and i thought it was all sorted....

On the lookout for some pearls of wisdom..

Looking to invest in a mugpress/printer combo which i need by the end of March.
Definitely want a fully 'supported' set-up as I have an irritable relationship with printers in general ;)
However, I don't anticipate a lot of use for the initial 4-6 months (hopefully increasing after that!)
So what I NEED is an A4 printer with a resistance to the ink jets getting blocked up if it sits idle for a while.
All good and dandy - and I had my eye on the Ricoh GXE3300N

Then BMS kinda screwed it all up by offering a really good 'start-up' deal involving an Epson B1100 with an easyflow system
Essentially it comes to the same price - and I get an A3 printer - which offers greater opportunities for future projects
And I'm torn....

Does the Epson really block the jets that badly if its not in daily use?
or alternatively is the Ricoh really that efficient at not blocking the jets?

And now i'm questioning whether an easyflow system would be better than the cartridges
and to be honest what was a done deal 24 hours ago is now all up in the air again! :)

Any advice would be much appreciated..
and if you want to further muddy the waters with anything I've overlooked please do go ahead :biggrin:

Hi. Epsons can be bit blocky when not in use for.ponger time. But all you need to d switch them on every now and then :-)

It sounds as if you need an "easy to use" option, and in that case, I'd go for the Ricoh's - setting up can be problematic, but normally, once set up, they are foolproof (normally) :biggrin:

sorry for intruding - but this needs to be in the printer section ??

If you'll have constant access to the setup a couple of times a week a test print would suffice to keep it clear. You can set daily auto prints if you don't mind leaving printer and pc on.The Ricoh should be a much better option if you have to leave switched off but all printers work better with regular exercise, you just stand a better chance of getting away with it with the Ricoh!

Sorry we've made life so difficult! :P Go for the GXe3300n.

Thanks all for the replies - very much appreciated.
Looks like the Ricoh then :tongue:

Boys with Toys - I think i just got carried away with the thought of an A3+ printer with all the 'mad scientist' style ink containers.
Ok - back on the straight and narrow again!

EPSON! EPSON! and EPSON!
Ricohs are very well suited in different printing trouble discussions.
And its their motherboard, which has some kind of error waiting to perfect moment to stop your business. You can check for example t-shirtforums for more.
Buy cheap EPSON for 30-50 GBP, and two sets of refillable cartridges. When you have no use for sublimation change normal inkjet ink and print something now an then. So it would not block, when you need it just put sublimation inks in and your ready to go. CISS is not good for using now and then.

If youre a millionaire buy Ricoh.

Thank you maucca..
Not sure I'm brave enough to attempt the 'unauthorised' refillable route :eek: I have sent several uncooperative inkjets to an early grave for not behaving already - it's one area where i tend to lose my rag quite easily!
Also i think i'd be a bit wary about swapping my normal inkjet and subli ink cartridges - wouldn't the old ink still remain in the system? or does that clean through quite quickly.

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Originally Posted by maucca

If youre a millionaire buy Ricoh.

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Ah well, of course once my mug printing business kicks off I'll be a millionaire by this time next year Rodney - so i'll be able to afford that Ricoh after all :rolleyes:

Seriously though - i appreciate your input, - thanks for taking the time to respond.

Yes the carts are more expensive, and yes the printers are a lot more than epsons. But, and its a big but - how much ink wastage would you get with all the Epson head cleans, how much wastage would you have just switching it on once every few days just to print something that isn't really needed. How much hassle would you get trying to refill the carts. the list goes on!

If its the easy option your looking for, to print a few sub items, every now and then - there's no doubt its a Ricoh all the way.

It's very clear that you have never had Epson.

I have printed about 50 sheets subpaper A4 format and changed sub cartridges about 30 times back and forth and printed normal inkjet ink and heat transfer ink. Still have about 70% sub ink left, so ink cost in sub ink have been about 30 GBP.
Normal inkjet dyebased is a bargain to get.

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Originally Posted by maucca

It's very clear that you have never had Epson.

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Not sure if you're referring to me or John G here :confused:
Certainly hope my comments didn't cause any offence - they were light hearted but i genuinely appreciated your passing on your opinions.
Actually I have an epson sat next to me as i type - and have had it for a good long time now - mainly to print onto printable DVD's for which job it has been robust and reliable and perfectly happy to work with the cheaper 'independant' inks rather than Epson's own brand. So, no complaints - it does what i want it to do. But my print requirements for it aren't particularly demanding and if i'm going to sell the prints commercially i would want to be sure i was delivering top notch quality with top notch inks.

I'm new here and don't know John G but I'd bet he's come across Epson in his time too - and printed a fair few sheets of SubPaper I wouldn't wonder :tongue:
All comments and experiences are both welcome and useful and all opinions are valid and add to the great mixing pot of knowledge from which we can all share and invariably draw the wrong conclusions because in the end "there's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all" as my guru tells me.

Happy Vibes.. :cool:

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Originally Posted by LazyCarrot

I'm new here and don't know John G but I'd bet he's come across Epson in his time too - and printed a fair few sheets of SubPaper I wouldn't wonder :tongue:

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I am not sure but i think Johns printer was the ricoh from day one so i ma not sure John used epson before. I might be wrong as usual though :rolleyes:

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It's very clear that you have never had Epson.

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I've had kodak, brother, lexmark, 3 x epsons and canon inkjet printers - 2 x Ricoh 5050n sub printers, 3 x minolta, 6 x HP laser printers, 2 risographs and 1 rotaprint. - All, apart from the ricoh, minolta, riso and rotaprint have ended up in the skip. Some broke due to age, some broke as I threw them in the skip :rolleyes: some broke when I hit them with a hammer due to blocked heads or ink drying up (epsons x3). Some were that old they weren't compatible with newer pc platform changes. So your sarky comment was uncalled for and basically a load of crap, you could try and settle in a little and find out a bit more about members on here before spouting your drivvle.

We all have our favourites, we all have our own points of view - nobodies right, nobodies wrong. All I was saying was in this particular instance, due to Phills 1st post saying he wanted something easy to use, I thought the Ricoh was the best option.

5th post and already ruffling a few feathers - nice to meet you maucca. :confused:

I haven't even got my printer yet but like the OP I will not be doing high volume output. My research (and excellent advice from Martin) has led me to realise that Epsons are good if...and only if..you keep them working hence my machine will be a Ricoh 7700. Even with a high product output my thinking was what happens when I go on holiday...(yes I do go on hols...haha) sometimes for 3 weeks? Do I come back and have to budget for a new printer because my Epson has gone kaput!

Whilst I can't speak from experience there is a lot of information out there...and on here saying ...low volume output=Ricoh.

I have had both, and both have worked well, but my current printer, - of 2 years is a ricoh, and i would have no hesitation in buying another.
It is fast, easy, better quality, and, - pausing to touch wood, I have never has any issues except when I feed cut down paper in, - if you do mugs on 1/3 A4, you can cut the top 1/3 off and re feed, then the next 1/3 off end re feed again (could never do that with epson) If I don't put my trimmed sheet in perfect, it can jam, but second go it will always take. OK - I am being tight, paper is only maybe 10% of the cost, but who wants to wat anything. With my epson I wasted a lot of time, and while the ink is allegedly a little cheaper, i spent a lot more time clearing blockages and producing banded waste.
My setup is essencially outside in the cold, and the richo gel inks have NEVER blocked, even if I havn't used for over a week (xmas holls)
Make sure you get a Richo with the Powerdriver option, it is an amaizing feature, and takes care of all colour management isues for you automatically.
There are more than 2 ways to crack a nut, if you like nuts, just find one that works for you.#
Richo gets my 2p vote!

I thought that being a little provocative, would speed up discussion and get more opinions about printers. Which it did.

I didn't understand that this place is made for people who think about things the same way. My english is not very good, and maybe its not exactly same translated in english, which i think in my own head in finnish. I am also a little plain-spoken.
To prevent further insults subject to great forum members caused by my messages, i ask moderator to to remove my account. Thanks!

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I thought that being a little provocative, would speed up discussion and get more opinions about printers. Which it did.

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Well, what did you expect :confused:

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To prevent further insults subject to great forum members caused by my messages, i ask moderator to to remove my account. Thanks!

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No need for that - you have a right to your opinion, even though it's wrong. :wink:

i have an epson for my dye sub work, and i bought the refillable cartridges, now i dont keep an exact eye on how often i fill them up, but i have not had an issue with it, been using it about a year now, was told after an initial problem NOT to take the carts out to refil, but to use the syringe in situ, which is what i do now, printer is sometimes not used for a week, then might only do 4/5 sheets, next week might do 20 sheets.

I would say i am a very light user, as its not my main business and i am still on the original bottles 500ml and looking at them now yellow is the lowest at 1/2 bottle others are above that. i bought the kit complete with inks and spare cartridges from corelgraph.

occasinally when filled it might say "cartridge not recognised" then you simply click the cart out and back in again, after wiping across the front of the chip - its always been fine after this, and thats only happened a few times.

hope that helps