This is a question for long standing producers in the community.
I am hoping that one of you guys could advise me on an average print yield on a full set of ink (8) using 1 litre of each...
Lets say the images used would all have equal colour balance using the highest possible resolution on the large format printer.
Could you give the yield in square inches.
The reason for asking this is I want to use Laser dye-sub but would like more flexibilty of ink-jet due to size differences available, however there is almost 3 fold difference in price in the 2 compared.
Toner Full Set = $700 - about 260 a4 prints
Ink Full Set (1ltr x 8) = $1700
My mane usage is ceramics however also want to use on fabrics so if I went with laser I would need ink for large fabrics anyway so think I would be best hitting to birds with one stone.
Last edited by d.manns; November 7th, 2009 at 12:56 PM.
first off...I have tried laser toner on ceramics and do not like it..the toner I tried had to have a curing solution...but that was couple years ago. I have used sublimation inks and Epson printers all the way from tghe C80-C88+series, 1280 and 1400...The best was the C80 series as you only needed 4 colors not the 5(C120) 6 or 8 colors. The colors over the CYMK are great for photos and glossy prints but using the 6-8 carts for sublimation is just a waste of money...but that is just my opinion. I have been doing sublimation since 2000 and have tried about every refill/bulk system there is I think and both have disadvantages and advantages...But I finally..last early this year dumped the Epsons in favor of the Ricoh GX 7000 which uses dye gel ink. There are only 4 carts...large ones and while there is a bit less than a bulk system, I am finding they are lasting just about as long ..cart cost $110x4 vs the 8 carts of the larger Epsons at $175x8!..The Gx7000 will do 11x17 out of the box and with the optional tray, will do 13x19. So far no clogging issues and that saves a lot of time/ink!
For about the price of the ink you mention ($1700) you can buy the Ricoh GX7000 and three sets of carts of sublimation gel inks..They work well on ceramics and fabrics and the GX7000 is much much faster than the Epsons or the laser Oki5800 I have. The GX5050 is less than the 7000...even faster...but only does 8.5x14 max
Hi, thanks for the input. The inkjets I have in mind are more the industrial size as to what I need to achieve. Most likely the Mimaki JV22.
Do you think I would be able to re-configure an 8 ink system to only print with 4 colours?
Would you be able to suggest the best place to get Dye-Sub ink from? In the USA or Europe?
I'm definitely no expert on this but my understanding is that you need a MultiRip software to make an 8 color system into a 4 & 4. The software tells the printer which carts to use when making a print. Prices vary but what I have seen is that they start somewhere around $700.00 US for a lite version.
Dye Sublimation Ink Vs Toner Print Yield 
