any views on 4 or 6 ink systems

[Limara]

I am Totally new to sublimation printing, I am currently planning to get sublimation ink I do have a epson R300 printer that I bought a ciss for and intended to use that, on researching elsewhere I have seen posts saying you only need a 4 ink system for sublimation printing. I think the main use for this is going to be mugs
Just wondered if any one here has any views on this also I dont understand about the profiles, is this something that is always necessary to go with the printer?

[Justin]

4 colour systems are perfectly adequate for most work. Personally I prefer 6 colour all the time for the work I do, I find a noticeable difference in skin tones and gradients.

Yes, you'll need a specific profile for your printer set-up to get the colours matched correctly.

[bms]

I am Totally new to sublimation printing, I am currently planning to get sublimation ink I do have a epson R300 printer that I bought a ciss for and intended to use that, on researching elsewhere I have seen posts saying you only need a 4 ink system for sublimation printing. I think the main use for this is going to be mugs
Just wondered if any one here has any views on this also I dont understand about the profiles, is this something that is always necessary to go with the printer?

All the current A4 subli printers are 4 colour at the moment and the colour range is excellent. Just a little word if advice re your R300 - you'll need 6 lots of ink (£360) plus a custom profile (£x) and then you'll start to print. Make sure your printer is in perfect working order as the subli inks are more viscous than dye based inks in your printer and you want to be able to print okay. As you are totally new to sublimation printing then consider a new Ricoh printer such as the GXe 3300 which come with sublijetR inks and PowerDriver for colour management. This will cost less than buying the ink alone for your R 300 and will get you printing perfectly in no time without having to trial and error or try getting your CISS to work on a used printer.

This isn't intended as a sales pitch, just as your new to all this then there are easier ways to start making this work.

[Earl Smith]

I have recently changed over from a 6 colour Epson to a 4 colour Ricoh.
Best thing I did was to buy the Ricoh. No blockages , no constant cleaning, brilliant.

[Justin]

And are you happy with the 4 colour print compared to the 6?

[Paul]

my sugestion is to stick with 4 colors. Only few people can actualy notice the diference in color gamut.

[WorthDoingRight]

my sugestion is to stick with 4 colors. Only few people can actualy notice the diference in color gamut.

And even fewer even know what colour gamut is lol

I have never had any complaints about the quality of my images using 4 colours so like the others say, save your money that you would spend on the extra 2 colours of ink for something else to assist your interest.

[Justin]

Appreciate and agree somewhat with the comments here. The vast majority of customers will be happy with a 4 colour output. If you're dealing with photographers etc. they may find issues with this. Over and over again I have compared outputs from several printers and always come to the same conclusion that I am far happier with 6 colour output but this is partly down to the type of work I do.

The distinct lack of 6 colour printers in favour of 4 on the 'supported' list is evidence that most customers will be perfectly happy with the output though.

I echo the advice given, Ricoh A4 is an excellent starting platform....would be interesting to know what sort of work you'll be doing

[Paul]

And even fewer even know what colour gamut is lol

true

this is gamut. all inside is my color gamut. that means all those colors can be produced by my ink/ printer

[socialgiraffe]

Hi Paul

I just did a screen shot and print of your colour gamut and the whole square printed. Does this mean the gamut on my machine is better LOL!!!!!!

I use 4 colour Ricoh 7000 and never had a complaint about colours but if I do I would tell them that "a blind man would like to see it and to go away" I wonder why I do not work with the public!!!!