Types of ink

[TonyM]

Hi all,
I have now purchased most of the equiptment I need to start creating a few mugs and t-shirts.
I have an epson 1400 with a ciss system that contains Artanium ink? I think that it contains artanium ink or is that the system?
My query is I see adverts for Rotech ink. Is this the same inl that is in my ne ciss system?
What is Artanium (I just know that is spelt wrong) ink and what is Rotech ink? Are they the same or different? Can I add rotech ink to the system I have. What is Sawgrass ink, can I mix and match etc.
Thank you for your anticipated replies
I know it is alot of questions but I would hate to block the printer or get funny colours as it is so very expensive and i need to get it right.
Regards

Tony

[bms]

Sawgrass have the licence for sublimation ink and they sell it under 3 brands - Artainium, Rotech and SubliJet. Each is formulated differently so don't mix and match the inks.

Artainium ink is the most popular in the UK and possibly Europe. Rotech were a competitor of Sawgrass until Sawgrass bought them out (or Rotech sold out to Sawgrass rather than defend a legal case) - so Rotech is now under the umbrella of Sawgrass. Both Artainium and Rotech inks use ICC profiles for colour management.

SubliJet is another brand of ink (not sure of the history) but mainly used in the US but there are a couple of distributors in the UK. SubliJet uses the PowerDriver software for colour management.

To confuse matters a little there is also SubliJetR which isn't the same as SubliJet and is a gel based ink used in the Ricoh printers.

[TonyM]

Thank you for the prompt and educated reply.

So basically although there are 3 types of ink they are all under licence to the same company (Sawgrass)
Hmm, perhaps that is why it is so expensive. it does seem somewhat of a monopoly.

As my new printer came with a ciss system pre primed with artainium sub ink then I must(am advised) to stay with that particular brand.

Finally when I purcase re-fills (recommends please) will I have to state printer make ie Epson 1400?
I read somewhere, not on here, that you have to give the serial number? That cat be right can it?
Really finally, What is this ink cleaning solution I have just found?
I have never used a cleaning solution before in a printer. Does one have to flush the printer sometimes? If so how.

Many Thanks

Tony

[bms]

As my new printer came with a ciss system pre primed with artainium sub ink then I must(am advised) to stay with that particular brand
I would recommend you stay with Artainium ink - it is very good. Obvioulsy I'm biased as we sell it, but other users here will. hopefully, confirm this. There's no need to change inks.


Finally when I purcase re-fills (recommends please) will I have to state printer make ie Epson 1400?
No really - just re-order the Artainium ink. The inks are the same for all printers. You'll just order a replacement bottle of 125ml of Artainium ink in Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light Cyan or Light Magenta. You don't need to give a serial number.


Really finally, What is this ink cleaning solution I have just found?
Rarely used unless you have an old printer with a major ink blockage. The R1800 printer uses this in the EasyFlow ink system, but that's the only printer that does. You probably would never need an ink cleaning solution.

[TonyM]

Thanks again BMS.
I hope you do not feel offended by my comments of a monopoly. I did not realise that you sold the inks.
Good solid advice and I am off to look at your site for refills and and other items.
I think suffice to say you have gained a customer.

Regards
Tony

[bms]

I hope you do not feel offended by my comments of a monopoly.
No offence taken :) I think many customers possibly think alike. You're free to talk openly here.

[purpledragon]

BMS are just retailers of the ink i doubt martin would be offended , sawgrass do hold the monopoly on ink but in fairness its also the best ink to use for colour reproduction (my opinion) i have heard some horror stories from those using cheap fake ink. The only problem is because sawgrass have the monopoly they pretty much charge what they like.
Brett

[JSR]

So basically although there are 3 types of ink they are all under licence to the same company (Sawgrass)
Hmm, perhaps that is why it is so expensive. it does seem somewhat of a monopoly.
It is a monopoly but Sawgrass hold the patent, and they're within their rights to do what they want with their patent.

It's worth bearing in mind that the patent only applies to desktop inkjet printers (actually, if you read the details, thermal printers are mentioned - that makes you think, doesn't it?) and not to large format printers. Because of this, if you use large format printers you can get the ink for a lot cheaper - either from other suppliers or at cheaper prices from Sawgrass.

Another company could produce sublimation ink if it's for an entirely different type of printer - this is the reason why some people have tried to get laser sublimation going.

However, in Sawgrass' defence, it's wrong to say the ink is "so expensive". Even at the most uneconomical pricing (a bottle of 125ml), the cost per ml is about 50p (125ml costs £60ish). Now, compare that to typical OEM ink which generally costs £10 for a cartridge containing less than 10ml of ink - that's £1+ per ml, over the double the price of Sawgrass ink. You can buy Sawgrass ink in larger quantities (1L, for example) for even better cost-savings.

Of course we'd all like cheaper ink (it's not like Sawgrass have to make the printer or anything) but, compared to OEM ink, Sawgrass ink is actually much better value. It just seems more expensive because you buy it in larger quantities.

[Andrew]

Tony, you can't go far wrong than sticking with Martin at BMS.

Someone told me recently that Sawgrass don't actually manufacture the ink themselves but farm it out to other bigger suppliers. Don't know how true that is and Martin might be able to confirm or not. I guess small format is a small part of sublimation so the large volume of ink useage is probably through other brands.

As much as I dislike the Sawgrass monopoly and their ink is expensive when compared directly to exactly the same ink, one thing you have to keep in mind is the software they provide. Profiles can be generally recevied for free and they do keep developing for new printers ongoing. Rip software for the large format printers is £1500 plus. It is a more complete version of small format software but Sawgrass supply what is needed. The best software I have ever had was the Powerdriver Lite for 1800's. One setting would give us perfect,fast prints no matter what substrate. Haven't been able to get to the same level and speed since.

[bms]

Thanks for the endorsement Andrew.

I don't know if Sawgrass make the ink themselves or get a 3rd party to do it. I suspect they do get it made by an ink specialist under very tight legal controls.