Epson vs. Ricoh ink cost

[uk1simon]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, it's really nice to meet you all.

I'm considering to buy Epson r1400 or Ricoh GXE3300. The thing that bothers me is the cost of ink for those printers.
Can you advise me on that one?
What is the price of ink per mug?
What is more expensive CISS for Epson or cartridges for Ricoh in the long run?

And one more thing:
Has anybody calculated cost of printing mugs using A3 vs. A4 printer in terms of difference in price between A3 and A4 printer, difference in price of paper?
You can squeeze more mug designs in one A3 sheet.
So considering just mug subli printing does A3 or A4 printer turn out to be better?


Thanks for any help,
Regards,
Simon

[Justin]

I think the Ricohs work out a little more expensive than the Epson cost per print.....depends somewhat on any issues you have with head blockages etc. Personally I prefer the Epson but many would disagree

Can't give you specifics all I can say is whilst the initial outlay for the subli ink appears to be expensive, compare it to original ink carts for Epson etc. and you'll see it isn't too bad really. There's plenty of room for a good profit

[mgibbs]

I think Justin's right that the Ricoh is more expensive - I think Martin from BMS said about 20% more?

However for me the extra cost is worth it to avoid all the hassles I had with blockages on my Epson R1800. Haven't had a single problem with my Ricoh (GX7000)

Mark

[uk1simon]

Cheers guys, I've just been checking prices.
Ink carts for Ricoh are around £48 each 29ml, which means set for £192
Visi-Sub ink and CISS for Epson R1400 £317 or empty refillable carts £15 + ink around £60. So £317 or £75

It seems to me that Epson is much cheaper to run and the difference is huge or am I missing something?

[uk1simon]

by the way it seems to me that the cheapest option is Epson D120 (£55) + refillable carts + sub ink?
What do you think?
Would you go for the cheapest one or Ricoh gxe3300 (£135 and has got good reviews)

[Justin]

I work with refil carts as well as a CIS, this last year refil carts have worked a treat in my S21 and P50. Ricoh seems to generally be more reliable in terms of head blockages although (with a little luck) if your Epson performs as it should you shouldn't need to be cleaning heads every two minutes. A quick nozzle check once a week keeps things moving along nicely.

If you want to get printing quick and have minimum downtime the Ricoh is fine. Epson may be a little trickier initially but will certainly be cheaper and my personal opinion is that the quality is better

[Red5]

I went down the 'Cheap' route and regretted it, Epson D120 etc, then i found this forum and BMS, now have a Ricoh 3300 and in 2 months of ownership have never had a single issue, No blocked nozzles, no need for cleaning, alignment. The build quality between the 2 is like night and day, if your trying to build a new business up, like is was, then there is no contest imo.

[uk1simon]

thanks guys
Red5 how long does a 29ml cart last for?
I should rather ask: how many mugs/pages can you do on 4 29ml carts?

And where did you buy your Ricoh?

Regards,
Simon

[Paul]

is it worth to add that first set of cart wont last long???

[Red5]

is it worth to add that first set of cart wont last long???

Do you have shares in Epson m8? Agreed when the virgin printer is 1st primed with the 1st set of carts the ink levels appear to drop dramatically, but your not loosing that ink, its still there, and nearly all usable.

Plenty of link on here for pricing etc, this one has a nice PDF price guide for the Ricoh ink per mug http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/sh ... nd-Dye-Sub

Got my Ricoh from BSM http://www.printerowners.co.uk/sublimat ... inters.htm best price in the UK.

There are loads of peeps using epson etc, (that have good results, happy etc) but how many thread are there of users that have changed from Ricoh to Epson?
and unless one had owned and used both, than how can one comment?

from a past post i got this info:
Ricoh ink cost = £200 chap got 286 A4 prints, mixture of full wraps and smaller. works out @ 70p per A4 if your filling the sheet and getting 3 up then its roughly 23p per mug.

D