[NoyInstyle]

This is a newbie question. I'm planning to get into the sublimation printing and after researching a bit I'm leaning towards buying Epson T-3270 and convert it to sublimation printer. Now, I would like to know if there would be an issue if I will use genuine Epson sublimation ink on T3270? Will it clog the print head? I've been reading forums and searching the net but couldn't find anything on using Epson sublimation ink to a non-sublimation printer. Any input would be much appreciated. Thank you

 

[JYA]

Same printhead, so you should be fine.

I'd take advantage of using a non-Epson ok instead, that will give you better colors at a cheaper price.

Just switched to ecoEDGE sold by Daniel at Digitally Driven. Amazing colors at an amazing price!

 

[socceronly]

I have a T3270.

Didn't know you could convert it to sublimation. When you say the same print head, do you mean it's the same print head as the F6200?

 

[Signature Series]

Do you have a link to EcoEdge? Googled it and nothing. Looked on Digitally Drivens website and did not see it either.

 

[NoyInstyle]

Same printhead, so you should be fine.

I'd take advantage of using a non-Epson ok instead, that will give you better colors at a cheaper price.

Just switched to ecoEDGE sold by Daniel at Digitally Driven. Amazing colors at an amazing price!

Thanks for the info. I'll try to google it and see... I thought I would get better color accuracy since it's Epson proprietary ink. Hoping to see if there's somebody here that is using sublimation ink for non-sublimation printer. I appreciate the input.

 

[NoyInstyle]

I have a T3270.

Didn't know you could convert it to sublimation. When you say the same print head, do you mean it's the same print head as the F6200?

Not sure about the printhead but you can definitely convert T3270 to sublimation printer. There's a third party refillable cartridge that you can buy if you want to convert it to sublimation ink.

 

[Signature Series]

Thanks for the info. I'll try to google it and see... I thought I would get better color accuracy since it's Epson proprietary ink. Hoping to see if there's somebody here that is using sublimation ink for non-sublimation printer. I appreciate the input.

The vast majority of printers being used for dye sublimation are NOT dye sublimation printers but printers used for dye sublimation. Virtually all Epsons can be and are used for dye sub. On this forum most wide format seem to be Mutohs RJ900 series and they are not "dye sub" printers. The most important thing is to make sure you can get or have an ICC profile for your printer and ink you select.

 

[socceronly]

Same printhead, so you should be fine.

I'd take advantage of using a non-Epson ok instead, that will give you better colors at a cheaper price.

Just switched to ecoEDGE sold by Daniel at Digitally Driven. Amazing colors at an amazing price!

I thought you were the Mutoh whisperer

Can't seem to find those inks on their site.

 

[api]

Not sure about the printhead but you can definitely convert T3270 to sublimation printer. There's a third party refillable cartridge that you can buy if you want to convert it to sublimation ink.

When you convert a T3270 to sublimation printer you need sublimation ink, ink cartridges and icc profiles.

We have a T3270 and use Sawgrass sublimation ink. Here is why. With Sawgrass, the ink cartridge and the icc profile issues are nonexistent. The ink (SubliJet-E) comes in EPSON cartridges and they just work. Sawgrass gives you the PowerDriver with icc profiles included for free and it is good.

There are two issues with this ink however: 1.) Sawgrass no longer supports T series EPSON printers (but the ink is readily available). 2.) The ink can "eat up" the damper assembly of the printer within a year or two. The assembly costs $150 and it needs to be replaced. I did it in 30 minutes after using the printer daily for more than 18 months. That is the extra "price" you have to pay for a cheap wide format EPSON sublimation printer.

Of course there are other ways to convert a T3270 into sublimation printer. You can buy refillable cartridges (and hoping that the chip in it will be recognized by the printer), you can buy better, less expensive inks (like EcoEdge from Digitally Driven) and you can create your own icc profiles.

In my opinion, this would give you better results, cheaper inks, and a more reliable printer. I didn't choose this route because I am lazy. Buying the Sawgrass ink and forgetting all the other issues, and spending $150 and 30 minutes for replacing the damper assembly once in 18 months is a pretty good deal for me.

Having a 24" sublimation printer with a built in cutter is heaven comparing it to desktop printers. I can send a project of 50-100 images to the printer and simply forget it. After an hour or so, I go back, and the images are ready...

 

[NoyInstyle]

When you convert a T3270 to sublimation printer you need sublimation ink, ink cartridges and icc profiles.

We have a T3270 and use Sawgrass sublimation ink. Here is why. With Sawgrass, the ink cartridge and the icc profile issues are nonexistent. The ink (SubliJet-E) comes in EPSON cartridges and they just work. Sawgrass gives you the PowerDriver with icc profiles included for free and it is good.

There are two issues with this ink however: 1.) Sawgrass no longer supports T series EPSON printers (but the ink is readily available). 2.) The ink can "eat up" the damper assembly of the printer within a year or two. The assembly costs $150 and it needs to be replaced. I did it in 30 minutes after using the printer daily for more than 18 months. That is the extra "price" you have to pay for a cheap wide format EPSON sublimation printer.

Of course there are other ways to convert a T3270 into sublimation printer. You can buy refillable cartridges (and hoping that the chip in it will be recognized by the printer), you can buy better, less expensive inks (like EcoEdge from Digitally Driven) and you can create your own icc profiles.

In my opinion, this would give you better results, cheaper inks, and a more reliable printer. I didn't choose this route because I am lazy. Buying the Sawgrass ink and forgetting all the other issues, and spending $150 and 30 minutes for replacing the damper assembly once in 18 months is a pretty good deal for me.

Having a 24" sublimation printer with a built-in cutter is heaven comparing it to desktop printers. I can send a project of 50-100 images to the printer and simply forget it. After an hour or so, I go back, and the images are ready...

Thanks for this very informative info. I will definitely look into this... Hearing from someone who has a personal experience in converting T3270 erases a lot of doubt investing in this printer. spending $150 once in 18 months is not an issue... I do have a couple of questions:
- Do you use a RIP software? Which one?
- Have you tried Inktec sublimation ink? They also offer ICC like Sawgrass but less expensive.

 

[api]

Thanks for this very informative info. I will definitely look into this... Hearing from someone who has a personal experience in converting T3270 erases a lot of doubt investing in this printer. spending $150 once in 18 months is not an issue... I do have a couple of questions:
- Do you use a RIP software? Which one?
- Have you tried Inktec sublimation ink? They also offer ICC like Sawgrass but less expensive.

Quick answers:

• No, I am not using a RIP software; the Sawgrass PowerDriver is good enough.

• No, I didn't try Inktec. In our business model the ink cost is not a huge factor. (A damper friendly ink would be nice however...) Replacing the damper is $150, if you can do it. If you have to call an EPSON technician, it will be a few hundreds more.

 

[JYA]

I have a T3270.

Didn't know you could convert it to sublimation. When you say the same print head, do you mean it's the same print head as the F6200?

Yes, same TFP printhead

Do you have a link to EcoEdge? Googled it and nothing. Looked on Digitally Drivens website and did not see it either.

Daniel might not have it up on the site yet. Drop him an email

I thought you were the Mutoh whisperer

Can't seem to find those inks on their site.

I'm the Putoh whisperer maybe...

As above, drop Daniel an email. He's on vacation right now, however, I'm sure he'll respond.

 

[danielschelin]

Any piezo printhead will work with dye sublimation, whether it be made by Epson, Konica Minolta, Xaar, Ricoh, etc. Epson makes a great sublimation printer in the F-Series line however sometimes people already have the printer or simply can't afford to pay for the "sublimation" printer. It's also important to have an ink that is geared specifically for the head you're printing with. It helps to prolong the life of the head and minimize issues with dampers or heads failing.

EcoEdge inks are made for Digitally Driven, LLC and are highly concentrated. I can't go into details here as to why they're better. That would be self promoting and I won't do that. You can speak to anyone that has tried them though and see what their thoughts are compared to other name brand inks.

I'll echo what has been previously stated. It's imperative that you have an ICC profile geared for your specific product. Generic ICC's don't do justice and often cost more to use. By having a customer tailored ICC, you're expanding your gamut and producing a better product.

JYA is correct that I'm currently on vacation. Haven't really had one in 7 years. Yet I'll still check emails and answer phones.

 

[JYA]

EcoEdge inks are made for Digitally Driven, LLC and are highly concentrated. I can't go into details here as to why they're better. That would be self promoting and I won't do that. You can speak to anyone that has tried them though and see what their thoughts are compared to other name brand inks.

I'll certainly speak for the inks! Been a user of another brand for the 10 previous years I've been in business. Daniel has been a tremendous help, resource, and part-time therapist for me.

I KNOW that Daniel knew his ink was great. I'll be honest, I was skeptical. Been with an ink that's done me well for 10 years, why switch? The one thing that bothered me was not being able to get the deep black that I wanted.

So, I took a chance, I gambled, and sometimes in life, as was once said in a movie, "sometimes ya gotta say 'what the ****' ".

I think after we profiled, matched the printers to each other, and then started printing color charts off, I know I was amazed at how my colors were popping, especially the black. What I could read in Daniel's eyes was "yup, just as I thought."

So, I'm happy, like a new dad! Also, happy with some other changes I made at his suggestion.

Feel free to reach out privately if you have questions.