My name is Fridjon and I have decided to enter the exciting world of sublimation printing. My wife has a small gift-shop and would like to start creating some cool items. I am a software developer myself but I can see a lot of oppertunities in sublimation, which sounds both quite interesting and challenging.
I have lurked a bit around this forum and have found the information here extremely helpful. I have found a heat press that I think will suit me (one of those 8-in-1 machines) but I have almost quite definitely maybe decided which printer/ink to get.
I want to get an A3 capable printer and for me, the choice seems to be between either Epson B1100, Epson 1400 or a Ricoh GXe7700.
The GXe7700 is more expensive and the cartridges 3-4 times as expensive as same volume of Artanium inks for the Epson. On the plus side, it seems to be a lot less hassle than a CIFF like the EasyFlow system. I get the impression that clogging or other printer problems are much less likely using the Ricoh's.
The Epsons with the EasyFlow system are more wallet-friendly, both the printer and the inks. Being new to this, I want to stay within approved inks, Maybe in the future I will be bold enough to step outside the (saw)grass
If I understand correctly Sawgrass approved inks are the only options with Richo's but with a CIFF, anything is possible I guess.I am a little unclear on what the difference between the B1100 and 1400, apart from the price tag and the 2 extra colors in the 1400. Do the extra colors make a lot of difference in quality in sublimation?
Also, is the difference between the (allegedly) hassle-free, cartridge based Ricoh's and a CIFF system like Artanium EasyFlow for the Epsons worth the price difference (both in printer and inks)?
Regards
Fridjon
