Sawgrass Vs Epson and which ink?

[gazfocus]

Just curious really as to how many here print large(ish) quantities of mugs and which printer/ink you use.

I have always used Epsons until just before Christmas when I had issues with my last Epson. At the end of my tether I bought an SG500 which seems to be much faster, much sharper but also much more expensive. The colours also don’t match what’s on the screen a lot of the time so having to make adjustments.

I’d really like to go back to the Epson but I’m now preferring printing mug sized sheets (98mmx238mm) and the Epson printers don’t seem to pull this through straight. I haven’t tried feeding it landscape through the rear feeder of my ET15000 but could try that I suppose).

The major downside of the SG500 is the cost of the inks. I seem to be getting through a full set every week at the moment whereas the same money spent on inkforinkjet inks would last months.

[pw66]

I would instinctively say Epson if you were going to convert it yourself (ie not the F100), but on the off chance that you can find a used SG400 or Ricoh SG3110dn this InkExperts kit might be good. I have heard that the colours are better than SG ink, but can't confirm that.
https://www.inkexperts.co.uk/product/sa ... sion-pack/

[gazfocus]

I would instinctively say Epson if you were going to convert it yourself (ie not the F100), but on the off chance that you can find a used SG400 or Ricoh SG3110dn this InkExperts kit might be good. I have heard that the colours are better than SG ink, but can't confirm that.
https://www.inkexperts.co.uk/product/sa ... sion-pack/

I had heard that the sg400 is better than the sg500 as the sg500 cannot use third party ink/icc profiles. The issue is the only sg400’s that seem to be available are used and abandoned models.

One thing I’ve considered is if we stick with sawgrass, getting an sg1000 as the inks are slightly less expensive.

[pw66]

One thing I’ve considered is if we stick with sawgrass, getting an sg1000 as the inks are slightly less expensive.

if you are thinking of spending that much then have you considered the Epson L1800 with Inktec sublinova inks? You will be getting a better printer for less money and cheaper inks.

Has anyone on the forum had any paper feed issues with mug size sheets?
Has anyone

[gazfocus]

if you are thinking of spending that much then have you considered the Epson L1800 with Inktec sublinova inks? You will be getting a better printer for less money and cheaper inks.

Has anyone on the forum had any paper feed issues with mug size sheets?
Has anyone

The Epson L1800 is quite an old model and one I hadn't considered. I have used Sublinova inks previously and switched to Inkforinkjet a couple of years back but the issue is with paper not feeding correctly. I'd love to stick with Epsons if the feeding issue was resolved. Inkforinkjet actually told me that Epsons have never been particularly good at feeding smaller short edge paper so I'm not sure what the option is.

[pw66]

The Epson L1800 is quite an old model and one I hadn't considered.

It is part of the old 1390/1400/1500w dynasty, which formed the mainstay of the non sawgrass sublimation market for years. Spot on as a sublimation printer - if you can get the paper feed issue sorted.....

Being an A3+ printer you could theoretically get 6 prints per sheet if you were prepared to cut them to size with a decent trimmer.

[gazfocus]

I’ve just actually tried printing the mug sheet from the rear feeder on the ET-15000 but printing it landscape. Surprisingly it printed straight. Only downside is the rear feeder probably holds 40 sheets max.

The only other option would be to make a template to print two up on an A4 sheet and then cut them after they’ve been printed. Trying to make it easy for staff to use though.

[windsweptgirlie]

I have an 3110 running with Sawgrass for about 5 years, I have always been happy with the results until very recently when Purples were starting to print on the blue side. No amount of fiddling has so far fixed the issue.
Decided to take the plunge and convert a gifted 7100 to sub. It had been sitting around for a while (3+ years) so I didn't want to risk flushing it though with sawgrass ink. I opted for the ink experts ink, £50 for carts AND ink. I was not expecting much TBH but I am IMPRESSED! I am still running the 3110 on Sawgrass but I have a feeling I will probably move over. I have only tried fabric and coasters so far but all seems Dandy!

[windsweptgirlie]

I have an 3110 running with Sawgrass for about 5 years, I have always been happy with the results until very recently when Purples were starting to print on the blue side. No amount of fiddling has so far fixed the issue.
Decided to take the plunge and convert a gifted 7100 to sub. It had been sitting around for a while (3+ years) so I didn't want to risk flushing it though with sawgrass ink. I opted for the ink experts ink, £50 for carts AND ink. I was not expecting much TBH but I am IMPRESSED! I am still running the 3110 on Sawgrass but I have a feeling I will probably move over. I have only tried fabric and coasters so far but all seems Dandy!

[gazfocus]

Thanks for sharing [MENTION=7410]windsweptgirlie[/MENTION]

I’ve still got some testing to do but I have been having issues with mugs in the ovens using my SG500 and the colours are also not what they should be (although fairly close). As such, I suspect I may be switching back to Epson and selling my SG500’s.

it doesn’t help that I’m burning through a full set of inks in less than a week on the sg500