Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
i'm having a bit of a dilema chosing a printer. here's the story, i need a wide format printer because most of the shirts i'll be making are xl to xxl. i saved my pennies and checked up on a lot of printers and bulk in systems as well as ink. up to last night i was going to order an epson 1280, a bulk in system from shop dye sub and magic mix ink. i started thinking that since the 1280 is being discontinued if anything went wrong with the printer and i couldn't get another 1280 then what would i do with the bulk ink system. long story short inkjetfly makes a bulk ink system for the 1800 and starting july 06 they came out with pigment ink for about a hundred dollars less than shop dyesub(129). someone please help with any information. it's taken me about two years to get my equipment i have my stahls press, computers pc and mac and i need info on transfer paper and printer . i don't want to make a wrong 7-800 dollar mistake. thanks in advance LIL
well im not really sure. ive heard really good things about the 1280. and if its going to last a good while then i'll just go with the 1280. besides it will end up costing around three hundred dollars less for the complete setup.later on i could step up to a newer printer when i have to upgrade or i have enough business to get a second printer. i'm right in the middle about the whole thing, and i wanted to know if anyone had any news about the ink and bulk supply system from inkjetfly
I have been looking at large format printers off and on, but am no expert at them. A good place to look is at a yahoo group, Heat_Transfers_For_Desktop_Printers, they offer much help. I have yet to hear a whole lot of good about the 1280, it being discontinued, and the fact that it is very finicky about bulk units, their ink levels and clogging. Others say it is a workhorse when running properly. Just to make life interesting, there is a seller on ebay that sells refurbished Epson 3000 - if I remember correctly their ink capacity is the same as a bulk unit or was that the Epson 4000??? A case of dementia or CRS, I'm not sure. :-] hope this helps, Joe
Actually, Epson as well as the other printer companies will be phasing out all of the current printers and replacing them with new ones in the near future. The reason is very simple. All of the inks have chips designed to make it difficult to refill or use aftermarket products. Problem is that the ink companies have been able to reverse engineer the ships and either make their own auto resetting chips or resetters for the factory chips. The printer companies don't like this. They would rather you use only their inks and not have a choice.
As of a couple of months ago, a new multy level chip was developed for the ink carts that will be much harder for the ink companies to reverse engineer. The new chip will be in the new printers and replace the current printers.
Personally for me, the 1280 currently has a $100.00 rebate going. With rebate you can get one for about $275.00. I am getting at least 3 of them if not more and stocking up. When one dies, I'll simply pull a replacement out. I figure that I'll save more then enough on inks to make it worth it.
Eventually, the ink companies will come out with a way around it, but it usually takes about 18-24 months to do so. It's just a cat and mouse game and we, the consumer are cought in the middle.
Hi, I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I'm already printing transfers and have been for a couple years. I work a full time job and so just do the t-shirts on the side. However, you never know when the factory may close and I'll need something to go to. So...I do actually look at it fairly seriously.
All that said...I have the 1280s. I have two of them and am currently searching for a replacement. I've had clogging problems ever since I've had them. One of them was working ok and now has just simply died after I replaced the ink cartridges and was trying to get a good copy. They're fairly old though and now that one's just sitting there blinking at me. The other one I can not get one of the reds to print at all!!! Very frustrating especially considering the season we're in. I think I have found a used unit I'm going to pick up just to make it through Christmas. Then I'm definitely going to go with something different with less clogging problems...hopefully.
I'm going to try going to that sight one of your other replies has and see what they have to say about the 1800 and other models. One very nice lady who had a 1280 new in the box on ebay responded and recommended the R2400 I think. I haven't researched that one but I plan to. Best of luck to you. I'd say you'll do just fine. Like you, I don't want to make a big dollar mistake. Sandy
epson 1280 or 1800 
i'm having a bit of a dilema chosing a printer. here's the story, i need a wide format printer because most of the shirts i'll be making are xl to xxl. i saved my pennies and checked up on a lot of printers and bulk in systems as well as ink. up to last night i was going to order an epson 1280, a bulk in system from shop dye sub and magic mix ink. i started thinking that since the 1280 is being discontinued if anything went wrong with the printer and i couldn't get another 1280 then what would i do with the bulk ink system. long story short inkjetfly makes a bulk ink system for the 1800 and starting july 06 they came out with pigment ink for about a hundred dollars less than shop dyesub(129). someone please help with any information. it's taken me about two years to get my equipment i have my stahls press, computers pc and mac and i need info on transfer paper and printer . i don't want to make a wrong 7-800 dollar mistake. thanks in advance LIL
