but you should install Epsons inks and make sure the printer is OK and "prime" the printer with Epsons inks by printing maybe 10 pages or so using all the colors. For the "priming" just use regular inkjet paper.
> 
> You want to make sure the basic printer is OK and all software installed, you need to know everything is OK before you add more complexity to it with sub inks.
> 
> ...


Thank you mgparrish! I'll perform this test as I get the printer, and should I do anything after that to use the sub inks? something like cleaning the nozzles first?
and as I start using the sublimation inks, I cant go back and use the Epson inks, right?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

7amasha said:


> Thank you mgparrish! I'll perform this test as I get the printer, and should I do anything after that to use the sub inks?
> something like cleaning the nozzles first?
> 
> *If you have a CIS then need to refer to the vendors instructions.*
> ...


I marked up in your text above.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

7amasha said:


> Thank you mgparrish! I'll perform this test as I get the printer, and should I do anything after that to use the sub inks? something like cleaning the nozzles first?
> and as I start using the sublimation inks, I cant go back and use the Epson inks, right?


If you go the cart route suggest to avoid using Artanium or Sawgrass prefilled carts, those are not refillable and crazy expensive to use, especially if you swap carts on occasion. Cobra has prefilled (but refillable) carts and bulk inks, or empty carts with bulk inks. CIS optional. They have both sub ink and pigment inks.

.:: Cobra Ink Systems::. This is where the term CIS began


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## 7amasha (Sep 21, 2011)

Hi guys, I have one more question, I'm calculating the cost per page, so how many pages do 100 ml of each color print? (a full color A3 and A4 page)


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