Printer to replace the Epson Photo 1500W for sublimation...

[pw66]

We looked into sourcing alternative versions from other market areas; the 1430 for example is the US/CA version of 1500W. The trouble with foreign models is the need for a power inverter or converter and the lack of support we would get from the foreign distributors. As an individual buying 1 or 2 units it could work but we work on 100+ of any particular model so a lot of capital would be at risk.

Alex

From the 'T-shirt Forum' I think the 1430 is now out of stock in the US. They face the same 6 colour printer choice as us - the L1800 isn't available there and the xp15000 is not yet usable - so they have to upgrade to the p600 or downgrade to four colours.
Do you think that Epson may have a policy of introducing either eco tank or sponge filled cartridges on all new printers? Everyone I know who has a 1500w ( transfer printers and photographers) has a ciss or uses refillables. They can't have generated much aftersale revenue from the 1500w.

[InkExpress]

Progress with Epson Surecolor SC-P600-

In our last post we had produced the colour swatch charts for the profile to be made for the SC-P600 using the Inktec Sublinova Smart ink set. The ICC was finalised over the weekend so we set about testing the printer and producing some initial test prints.

Comparisons-

We produced a test print image to test full colour, BW and gradient colours. We printed the image on our Subli-Sharp transfer paper. We produced two test images one printed using the ICC profile and the other with the printer managing the colour.

Below shows the two prints; print at the top is with printer managing colour and print at the bottom is using the ICC profile-



Close up showing a great improvement with reds, the print at the top is with the ICC profile, the print at the bottom is with the printer managing the colour-



Again improvement on red; print with ICC on the left, print without on the right-



Black and white areas are also improved; print on right is without ICC profile and greys have a magenta hue / cast. The print on the left is printed using the ICC and has improved neutral tone in the black and white areas-



With the test images produced on the paper we then heat pressed on to sublimation coated aluminium sheets, we followed their press instructions and pressed at 200c for 120 seconds. The images below show the two images following heat pressing.

The sheet at the top is without the ICC profile the sheet at the bottom is with the ICC profile; as expected the pressed sheet from the print with the ICC had greatly improved red, brighter yellow, blues and greens-



Close up showing improved red following heat transfer, sheet on the left is without ICC, sheet on the left is with ICC-



Close up showing overall improvement on and brighter colours on blue, green and yellow as well as improved skin tones-



Overall photo showing the aluminium sheet produced using the ICC print-



Comparing with the Epson 1500W-

We decided to test the SC-P600 against the 1500W, we found the results were almost identical. Which in a way is a little disappointing, but in hindsight this goes to demonstrate how good the 1500W printer was. The SC-P600 produces extremely similar colours over the color spectrum.

We used a test image comprised of well known blue chip company brand logos as everyone knows how these should look in terms of colour so it is always a good demonstration of the colour matching a printer can produce.

The test images were heat pressed on to the aluminium sheets and placed side by side. There is very very little difference between the two. The SC-P600 has a very slight improvement in the red on the Argos logo and the grey in the Kobo and LG logos is more neutral than the print from the 1500W. So overall very slight improvments but goes to show the SC-P600 is certainly a viable alternative printer.



Media testing-

The last thing to test with the SC-P600 was the media handling. As we all know there are hundreds of different types of sublimation papers and with the introduction of 3D film we have heard from lots of customers who expereince issues with their media as a result of their printers.

3D film - its very common for this to misfeed in a printer but the biggest issue is the paper rollers scoring / scratching or marking the media as it prints. Justin knows this all too well and was always pleased with the 1500W as it did not mark his particular media. Justin kindly supplied me with some sample sheets of his 3D film to test.

I am pleased to say that the SC-P600 fed the film without issue, both single sheet and when stacked (around 10-15 sheets) and produced multiple prints back to back. Also there were no marks at all on the print following printing which is excellent.

Print on 3D film showing no marks or scratches-



High release sublimation paper - High release or HR sublimation paper can also be an issue for printers and the soft coating often gets marked by the paper feed rollers (known as pizza cutter marks) We supply a HR paper called Subli-TEXTILE it has a very similar coating to TEXprint XPHR paper and we are aware of the coating being scratched or marked by printers.

Again we are pleased to say that the SC-P600 printed on both our Subli-TEXTILE and TEXprint XPHR papers without marking the media or coating.

Print on Subli-TEXTILE HR paper showing no marks-



Further tests-

We will be completing some further tests with the SC-P600 printing on to various substrates (*ceramic, polyester, canvas, polyester silk etc) to test it on all possible variations that people may want to use. Hopefully all being well we will be offering it for sale in the coming weeks.

Alex

[malkram]

So you don’t see the point of upgrading from the 1500W to the P600 ? Assuming it’s for the print quality.

[InkExpress]

So you don’t see the point of upgrading from the 1500W to the P600 ? Assuming it’s for the print quality.

If you have a working 1500W, I would advise to keep it until it breaks or fails. The point of this thread / testing is to find an alternative printer for people who either have a 1500W (which needs replacing soon) or people who are interested in a high quality 6+ colour sublimation printer (1500W is no longer available so SC-P600 is the viable choice / option to go for)

Overall the print quality on the SC-P600 is very similar to the 1500W with small improvements on red and BW prints. The build quality of the SC-P600 is much better than the 1500W, as is the paper feed and the service intervals are longer too. So overall the SC-P600 is in my opinion a better printer and is an excellent option for people who can't get a 1500W printer.

Alex

[Jimbo]

Another advantage of the P600 is the larger capacity carts 25.9ml. rather than 10ml. of the 1500. So ideal for those who don't like using the CIS.

[InkExpress]

Another advantage of the P600 is the larger capacity carts 25.9ml. rather than 10ml. of the 1500. So ideal for those who don't like using the CIS.

Yes a good point Jimbo, my test printer is setup with CISS as I do find they are more popular but refillable cartridges is also an option fro these machines.

Alex

[StellaD]

Hope to get much more mileage from our 1500W but thanks for that post with your comprehensive results.

Re-assuring to know there is a viable replacement when needed.

[Justin]

My apologies, I had to make a slight edit to Alex thread and when i saved it for some strange reason to was completely deleted. I've restored the content but it needs formatting.

[InkExpress]

Hope to get much more mileage from our 1500W but thanks for that post with your comprehensive results.

Re-assuring to know there is a viable replacement when needed.

Thanks @StellaD, yes the SC-P600 looks to be a very good viable alternative to the 1500W. Hopefully your 1500W will continue to give you good service but the option is there as and when you need it.

Alex

[InkExpress]

Further testing with Epson Surecolor SC-P600-

Following on from my post the other day we have continued testing the Epson SC-P600, we started by testing it with fabric substrates. We wanted to test a range of fabrics from bright white 100% polyester t-shirts, to off white and cream polyester linen and canvas.

Testing on a range of fabrics should demonstrate how the printer, inks and ICC profile will perform in any given situation.

We chose to use a nice high resolution, colour, comic image as this will demonstrate the colour range and vibrancy of the final transfers. We used the same image for all fabrics and all were printed using our Subli-TEXTILE High Release sublimation paper to keep things consistent.

Bright white polyester t-shirt-

We started off with the bright white 100% polyester t-shirt. Pressed at 200c for 50 seconds.

Print on the paper prior to pressing-



Paper transfer removal-



Final outcome-







Linen Cushion Cover-

Next up was a cream linen cushion cover, these have a deep fabric weave and a lovely feel and texture. Pressed at 195c for 120 seconds.

Paper transfer removal-



Final outcome-







Canvas Cushion Cover-

Last was the canvas cushion cover, the canvas covers are a much cheaper material than the linen. They have a closer fabric weave and are a darker cream colour so will typically give the dullest final transfer. Pressed at 185c for 90 seconds.

Paper transfer removal-



Final outcome-







Comparison-

Naturally the bright white t-shirt gave the best result with the brightest and most accurate finish. The linen cushion I was personally really impressed with given its cream colour and dense fabric weave. As expected the canvas cushion gave the dullest final transfer but still good and ideal for vintage designs.



Its safe to say that we will be moving forward with supplying the Epson SC-P600 for dye sublimation, hopefully we will start to roll them out in the coming weeks.

Alex