Print quality has completely gone!!

[frames]

I have a Ricoh GX7000 with Ricoh inks which has been fine for ages but suddenly my print quality has gone completely. I have tried mugs, coasters, slates etc but they are all completely awful and unsaleable. Sometime hardly any colour transfers at all and when it does it's very dull and yellow.
I'm at a loss as to what's causing the problem. Can inks go off?? Is the press not up to temperature? I've asked Novachrome but their replies don't fill me with confidence. They suggest i need a new press but I'm getting the same problems with mugs which is a different press.
I don't want to start buying new equipment until I know definitively where the fault is.
All suggestions greatly appreciated.

[GermanDyeSub]

I don't use Ricoh but the situation that you describe doesn't sound pleasant. I hope you will get it sorted out soon. Could perhaps be an issue with the ink. Was it a new batch of ink that you put inside the printer? Also, have you made any updates, change of settings for any programs as ICC could have been affected.

[frames]

I don't use Ricoh but the situation that you describe doesn't sound pleasant. I hope you will get it sorted out soon. Could perhaps be an issue with the ink. Was it a new batch of ink that you put inside the printer? Also, have you made any updates, change of settings for any programs as ICC could have been affected.

The inks have been in the printer for over a year. No other changes have been made to drivers etc.

[GermanDyeSub]

Has the printer been standing for a while? Also what paper are you using? Are you using the same batch as earlier or have you received a new batch or another brand paper?

[Justin]

What's the expiry date on your inks?

[Starlord21]

What inks are in the printer? With these units it's common to mistake standard ricoh inks for Dye Sub inks when in fact they're completely different. If you've had these carts in for a year there is a chance that the ink from those carts has only just started to come through the system if it's used sparingly.

The most obvious sign of this is the ink looking fine/normal on paper and not transferring over when heat pressed.

[decca591]

Are the prints not actually printing correctly ? if the printer has stood unused then I would expect the print heads to become clogged by dried ink - don't just keep running a clean head cycle(could damage the heads) but physically clean the heads to removed the dried ink !!

Hope this helps !!

Decca

[pisquee]

It does sound like non-sublimation ink is being used - you say you use Ricoh ink, but Ricoh do not make sublimation inks.
Are the prints printing OK to the sub paper, but then not transferring? This sounds to be what you're describing, and similar posts have come up in the past (especially when the Ricoh printers first came to market, and the situation you describe sounds exactly the same - the result of putting non sublimation ink into the printer.