[Foxesgalacticos]

Hello everyone. Help in UK required please.
I am pleased to have joined your forum and am looking to tap into yiur amaxing knowledge if posdible please

I am looking for a sublimation printer where I can connect a ciss to so I can get cheaper prints. I was looking at the artisan but can't get them.in UK.

Then I looked at it's replacement the epson 15000 bit no pigment or sublimation ink available yet.

Then was looking at sawgrass 800 but looks expensive to buy and run. I am looking to print to use with heat press onto mugs and t-shirts. Any help would be amazing. Don't get me wrong I don't mind paying for a decent bit of kit but it's the long term costs I'm.worried about. I'll be printing 5 of each design in multi colours if that helps probably about 4 or 5 colour designs.

Thanks in advance !

 

[PatWibble]

Doesn't help getting a consensus when you ask the same question in two posts, but here goes.


You have picked a bad time to be looking to buy, due to there being a transition in what is available and suitable.


The Artisan (1430) was sold as the 1500w in most territories outside the USA. Unfortunately it has recently been discontinued worldwide and any remaining stock is selling for a premium ( the last one I bought was £185 but now you would pay £400 - £500 if you could find one).


The 'good' news is that the 1500w/1430 Artisan was replaced several years ago by an Ecotank version, the L1800. The bad news is that it is only available in Asia and Eastern parts of Europe. There is a Czech company selling them into the UK for £500 ( Alza.co.uk). You wouldn't need a ciss and you would get £50 back on the inks on ebay so that would bring the price down a bit, but the price is still massively over the top when compared with the 1500w. The internals of the L1800 is identical to the 1500/1430 but without the wifi and with a built in ciss. Profiles for the 1500w should work on the L1800.



The 15000 will not be an option for some time yet as there is no ciss/refillable option available as yet. The ink set is different ( red and grey) but that won't be a problem if you use inktec inks and custom ICC profile.


Alex from Ink Express (.co.uk) is working on the Epson P600 using a ciss and a 9 colour sublimation inkset. The results are looking very promising. You are probably looking at well over £600 for the printer/ciss/sub ink combo. Contact Alex and he can give you more details.


To a certain extent 6 or 9 colours is slight overkill for printing onto low resolution items such as t-shirts, although it has its advantages for mugs and other hard items. You might want to consider one of the four colour Epsons, such as the 7110, or newer versions such as the 7710/20 which uses the same ciss. You would get a complete set up for a little over £200.

 

[TABOB]

Come on...
epson xp-900 (5 colors)
epson xp-960 (6 colors)
Take your pick. Both are cheap and with ciss available.

 

[webtrekker]

CISS isn't the be all and end all route to cheaper prints. It has its own problems.

My preferred method is to use refillable carts and buy bottles of bulk ink (CIE, Inktec, etc) which is a very cheap, virtually trouble-free method, and gives exceptional prints with my Ricoh SG3110DN, but is always an option for Epsons too.

 

[TABOB]

CISS works well for people who know a bit more than just walking.
Everyone else should avoid any unnecessary complexity

 

[PatWibble]

Come on...
epson xp-900 (5 colors)
epson xp-960 (6 colors)
Take your pick. Both are cheap and with ciss available.

Both will do a reasonable job for low volume/hobbyist, with a ciss, but neither are the build quality of the 1500w so they aren't a true professional option. They will ony print A3, not A3+ (13x19"), which is another limiting factor. My experience with XP's in general is that they have a good print quality but they struggle with repeated use of coated media. After a few sheets I find that I get continual misfeeds of paper.


Other printers at a similar price - like the 7110,7210, 7710 etc - are sold as business printers, and have a high duty cycle. More solid build quality than the XP.


Epsons 5 colour Claria Ink set contains two blacks - one pigment and one dye - and switches between the two depending on the paper being used ( Pigment for plain paper and dye for coated/photo paper). When switching to sublimation ink the XP 900 will only be a four colour printer.

 

[Waiting]

Good information, Pat.