Any comments or advice on my equipment thoughts... thanks.

[kevdsn]

Many thanks once again for all you valuable help and advice guys, certainly some more food for thought.

Just been costing up the Ricoh vs Epson and basically the Ricoh is going to cost about £1150 with large ink carts and the bypass tray for A3+ and the Epson comes in at about £670 ready for A3+; so I think I'll probably end up getting the Epson, in the long run the actual cost of the Epson printer is only £220 so if down the road I really struggle with it then I can make sure I finish the ink off and part company with it without taking a big financial hit. And if I start gripeing on here about bloody Epson you can always say "told you so!"

EDIT - I've just found I can do the Epson for £480 with the CIS and inks.

[Justin]

Lol, fair enough, I can see your reasoning. If it was me, I'd get the Ricoh with smaller carts and negotiate a killer deal with Xpres for printer and press ;-) 1500W is a fine printer though so I won't criticise that decision.

Another point against the Ricoh setup cost.....your first set of inks don't last anywhere near as long as subsequent carts as the long lines hold a fair amount in reserve. Second set last forever though :-)

[Justin]

.....get an A4 Ricoh as well as the 1500W....ok, I've said enough ;-)

[kevdsn]

lol... actually I did think that, good idea.

Cheers once again Justin, you've been a big help... appreciate it.

[RogerC]

Seriously..............if you're going to be printing regularly then, according to reports, the Epson should be fine but if you're not using it regularly the Ricoh, though initially more expensive, will most likely be more cost effective in the long run. There have been reports of Epson owners going on holiday for a couple of weeks coming back to a knackered machine. Whereas the Ricoh, left switched on and in 'sleep mode' looks after itself and 'wakes up' ready to go.

I have the Stahls Maxx and find the clam opening is not a problem....they do open quite wide although I have to admit the swing away does clear the base more for 'easier' access. I suppose it's what you get used to.

[kevdsn]

Thanks Roger, in an idea World I'd have both...or if 6 numbers come up on Sat... I will be printing initially daily as we will be building our initial stock of a specific product that we are launching later in the year and I have a fair bit to produce, so it sitting idle for a period won't be a problem to start with, hopefully if everything goes to plan we will need a second printer later in the year and then I will probably go for the Ricoh.

[mrs maggot]

the only thing i would say about an auto open press, is can it also be opened manually ? you may find that for some items you need a more gentle opening than some of the automated opening presses have

[kevdsn]

That I don't know but is a good point , will look into it... thanks

[pisquee]

When we moved from 4 colour Epson, to 7, we were immediately convinced, and there is no way we would go back to a 4 colour process. We are printing artwork to varous products for our own designer brand, as well as other artists and designers, and having the best colour and print quality is paramount, and it seems you are thinking the same way. Also, remember that the Ricoh printers are aimed at office printing, not artwork/photography, so quality wise Ricoh hadn't intended them for the purpose of printing your work to your standards, but more pie charts from Excel and PowerPoint!
I would urge you though, if you are wanting that works well, to avoid a printer that needs an external CISS system, as these seem to be one of the things people struggle with keeping working the most, often thinking that their printer is clogged, when it is more a problem with the CISS not delivering ink.
There are Epson office printers (WorkForce Pro range) with 100ml refill carts, but these are only 4 colour, so not ideal. Whereas the bigger Stylus Pro Epson printers (3000 series and above) which offer more colours and bigger refill carts, along with roll paper options, and more robust ink delivery and head cleaning systems. We can happily leave our printers for a few weeks to go on holiday, and print something when we get back without worrying of a dead printer.

[kevdsn]

When we moved from 4 colour Epson, to 7, we were immediately convinced, and there is no way we would go back to a 4 colour process. We are printing artwork to varous products for our own designer brand, as well as other artists and designers, and having the best colour and print quality is paramount, and it seems you are thinking the same way. Also, remember that the Ricoh printers are aimed at office printing, not artwork/photography, so quality wise Ricoh hadn't intended them for the purpose of printing your work to your standards, but more pie charts from Excel and PowerPoint!
I would urge you though, if you are wanting that works well, to avoid a printer that needs an external CISS system, as these seem to be one of the things people struggle with keeping working the most, often thinking that their printer is clogged, when it is more a problem with the CISS not delivering ink.
There are Epson office printers (WorkForce Pro range) with 100ml refill carts, but these are only 4 colour, so not ideal. Whereas the bigger Stylus Pro Epson printers (3000 series and above) which offer more colours and bigger refill carts, along with roll paper options, and more robust ink delivery and head cleaning systems. We can happily leave our printers for a few weeks to go on holiday, and print something when we get back without worrying of a dead printer.

I have looked at the R3000 and quality wise this fits the bill nicely, but I'm struggling to find information about sublimation inks for it's 9 colour system. If I was to fit refillable carts into it what goes into the Light black, light light black and matt black carts, sawgrass don't appear to offer any inks for these.