Newby has been reading too much.

[Mizzy]

Hi everyone and thanks for the welcome to the forum. (Previous post). I've been doing a bit of research over the last few weeks and I must say there seems to be some conflicting advice knocking about on other forums and on the internet in general. Which is why I ended up here. This forum has the best information and advice (I think) so here goes my first main post. I'm looking to start with sublimating mugs and then moving onto other items (T shirts etc) later on. The printer I have decided on purchasing is the Ricoh SG3110DN. What would be the best route for the sublimation inks. I've looked at the cartridge's for this machine which seem very expensive or can I use a CISS system and what would be the best inks to use. Any advice on a good quality mug press and the best type of paper to use would be most welcome. I'm also a bit confused about the sumlimation of T shirts. Can I use the same paper that is used on mugs and what material is best for the T shirts. I've read that they should be polyester or polyester/cotton mix.

Kind Regards

Martin

[New Horizons]

Hi Martin. Whilst I cannot give you advice on the Ricoh machines, all that I can tell you is that sublimation ink is VERY expensive, so you need to had a defined plan as to what exactly you are going to focus on. If you want to do sublimation tees in any volume, then you really need to be looking at an A3 format printer.

I would avoid poly cotton tees as the prints always looked washed out and lack definition.

[pisquee]

There are very few alternative choices of inks for the Ricoh printers - I tried using 'normal' sublimation ink in one but it didn't work - the resulting prints were streaky and smudged.
The Epson's on the other hand do have more choice of sublimation ink.

Please have a read of this ... www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/showthread.php?4006-FAQ-Which-Printer

[purpledragon]

Hi Martin
Essentially you are limited to sawgrass inks yes very expensive in comparison but this should really be costed into the item you are producing and selling, Sawgrass hold the license on small format printers which strictly speaking means no one can sell you sublimation ink for a small format printer although plenty do if you look hard enough, But this really depends on if you can find refillable carts for your printer im not certain and im sure someone will correct me if im wrong but refillable carts are not available for ricohs. If you can buy non sawgrass inks you have to consider the pros and cons of using non sawgrass inks . Can you obtain profiles for no sawgrass inks ? is your ink supplier consistant and reliable ? do you have a number to call when things go wrong (i say when because things will go wrong) Sawgrass do have an excellent support system in place and although well over priced in their inks the help ive had off them in the past is invaluble. Have you bought your printer yet ? this is another main consideration you have to take into account, the second you put sub ink through your printer the makers warranty will be void. the only way round this is to buy your printer from an approved sawgrass stockist eg BMS if you do this sawgrass then take over the warranty if you dont buy the printer from a sawgrass approved stockist eg ebay you may find yourself in a pickle should the printer go wrong. It may sound like it but i dont work for sawgrass these are just the facts!
As for paper this very often is a personal choice i use trupix for pretty much everything tshirts mugs coasters the lot and ive found this to be very good paper , im sure theres others on here who will swear by the paper they use . As for using poly cotton mix t shirts i wouldnt strictly agree with new horizons warning to avoid them subli soft is a brand which is cottone with polyester upper weave and these in my opinion give excellent results although they seem harder to find nowadays some dont like them because they are quite heavy though some of my customers are a bit disappointed that i dont use them anymore . But in general and sublisoft aside new horizons is right a run of the mill polycotton garment will not print as well depending on the polyester content . You have made a good start by reading through past posts buit keep reading as you go i gaurantee you will learn somthing new everyday

[bms]

Hi everyone and thanks for the welcome to the forum. (Previous post). I've been doing a bit of research over the last few weeks and I must say there seems to be some conflicting advice knocking about on other forums and on the internet in general. Which is why I ended up here. This forum has the best information and advice (I think) so here goes my first main post. I'm looking to start with sublimating mugs and then moving onto other items (T shirts etc) later on. The printer I have decided on purchasing is the Ricoh SG3110DN. What would be the best route for the sublimation inks. I've looked at the cartridge's for this machine which seem very expensive or can I use a CISS system and what would be the best inks to use. Any advice on a good quality mug press and the best type of paper to use would be most welcome. I'm also a bit confused about the sumlimation of T shirts. Can I use the same paper that is used on mugs and what material is best for the T shirts. I've read that they should be polyester or polyester/cotton mix.

Kind Regards

Martin

Hi Martin,

The SG3110 is an excellent A4 sublimation printer and we have hundreds of users very happily printing with this set up. You will need to use cartridges and whilst a set is pricey look at the cost per page print on this download which should make the costs less eye watering http://sawgrasseurope.indigofiles.com/t ... h_3110.pdf

For printing paper you won't go far wrong with TruPix paper which is excellent for all substrates (mugs and t-shirts). Again there are many users here on this forum using this paper (but if you ask what paper is best you'll get as many variations as their are types of papers!).

As for t-shirts then there are a few makes - SubliT, Vapour and SubliSoft. Probably the most popular are the SubliT, then Vapour, the SubliSoft (sublisoft last because it tends to be more expensive). All give excellent vibrant results.

[Mizzy]

Thanks to everyone for their advice. I will carry on browsing the forum and hopefully make a decision by the end of the week.

Regards

Martin