Brother printers for sublimation use.

[JSR]

Excellent!

I am bunching up my order now - I almost want to go for the smaller cartridges for aesthetic value and the fact I can close the lid and not have them stick out. Petty, but it bothers me as the machine is big enough as it is. Refilling isn't an issue for me - I do wonder if there is any variation on how quickly the larger/smaller cartridges dry up. I guess as long as they are sealed/cleaned if not used for a while, all will be ok. That, or run a print once a week to keep them alive.

I did use the giant ones at first, but work has a bit slow and dye-sub ink tends to "settle/separate" when left to stagnate. So I switched to the smaller ones for the time being (the bottle on the shelf is more airtight than the cartridges).

The smaller cartridges contain about 20ml (colour) and 30ml (black) while the larger ones contain about 80ml (colour) and 100ml (black). This compares to the Epsons which typically hold no more than 7-9ml of useable ink per cartridge. If business is up, the giant cartridges are ideal, but if business is sporadic then the smaller ones are still better than what you'd have with an Epson.

JSR - I think I will try the economy chinese inks I have seen to try this out - but perhaps go for a slightly better quality of sub paper. This purely based on my experience of photo printing - the ink can be as cheap as chips, but if the paper is poor, results will always be poor.

Correct me if I am wrong though! Which papers are you using with the Brother?

We're not allowed to discuss non-Sawgrass ink on this forum but do bear in mind that any mention of a non-Sawgrass supplier is likely to draw Sawgrass's attention to them and get them shut down.

Whatever ink you go for, you will need to get a custom profile made. I recommend you talk to Paul (forum member) who has done several for me. You may find that you'll need to have further profiles done as the months progress if your inks are getting a bit old but a correct profile from Paul will stop you from pulling out your hair.

Of the paper, I have used TruPix, TexPrint, Xpress (from BMS) and the stuff that Coralgraph sells. Coralgraph's paper is "okay if you really need to save a couple of pennies". Xpres paper is a better "economy" paper - ideal for the middle ground. However, I've currently switched back to TruPix and TexPrint papers for best results. I'm saving enough on printer costs and less printer hassles now that the few extra pence for the better paper is justifiable.

[danm]

Thanks again! Your time and effort to help me out is truly appreciated.

I will drop Paul a message with my intentions, and hopefully if I can get the old printer running I can get a profile from him for that; and if not that, then I will get the newer model from PC World as you suggested and sort that out.

I've gone for the small cartridges - the door thing was bugging me too much. Unless things take off, which I don't think or intend them to, I can always upgrade as per demand. I also believe this will be sporadic on a come and go basis. Start small and go from there...

I've yet to buy my heat presses. I am contemplating the second hand market from users here, and am after a single mug and a swing tshirt press.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a bargain!

Looks like Saturday will be judgement day.... dun dun dunnnn!

[danm]

Ok, last nights progress was positive.

The printer fired up. It installed without fuss on Windows 7 32bit.

No driver or software issues.

At first attempt, it scanned straight into photoshop. Was a little slow, but I chose one of the more optimum settings. A nice and quiet machine, I must say. The old Epson scanner I use to have made a right racket when processing.

LCD screen is telling me that there is no ink. Of course, because there aren't any cartridges yet haha.

So far, so good.

[danm]

Oh lord, my little basement is running out of space.

I bought the 5910DW with the warranty this lunchtime. A bargain at £121. They even threw in two packs of HP paper too (I laughed). It's the small things! Lol. That warranty is epic really, chances are in 3 years if it does go kaput on me, they wont know it has been used on sublimation and according to the print they offer an on the spot replacement.

Who knows how good future models will be, I very much doubt they will replace with this one as it is already labelled as clearance. Incredible.

[bigj2552]

Oh lord, my little basement is running out of space.

I bought the 5910DW with the warranty this lunchtime. A bargain at £121. They even threw in two packs of HP paper too (I laughed). It's the small things! Lol. That warranty is epic really, chances are in 3 years if it does go kaput on me, they wont know it has been used on sublimation and according to the print they offer an on the spot replacement.

Who knows how good future models will be, I very much doubt they will replace with this one as it is already labelled as clearance. Incredible.

great to see someone else going down the brother route .....i just bought 2 of the 5910dw's...one for normal printing...and the other for sub printing...while they were on sale .....
but can always convert the normal to sub use with clean/flush out if needed....but the £22 - 3yr warranty is bloody superb....why i bought 2 of em while they were half price :biggrin:.
superb printer, really fast print & extremly fast scanning !

[John G]

.i just bought 2 of the 5910dw's...one for normal printing...and the other for sub printing

Have you used it for sub printing yet and whats the result like, colour wise.

Cheers John

[smitch6]

i presume you needed a profile for it as well?

[bigj2552]

@john - i cant make my bloody mind up what sub inks to get....i,m still thinking of going for the cheaper ones to do a number of wks practice on, rather than spend £200+ on quality inks, just to get wasted....

@smitch6 - Hi steve, yes, will need to ask paul for profile set up when i make up my dam mind what inks to use lol....

as for ordinary printing, this thing is really good.....i find skin tones good, and colour depth is really good as well....coming from having epsons all my days - i would say this IS a step up in printing quaility for me...

just got another CISS system/ or large refill system....or whatever you want to call it lol - through post yesterday.....hooked the non sub one up....this non sub ink is gonna last me ages with these large tanks lol

[ATTACH=CONFIG]947[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]948[/ATTACH]

still waiting on the other printer i ordered 5/6 days ago from pc world online....the local store ran out, so had to buy online......

if yer buying a wireless brother printer - to set up the wireless side - you MUST have a usb cable to plug in first :rolleyes:......had to wait 4 days for that to arrive last wk before i could set up the dam printer....so bought 2x extra long ones while i was on ebuyer + 2x extensions for em

outta all the cables i have in house...not 1 usb cable...really odd lol

[JSR]

if yer buying a wireless brother printer - to set up the wireless side - you MUST have a usb cable to plug in first :rolleyes:

Got to admit that I prefer using Ethernet for my printers. Much more reliable. I honestly don't see the point of wireless in a printer. Wireless in the laptop, in the tablet, in the smartphone, yes - but the printer doesn't go walkabout so it may as well be wired into the network.

I've tried wireless on my Epson B40W and it's always a nightmare. I've used Ethernet with my HP 550DTN, but that seems to drop its connection and change its IP address every time the wind changes direction. But Ethernet with my Brother MFC-5890CN and MFC-295CN has been as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.

[smitch6]

what are these like for swapping between inks?
like on my B1100 i can swap the carts and do a quick clean and i'm good to go
always handy to have a normal A3 as well