Printer for Sublimation Mugs

[scrappydoo]

I am looking at purchasing a printer for sublimation printing for mugs, I have read through the forum and the FAQs and have my two possibilities listed below...

Ricoh SG 3100DN VS Epson xp 205

The Epson seems to come in at around £50 whereas the Ricoh can be got for about £100. I understand that the Epson is more prone to drying out printheads, apart from this do both printers achieve pretty much the same thing?

Anyone have any other suggestions for models?

[pisquee]

You need to factor in the ink costs - if buying Ricoh, then you only have one option for inks, which are from Sawgrass, these seem to work out expensive, but as part of the deal they take over the warranty on the printer as the Ricoh manufacturer warranty is void as soon as you put the sublimation inks in. For this, you need to buy the printer and inks from an official Sawgrass dealer. If you buy the printer seperately from the inks (to try and save money) then you will still have to buy expensive Sawgrass ink, but you won't have their warranty support.
Ricohs use a different type of ink formulation, so please don't be tempted to buy cheap non-Sawgrass ink from Ebay and try it in a Ricoh, as it won't work unless it is formulated
Sawgrass do have similar options for Epson printers, but not the printer you mentioned, so you would be on your own if you bought this model printer and inks seperately.

[scrappydoo]

I think I am leaning towards the Ricoh with the Sublijet inks, which I assume are Sawgrass inks?

The Ricoh also seems to be a bit more economical on the ink as well with some places estimating that 1ml of ricoh ink is equivalent to 3ml of Epson, don't know how true that is though.

I have found the Ricoh at http://www.megauk.com/sublimation/subli ... r_kits.php for 322.80 including V.A.T which although more expensive than the Epson alternative, seems to be a good price. Unless anyone knows of a cheaper supplier?

[pisquee]

BMS Have it for £311.94 inc VAT
http://www.printerowners.co.uk/hardware ... rinter.htm
and if you register with their site, have a loyalty point reward scheme.

To be honest though there usually isn't a lot of differentiation in pricing with Sawgrass products as they tend to fix the prices their dealers are allowed to sell at.

[scrappydoo]

I was looking at BMS to order my mugs from anyway so they seem like the obvious choice, they have lots of good reviews from people on the forum also. The only thing they don't have is the cheaper mug press I have been looking at so that will have to come from coralgraph. Thanks for the input, think i'm definitely decided on the Ricoh now

[socialgiraffe]

The only thing they don't have is the cheaper mug press

Be warned, a cheaper mugs press could cause you problems. I have no idea what the coralgraph one is like but make sure you have a search on this forum before deciding on what press to buy. The blankets must be good quality otherwise you could end up having to purchase another press.

This is not a dig at Coralgraph as I have never purchased machines from them, but as a very rough general rule of thumb, the more you spend on a press the better it is. This only applies to new purchased from recognised sellers like BMS, Listawoods, Coralgraph, TMT and so on.

[pisquee]

Oh, and on the subject of mug presses, just because they look the same in the photos from one seller to another, appearances can be deceptive, and there are mug presses which look alike and have you questioning why one seller is seeming to be selling a press for around £100 which looks exactly the same as one another seller has for closer to £300. There can be differences in quality of components, construction, or slight design differences, and these things can make the difference between a press which works well and not, or one that is not going to last very long.

[pisquee]

BMS do have start-up packages which include printer, inks, mug press, mugs, papers, heat tape - pretty much everything you need to get going
http://www.printerowners.co.uk/hardware ... ackage.htm
All from one supplier, so any problems you only have one point of contact to help you out.

[socialgiraffe]

Oh, and on the subject of mug presses, just because they look the same in the photos from one seller to another, appearances can be deceptive, and there are mug presses which look alike and have you questioning why one seller is seeming to be selling a press for around £100 which looks exactly the same as one another seller has for closer to £300. There can be differences in quality of components, construction, or slight design differences, and these things can make the difference between a press which works well and not, or one that is not going to last very long.

Wise words pisquee. Some Chinese manufacturers are even going as far as to copy the exterior of the better made models but just use far cheaper electronics inside.