I know there are a few threads around regarding the new Ricoh printers but i have a few questions and don't want to hijack anyone elses thread!
I'm looking at buying a GX5050 A4 system. I like the idea of using the Ricoh to get away from bulk ink but wonder just how much less ink the Ricoh uses to justify ink costs of more than double the usual Artainium prices? As the Ricoh is cartridge based, does it suffer from the usual problem that some ink will always be left in the cart?
I'm still considering returning to normal Artanium inks through a bulk system on my Epson 1400. The 1400 prints very well and as one of my regular customers demands a high quality printout of a scanned piece of cloth material I wonder if the Ricoh will be able to match in terms of quality? The Epson has no problem reproducing hair strands on the material. Even my D88 gets close so I would think the Ricoh would be ok.
I like to use Xpres transfer paper here in the UK. Does anyone have any experience of running this through the Ricoh? Or any other paper types? Xpres ell the 7000 system so I would assume their paper works ok in the Ricoh.
I like the sound of the massive speed improvement using the Ricoh over the Epson but quality of print and cost per print have to be more important.
I own the Ricoh and don't think you need to be concerned about quality. It does a super job. I'm a wildlife photographer so quality is of utmost importance to me. As far as ink cost, it's supposed to be just as economical as a cis, but I'm still on my first set of cartridges so don't have any proof on that.
I have the Gx-7000. Not sure about the ink left tho. But pretty sure wether its bags or carts you gonna have some left othewise you be sucking air and put air bubbles into the line. Or so I vaguely recall reading.
I was gonna go with the 5050 however I am more than glad I got the 7000 for its 11x17. I didn't think I would print on that size as much but I have been. And being able to switch from 8.5x11 and to 11x17 has probably save a few bucks here and there and headaches.
I have to be nice to the wifey so I can get the 13x19 tray. I can def see that being handy.
I also don't print for a few days and no problems with clogging like you hear about with the epsons.
The Ricoh GX5050 and GX7000 is pretty good for sublimation. I've read somewhere that printing with gel inks consumes less ink. I don't remember where the article is but the article that I read said that it was 1/3 less ink with the gel inks.
The Ricoh printers are good with quality.... However there is only 4 cartridges, thus 4 colors compared with the older 1400 or 1800 systems with 6 and 8 colors. I know that 6-8 colors can produce a lot more colors than 4 colors.
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Don't eat the rhinestones, they have lead in them
I bought a 5050 some time back. My personal experience is very bad. I know many have had a good experience but I wish I'd never bought the thing. Poor print quality, lines through the print, initial subli carts you don't get anywhere near 100% as most goes into the long lines, ink goes down far quicker than I imagined.
Folk are now putting feedback on the web that the 5050 isn't as good as the 7000 because it prints TOO quickly!
I'm going back to an Epson 1400 with Artainium CIS.
Justin
__________________ Sublimation Forum - a forum dedicated to sublimation
I cannot answer most of your questions, but I can say that I purchased the GX7000 & have been impressed with the quality & speed. I also have not had a single clog. I had so many clogging problems with the Epson that this is one great reason I am glad I went with the Ricoh.
Yes I heard about the problems with banding with the GX5050 as well. I personally had a bad experience with the GX7000 and the banding lines. But turns out that after I primed the printer and waited 2-3 weeks it printed excellent and had no problems with it. I've also had a problem with banding on the GX5050n as well. But it fixed itself too.
If you do buy the GX5050, be sure to give enough time for you to familiarize yourself with the printer (also regarding installing the ICC Profile, I was used to the Power Driver). It's unfortunate but I have heard that some people had to return theirs to Ricoh for replacement.
However, once it works, it works excellent.
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Don't eat the rhinestones, they have lead in them
I'd had banding problems with my 5050, if I went 3 days without using it. I then had to go thru 1 or 2 head cleanings, to take care of the problem. When I finally ran out of cyan ink, and replaced the cartridge, I can now go a week or more, without head cleaning. There is no logic to this, but it does work better. As far as 40% of the ink being used up in the lines, I just consider it another part of the cost. Since most of my cartridges have been replaced, the ink does seem to go down a lot slower. Also, I learned that never shutting it off, saves ink. Otherwise, every time I turned it on it would go thru a maintenance cycle and that used up ink.
Hi:
I had the same thing happen with the banding after installing the second set of ink it can set 3 -5 days and no clogging. As far as the first set being half empty after first installing them and filling the lines. Over ther years I have had many printers and all inkjets use a lot of ink to fill the lines. I'm very happy with my 5050 I do wish I would have bought the 7000 for the bigger size but this printer is great to go and do shows because of it size and weight, makes it easy to move.
yes I agree, all inkjets that require priming take a lot of ink. One example is the Epson 4000/4800/4880. However most of the desktops epsons used for sublimation normally didn't have tubes to prime and you can easily switch from sublimation to normal ink with no problems. So I can see why some people would have a problem with half the inks being gone. Also the epson 4000/4800/4880 cartridges are a lot bigger than the ricoh cartridges so for some people it would seem less ink was consumed during priming.
Actually you bring up a good point though... I didn't realize what the cashier was talking about when I bought a new inkjet all in one printer and she told me that the printer I bought would only have 1/6 or 1/10 (can't remember what it was) left and that I should buy a full set of inks as I would run out very quickly. Now I know that it's due to the priming. At first, I thought it was because they put less ink in the cartridges that came with the print just so you would buy more ink.
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Don't eat the rhinestones, they have lead in them
I don't own either Epson 4000 or Ricoh 5050 printer. I think you should also take into consideration that the Epson uses 6 cartridges while the Ricoh uses only four in determining which one is more economical.
Ricoh GX5050 - To Buy or Not To Buy? 
