Which epson printer is best for printing custom heat transfers?

109318 Views 118 Replies 69 Participants Last post by DrivingZiggy, Feb 2, 2021

majkthreads

Discussion Starter · Jul 30, 2006

Ok I spent about 5 hours here saturday night searching for post with epson printers.

I've seen so many posts about epson printers it's hard to decide which current models are recommended.

I have a canon 6000 right now and it does not do transfers very well. I've heard, read and been told that Epson print far better transers.

So far we've been only dealing in pre-printed transfers. But we've gotten more and more requests like others here, to do custom transfers.

I have access to most of the Epson lines. (The wife works part time at Best Buy so I can get it at cost plus 5%.)

I plan on really expanding my business to the custom transfer business. I'm new to Epsons as I've been a Canon guy most of my life.

Do you guys and gals have any recommendations on the new Epson printers. 2-3 recommendations would be great. I would also love to do some bulk inks also.

It's funny, I never thought our business would get to this point so I thought I'd have a long time off to make this decision, if ever.

If it's ok to use the durabrite inks thats ok as we get a good discount off of those as well. So stock inks would be fine for now.

Thank you to all who have helped me. I hope I've helped some of you as well.

God Bless,

Bryan

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1 - 20 of 119 Posts

jdr8271

· #2 · Jul 30, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

I reccomend the c88. Prints beautifull transfers, and it uses pigmented ink. Buy the warranty too. These are not built to last for commercial use.

majkthreads

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 30, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

Is the c88 the one that does regular sized paper? Do you know what the next one up would be that handles larger paper?

At BB website they list approximately 20 models from all in ones to photo printers.

The larger size printing really intrigues me as we would like to do some cotton zip up jackets.

Jdr, thank you so much for your opinion. Don't worry I'll get the service plan, especially with our discount although it's not as good a discount as before.

But I figure if the wife is still there I better take advantage and get my printer now. It will be great to be able to print great looking custom transfers.

Thank you.

Bryan

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cprvh

· #4 · Jul 30, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

The 1280 is very popular and will print up to 13" wide. You could also go to a 3000/4000/4800 at 17". Check the Epson site for current models. You really only need CMYK, I don't think you gain much by having over four colors.

skulltshirts

· #5 · Jul 30, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

Can anyone give a review for the Epson 220 model printer? I like this printer because it has a built in cd/dvd tray that allows you to print directly on printable cd/dvd's, but I would also want to be able to print out transfer with it.
Can you tell me if the inks are pigmented inks?
Is there any other printers that has the same function for printing directly to discs, but would be better for transfers? I am on a limited budget and the 220 sells for 99$ at wal-mart, so it is a good choice for me if it will do for transfers as well.
Thanks
Thomas

sorry for hi-jacking your thread, but it was a thread about epson printers so i figured it would be a good place to ask!

majkthreads

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 31, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

Well I ended up buying the Epson stylus 1280. Best Buy is no longer going to carry them.

With the 2yr. service plan it was $350 delivered to my house. I'm going to try the durabrite inks but I think I may have to put a post up asking what ink work best. If I can swing a CIS I would go with that and some great inks.

Any suggestions??????

I've read the durabrite are acceptable if you change the color settings. But I've read about the magic mix.

I was leaning to replacing the oem ink and going with something else.

Thank you all for your help.

Bryan

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imageman

· #7 · Jul 31, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

You can not go wrong with epson 1280 i,ve been using mine for almost two years with no problem.I like it for it's 11 x 17 prints-it's super.Good luck!!

majkthreads

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 31, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

Thanks for the recommendations.

I think it will do pretty good transfers.

Now for some CIS and bulk ink.

queerrep

· #9 · Jul 31, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

imageman said:
You can not go wrong with epson 1280 i,ve been using mine for almost two years with no problem.I like it for it's 11 x 17 prints-it's super.Good luck!!

imageman - Do you have any maintenance tips for the 1280? (i.e. Do you turn it off when you're not using it? How often do you perform cleaning cycles and nozzle checks?) I just bought one myself, but from what I've been reading the print heads are notorious for getting clogged - especially with a CIS.

majkthreads said:
I'm going to try the durabrite inks but I think I may have to put a post up asking what ink work best. If I can swing a CIS I would go with that and some great inks.

Any suggestions??????

Majkthreads - Along with my 1280, I got a CIS from inkmizer.com (a.k.a. shopdyesub.com) and Magic Mix inks. I got everything hooked up yesterday with no problems and it seems to be printing fine (except for a weird color discrepancy when printing from Photoshop). The CIS came with very detailed installation instructions with plenty of photos. I can't attest to the MM inks since I haven't printed a shirt yet, but I've heard many great things about it in this forum.

suzieh

· #10 · Jul 31, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

Bryan, the 1280 comes with OEM DYE ink. So you'll need to go with non-OEM pigment ink for t-shirt transfers.

I started out using pre-filled ink carts of Magic Mix ink from personalizedsupplies.com and
now am refilling my own carts with Magic Mix.

I really like using the Magic Mix and TransJet II (Magic Jet) paper
combination. Paper is reliable...ink dries so I can print in advance or trim without smudging.

Transfers have been holding up very well through
well over 20 washes on 100% cotton.

I also have CX4800 (same Durabrite inks as C88) as backup printer.

Eventually I'll get bulk ink (no desk space right now).
I'm planning on trying inks from inksupply.com. They have
a good reputation for ink, especially among those printing photos.

You might want to join Yahoo group Epson_printers.

I've been leaving my printers on. There are differing
opinions about doing this.

I have not had any clogs on two printers
using pigment inks in nearly three months of
using Durabrite and Magic Mix.

Blessings back...Susan

majkthreads said:
Well I ended up buying the Epson stylus 1280. Best Buy is no longer going to carry them.

With the 2yr. service plan it was $350 delivered to my house. I'm going to try the durabrite inks but I think I may have to put a post up asking what ink work best. If I can swing a CIS I would go with that and some great inks.

Any suggestions??????

I've read the durabrite are acceptable if you change the color settings. But I've read about the magic mix.

I was leaning to replacing the oem ink and going with something else.

Thank you all for your help.

Bryan

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binki

· #11 · Jul 31, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

The 1280 has a $100 rebate from epson right now. We just bought it because we wanted the wider format. Someone else quoted $350 which is a pretty good price. We paid $384 from an online site referred by buy.com and it came with free shipping. We have to still order the bulk ink delivery system and the inks.

Does anyone have a price better than $1100 for this? That is the best price I have found.

Rodney

· #12 · Jul 31, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

This is a great thread

I was going to ask about current recommendations for espon printers.

binki

· #13 · Jul 31, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

Rodney said:
This is a great thread I was going to ask about current recommendations for espon printers.

This will be my first ink/sublimation setup so I will let you know how easy or frustrating it is to set up.

imageman

· #14 · Aug 1, 2006

Well,to be honest with you,i' ve never had to do any special maintanance on it.But, before i started any printing, i perform the nozzle check to make sure there is no cloggings.And i use generic ink which i have been buying very cheap from a company on e-bay.

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MotoskinGraphix

· #15 · Aug 2, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

binki said:
The 1280 has a $100 rebate from epson right now. We just bought it because we wanted the wider format. Someone else quoted $350 which is a pretty good price. We paid $384 from an online site referred by buy.com and it came with free shipping. We have to still order the bulk ink delivery system and the inks.

Does anyone have a price better than $1100 for this? That is the best price I have found.

The Epson 1280 is available from Best Buy online for around $399.00 but you can do better if you shop. A CIS ink system can be found much cheaper than $1100 if ya just go do a search. I think 4oz. bottles of Pigment ink run around $23.00 each but I bet you could find those cheaper as well if ya looked hard enough.

binki

· #16 · Aug 2, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

MotoskinGraphix said:
The Epson 1280 is available from Best Buy online for around $399.00 but you can do better if you shop. A CIS ink system can be found much cheaper than $1100 if ya just go do a search. I think 4oz. bottles of Pigment ink run around $23.00 each but I bet you could find those cheaper as well if ya looked hard enough.

We purchased the bulk ink delivery system and ink from NovaChrome. This is the Sawgrass product. The pricing on this was about the same from every vendor we checked.

Is the ink you are quoting the dye sublimation ink?

$399 for that printer is list price. We got free shipping with our purchase from PCUniverse.

binki

· #17 · Aug 2, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

binki said:
This will be my first ink/sublimation setup so I will let you know how easy or frustrating it is to set up.

Well, the dye sublimation kit and ink just arrived. The printer came yesterday so I only need the heat press which is on its way.

MotoskinGraphix

· #18 · Aug 2, 2006

Sounds like you are on the way. The price was pigment ink and I ran across it this morning searching for printers but I couldnt tell you where. Price just caught my eye and there was a good printing breakdown cost per ink types...even sublimation inks or dyes. Maybe I will try to find it again if I really want to get into digital transfers. What type substrates are you planning on printing?

majkthreads

Discussion Starter · #19 · Aug 2, 2006

My price for my 1280 came about that we get it at employee price.

It was about $320 + tax and $20 for the 2 yr. service plan.

It also qualifies for the Epson $100 rebate as well so it'll be around $250 after the rebate. I think that's pretty fair.

Now for some pigment inks.

This thread has been full of great info. Too bad a sticky couldn't be made with most all the Epson printers listed with the pros/cons of each.

I think that would cut down on some of the questions. But that way it would be a one stop place refference chart, for someone to decide which printer they would like. It could even have the approx. going rate at the time of the list made.

Just a thought. You guys are a wealth of information. Plus most all of you are very patient and willing to help someone with many questions.

Thank you,

Bryan

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mattgdetroit

· #20 · Aug 3, 2006

Re: Which epson printer?

$1,100?? Is this sublimation ink? The "Best" CIS/Bulk Ink System for "transfers" (50/50, 100% cotton, darks, any mix, NOT Dye Sub) would be under $550, with a couple OK options for around $200-$350.

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