Epson 7880 / trade-in or convert for dye-sub?

[Postcard]

We have an Epson 7880 which earned its keep producing beautiful giclée injets for several years however now sits largely redundant in the studio. We are considering a dye-sub set up for mugs. Funds are tight and margins slim. (No surprise there!)

Should we try to sell the 7880, or obtain a dye-sub ink system for it? I've done some research however I can only find US suppliers or somewhat suspect-looking Alibaba ads. Plus the cost of the ink system seems to be approaching that of a brand new dedicated printer.

Are there UK suppliers of the appropriate inks?
Is there such a thing as 24" sublimation roll paper?
Is the conversion and profiling tricky?

Grateful to anyone with experience of this and advice to offer.
Thanks, Margaret

[pisquee]

With the 7880 using an extra "vivid magenta" along with "light light black" you may struggle to find available sublimation ink sets for converting the printer. A 4 or 6 colour printer would be a lot easier to convert/use.