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

[InkExpress]

Photographic testing with Epson Surecolor SC-P600-

So following on the testing we did last week with the comic style prints we wanted to try out the photographic print quality of the printer. In standard form the SC-P600 is marketed by Epson as a dedicated studio photographic printer for producing high quality photographic reproductions.

With that in mind we were expecting some good results; we were not disappointed! We used a nice royalty free stock portrait photograph of a lady which also included flowers. I felt it was a good image to test the printer as it included-

Skin tones
Fine detail (in the hair and flowers)
Detailed dark areas (in the hair)
Bright vivid colour in the flowers and lips

The print was produced using the custom ICC profile which we mentioned in the previous post, our Subli-TEXTILE high release transfer paper and the sublimate item was an Xpres Subli-Plus (XP520) t-shirt. The print was heat pressed at 200c for 50 seconds.

Photographic print-

Print on paper prior to testing-

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Peel back to reveal transfer-

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Final result-

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Good skin tone achieved-

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Good detail in the darker area around the flowers-

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Sharp detail in the eyebrows and eyelashes-

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Good detail in the shaded area of the hair-

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The next thing to test was the printers ability to produce Black and White or Greyscale photographs. As many users will know greys have always been an issue to achieve with the majority of desktop sublimation printers. The SC-P600 has 3 graded blacks as standard so in theory it should produce a good Black and White image or photograph.

We had a couple of attempts at producing a good neutral BW version of the image posted above. We had a couple of issues to overcome (based on our tests these issues will only apply to BW photographic images and not full colour prints)-

1) The custom ICC profile produced a print that had quite a green colour cast, this is because the profile was made as a colour profile rather than a dedicated black and white profile.
2) We found that best results were achieved by using the printers 'Advanced Black & White Mode' which is found within the printing preferences. This mode is used and overrules the ICC or colour management.
3) We found the BW images printed much darker than onscreen so we opted to change the Tone from 'Dark' to 'Light' in the advanced area of the print settings.

With all the above sorted we achieved a good tonally neutral black and white photographic print on to the t-shirt.

Final Result-

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Comparison of the colour and BW prints on the t-shirts-

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Will hopefully update with a release date shortly (hoping for End of June 2018 - all being well)

Alex

[Fletcher]

That actually looks really impressive.

[InkExpress]

That actually looks really impressive.

Thanks Fletcher

I'm impressed with the images its producing, I am using fairly difficult images to try and test its limits and hopefully cover for anything a customer may be printing.

The majority of the testing has been performed on soft substrates as I would most likely think given its an A3 printer that users will be producing t-shirts and cushions with it.

But I wanted to test some hard substrates like ceramic and metal to see how the printer performed. Based on the previous tests I was hoping for good results and again was not disappointed.

I used the same stock photo as above as it was a good base to work from and also gave a chance to compare how the image looked o various substrates.

I started with phone case insert panels. The images were printed using our standard Subli-Sharp transfer paper which works really well on hard substrates. The phone case insert panels were Chromaluxe inserts for the iPhone 5 and were pressed at 200c for 60 seconds.

Print on paper prior to pressing-

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Final results-

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Great detail as expected-

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I will do some test mugs over the weekend and update again, but for now that's all for today. Better go and get the orders finished before the courier comes.

Have a great weekend guys and girls!

Alex

[InkExpress]

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Epson Surecolor SC-600 Professional Sublimation printer package. The package is currently £799.00 Inc. VAT and delivery to the UK (International delivery available - varies depending on destination country)

The package at £799.00 includes-
Brand New Epson Surecolor SC-P600 A3/A3+ printer
Continuous Ink System
900ml Inktec Sublinova Smart DTI sublimation inks
100 x A3 120gsm Subli-Sharp sublimation paper (suited to hard substrates - ceramic, metals etc)
50 x A3 100gsm Subli-TEXTILE high release sublimation paper (suited to soft substrates - fabrics, tshirts, cushions, aprons etc)
ICC profile
9 x 10ml syringes & long metal needles
1.8m USB 2 connection lead

Consumable prices-
Ink refill set is currently £80.00 Inc. VAT - 9 x 100ml (2 x Bk, 1 x LK/LLK/C/M/Y/LC/LM)
Individual 100ml ink refills currently £10-12.00 Inc. VAT (BK/C/M/Y/LC/LM at £10.00 - LK/LLK at £12.00)

Printer Package - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/382508490943
Ink refills- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292627383051

Any forum user interested in purchasing please PM as we can provide a forum discount on these during the launch period.

We will of course be continuing our development and testing on other A3 printer variants as they come to the market place and / or CISS or RIC become available for existing printers such a the Epson XP-1500 so we will continue to update this thread as things develop.

Many thanks, Alex

[siontrack]

Look forward to giving this one a go, is there a software resetter available for this printer yet? We've had to reset our 1500's a few times (waste level etc).
Hopefully we will eventually be swapping over to these instead of the 1500 as all three we have running are on their way out.

[InkExpress]

Look forward to giving this one a go, is there a software resetter available for this printer yet? We've had to reset our 1500's a few times (waste level etc).
Hopefully we will eventually be swapping over to these instead of the 1500 as all three we have running are on their way out.

Hi [MENTION=8713]siontrack[/MENTION], yes the WIC service reset software will reset the SC-P600 and we have waste ink bypass kits in stock for them too. The servicing intervals should be longer on the SC-P600 compared to the 1500W as they have larger waste ink pads so hopefully there will be a saving there too.

Alex

[REDQUASAR]

Hi

any developments regarding the SC-P600? Have you started selling it as a sublimation printer yet?

Mick

[InkExpress]

Hi

any developments regarding the SC-P600? Have you started selling it as a sublimation printer yet?

Mick

Hi Mick,

Yes we launched it at the beginning of the month package and refills are available here-

Printer Package - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/382508490943
Ink refills- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292627383051

Alex

[Justin]

Hi

any developments regarding the SC-P600? Have you started selling it as a sublimation printer yet?

Mick

Post #34 above

[siontrack]

Hi @siontrack, yes the WIC service reset software will reset the SC-P600 and we have waste ink bypass kits in stock for them too. The servicing intervals should be longer on the SC-P600 compared to the 1500W as they have larger waste ink pads so hopefully there will be a saving there too.

Alex

Great news, thanks