Ricoh Aficio SG 2100n sublimation help... lol

[TQfan]

Hello all

This is my first post!

I recently purchased a heat press/printer/vinyl cutter bundle to get started on this sublimation journey. The printer is a Ricoh Aficio SG 2100n... I have been reading a few threads on here earlier but felt it better to start a new thread.

So the printer came with those refillable cartridges. I got some ink (Ink-Pro Subligel) and thought all would be fine (how naive, of course! :rolleyes: ).

I used Photoshop (CS6) to create an A4 document of logos to try out putting on the 6 sample mugs that came in the bundle, using the sample paper (10 sheets). Everything started out okay, until I put a logo with black onto a mug. It wasn't black it's a lovely purple/brown colour...

We (my dad and I) thought the ink was the issue. It is actually dark purple in the bottle, not black.

So I just joined here last night and came here for help. Reading the other threads it would seem I need to use an ICC profile. Now, the printer came with a disc with 'whatever' on it. It was installed. Having read about the issues here, I checked in Photoshop. There is a profile in the proofing area, and when I proof colours, of course it shows it will print the black as the purple/brown.

So my question is... how do I get it to print black? the other colours look awesome, so that's something, I guess!!

I must admit that icc profiles do confuse me. I have used them for proofing my photos with my lab (I got their ICC profile for soft proofing) and never had a problem as what is on my screen is what my photos look like when I receive them. So I've never had to adjust anything before. Hence me having no clue how to do that!!

So obviously I assume that the icc profile is the issue, but could it be the ink? The paper?

If I have missed anything just let me know

Thanks in advance.

[socialgiraffe]

You need to install the correct ICC profile for that particular brand of ink. If the supplier of the ink is a reputable one he will be able to send you that straight away, if not then you will need to get a custom icc profile made. There is a member on here called Paul he does custom profiles and he may be able to help (I think they cost about £35.00)

Ignore the colour in the bottle, likewise ignore the colour on the paper. The only colour that matters is the one on the final product

Good luck

P.S. you are going to need a lot more than 6 mugs to test!

[socialgiraffe]

You need to install the correct ICC profile for that particular brand of ink. If the supplier of the ink is a reputable one he will be able to send you that straight away, if not then you will need to get a custom icc profile made. There is a member on here called Paul he does custom profiles and he may be able to help (I think they cost about £35.00)

Ignore the colour in the bottle, likewise ignore the colour on the paper. The only colour that matters is the one on the final product

Good luck

P.S. you are going to need a lot more than 6 mugs to test!

[TQfan]

Hi, i found a video on youtube about setting to print via photoshop using the printer profile. i followed it and printed the file again (only onto normal paper) and it seems to be black this time. i have only just done this and will print onto sub paper tomorrow and try it on the heat press again.

the ink seller said they will phone me to help. i will ask for the icc profile then and see what their reply is.

the 6 mugs are all that came in the bundle, so yes, we will need to get more.

thanks!

[socialgiraffe]

Ignore how it looks on the paper. Dye Sub paper is effectively a release paper so is designed as a carrier sheet and not as a printable surface. This means the colours will be all over the place and look nothing like the finished item.

[TQfan]

Ignore how it looks on the paper. Dye Sub paper is effectively a release paper so is designed as a carrier sheet and not as a printable surface. This means the colours will be all over the place and look nothing like the finished item.

if this is true, why is it not heating onto the mug as black?? it is brown on the paper, stick it in the heat press and it comes out brown.
whatever is on the paper is what is sublimating onto the item...

the company i got the ink from had a guy phone and he took over the computer and seemed pissed i was using a mac because he didn't know how to work them (guess what? they're not much different to windows pcs...). so that was a bit of a waste. he did think it was the paper that was the issue (i was using the sample sheets that came with the package).

so i ordered true pix paper (he suggested this brand on the phone, although i was going to buy this brand anyway). the paper came and the printing was worse, lots of banding, although it did print black. i again searched the net and this time found a video from sawgrass about setting up a document preset in photoshop, along with the printer setup. so i followed this through and printed the same pics as before. success! black on the paper AND the mug, colours are vibrant.

however, now another issue has appeared... there are small lines across the designs when printing any shade of red :frown: (edit - photo added) i printed the same design onto the sample paper i received and the lines do not appear, so it seems the paper is the issue this time. anyone any advice on this issue?! it seems like i am getting nowhere, just going round in circles

have even thought about getting the next ricoh, the 3110, but not sure if the same issues will be there and i'm back to square one!!

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[mags1892]

the banding looks like its an ink issue, the ricoh is very sensitive to the ink and if the ink is too thin it wil cause this issue. In the past many suppiers say they have ricoh gel ink when infact they rebadge epson inks and sell as ricoh. Ive seen inktec inks rebranded as ricoh inks which is complete tosh. Ricoh inks are around 2.5 to 3 x more vicose than Epson inks so are designed to sit more on the surface of the paper than epson inks do. If you use a thinner ink the head starts to dry and the ink will not flow as fast due the the lack of viscosity giving issues like banding .

[TQfan]

the banding looks like its an ink issue, the ricoh is very sensitive to the ink and if the ink is too thin it wil cause this issue. In the past many suppiers say they have ricoh gel ink when infact they rebadge epson inks and sell as ricoh. Ive seen inktec inks rebranded as ricoh inks which is complete tosh. Ricoh inks are around 2.5 to 3 x more vicose than Epson inks so are designed to sit more on the surface of the paper than epson inks do. If you use a thinner ink the head starts to dry and the ink will not flow as fast due the the lack of viscosity giving issues like banding .

thanks Mags. I've thought all along it was the ink, just really needed to be sure. The seller won't admit it's their product's fault, of course, but I will continue to hound them!!

I also wondered if it was the printer, but it's perfectly fine other than these lines!!

thanks :redface:

[mags1892]

Been there when we were developing ricoh ink we first started with epson formula and had the same issue with some 3110s . So we bought sawgras inks and tested the viscosity and redeveloped our inks to be around the same viscosity but trying to keep some f the benefits of the other inks like cleaning agents and binding agents etc. Took us a long time ti develop but we now have a very nice ink.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[TQfan]

do you have a website i can buy from? are you the only seller of the ink? saw your ink on another thread and googled it, but many different places coming up!!

and it would work with the 2100? although we are thinking we should just get the 3110... thanks!