I would like to move into dye sublimation, could someone recommend me to an entry level printer. I need to print at least 13" x 13", but if avoidable I’d rather not spend the money for the Epson 4880, getting started.
Is there a decent dye sub compatible printer able to print the size I need, at a lesser price than the 4880?
The answer is simple an epson 1400 running edge to edge printing. But your ink prices will be off the charts save up get a large format like an epson 9800 convert it buy t-jeck or us sublimaiton ink at one 1/8th the price by th liter. Unfortunatly the cost of the printer is not what will haunt you in the long run. I print full color plates at a total cost of 2.12 apiece after all components plate, paper, and ink. With sawgrass I used to spen 2. on the ink alone and .75 on the paper, becouse sawgrass only "supports" there paper. Then I had to use unisub plates at a cost of 4. so I was spending 6.75 a plate out the door. Using vapor shirts the sawgrass paper and there ink you will end up at 8.5 a printed shirt. vs 6.75 so its not as great of a savings going wide format but you can do full print shirts which are worth alot more to your customer that 13x13. Anyway that is my rant on dyesub tonight what ever you choose goodluck.
I now have the 4880 for sublimation but started out years ago with the smaller printers. I had a couple of 1280s for years and made 1000s of sublimation prints with them. I am sure you could have the same success with the 1400. You really need to go with the bulk system to make it worth while. Sublimation is definately expensive and not for all your customers but it is still my favorite part of the business. My plasticol transfer jobs are great and make good money but my customers and I are always wowed time and time again with the results you get with sublimation. Good Luck!
I don’t intend to do alot of "shirt" sublimations. I am a screen printer mostly. I have a job that would boost my sales, but requires a 13" x 13" dye sub.
I will look into the 1400 and the 9800, see if one of those might be an option. Or see if i can go a different route for the job.
I must say sublimation has definately frustrated me more than any other process. I am sure you have heard of the clogging issues. They are real and I have had my share. I had a doosey about a week and a half ago. right in the middle of an order. I was in the middle of a mug orderfor Teacher appreciation so the deadline was not negotiable. I had to do a powerclean to finish the order. In the end Sawgrass sent me 2 free inks for my trouble (next day air) and I got all the mugs done in time. Sawgrass gets a lot of negative press but they have come through for me time and time again.
I think if I had to do it over again I might have (and still may) have my 4880 run as a Duel and run sublimation and heat transfer inks. I was afraid of sacrificing image quality so I did not go that route. I would have half the clogging issues and I could print on cotton for the customers that are not willing to spend the extra cash.
I am a perfectionist though and the 8 colors of the 4880 is amazing specially on hard substrates.
For what it is worth: I have the Epson4800 sublimation/Chromablast printer. Clogging is a MAJOR problem. I don't use it every day and even if I run nozzle check daily or just a small pattern to make sure the jets don't clog, they do! Even with a cleaning soluntion I put on the cap station (I think that is what it is called) to keep the area moist, I have the same problem. The inks are expensive and doing a cleaning uses a lot of ink. But, it does give nice prints when it works.
I think a large printer is the way to go. specially if you don't print all the time. Letting those small printers sit will clog the heads. I run a large fomat printer roland fj540 and I don't have that problem. Plus the paper and ink are much cheaper.
I would really like to have the dye sublimation as something else I can offer, in my shop. I have read alot about sublimation on the forum, and it seems you need to be printing at some regularity. I’m not sure I should get into it, if I only have one job slated for it atm. Then again it’s hard to build up the jobs without the right equipment.
I will look into the cleaning aspect a bit more, seems like the ink and cleaning part might be more of an issue the printer purchase.
Sorry I haven't got back lately, as far as the small printers clogging I don't know becouse I don't have one but both my epson 9000, and the 9800 I just replaced my 9000 with I have run j-teck in and have never had clogging issues even though upon buying the 9000 I was told by us sublimation and the forums that I would have horrible cloggin issues and all kinds of problems. I only run sublimaition three days a week eight hours aday those three days. I clean the heads in the morining simple head cleaning, then at 1p.m. and shut it down on the last day don't touch it for four days do it all again. J-teck claims this is becouse there ink is the best blah blah, but All of the horror stories I have read had sawgrass ink in them. So I am inclined to believ this maybe more about the ink than the printer. And just so you know I replaced the 9000 becouse my pins started comiing out with my carts, and the part was going to cost 800 to replace, plus the 9800 prints four times faster. I am simply noteing for the sceptics it had nothing to do with the printhead failing or clogging. But with all that said here is the link to the ink you may want to check them out. How to Get Started With J-Teck USA's Products
The Epson 1400 and the Ricoh GX7000 are both good printers for someone just starting out. You can print up to 13 x 19 paper. If you decide on the Ricoh GX7000, make sure you get the extra paper tray for the back of the printer.
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I have an Epson 4000 and a wide format Roland - both do a great job.
As Sam said, running Roland (or any wide format printer) is cheaper in a long run than smaller ones because of consumables. During my years in dye-sublimation I have heard a lot of complaints about small format "budget" printers.
Another option you may want to consider is outsourcing your dye-sub transfers to someone who's got wide format printer. I print transfers for a few customers locally and it saves them money and headache. When you'll drum up some business this way, it'll be easier to decide which printer is a better option for you.
Type of printer needed (13" x 13" prints) 
Re: Type of printer needed (13" x 13" prints) 
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