print tiling

[macabre]

Hi all, sorry if this has been covered before but i've no idea what to type in to search for an answer...

I'm about to buy an A3 Ricoh but fancy some large A2 designs on my shirts. Would it be possible to press 2x A3 sheets at once or would it leave marks where the paper edge is?

Failing this, is it possible to press half an image then the other half once it has cooled?

The image wont have a line in where the paper joins as its a multi repeat design of symbols rather than a huge A2 design.

Cheers,
Paul

[Justin]

Yes, you can tile but you may well get lines from both the paper and the press. If you tear by hand the paper edges this will stop the paper marks. I've done all over print before but broke the design into small parts.

[Dave271069]

Silly question maybe but does a A3 printer print onto a4 sheets?

[pisquee]

You could try this, but I don't think the results will be too good - I'd expect you to have a lot of wasted product due to misprints.
If you want A2 printing, then ideally you need an A2 printer and press. The least you would need is the A2 press, and outsource the transfer printing.
There's usually a good selection of used A2 and larger Epsons on Ebay, which usually sell for around £250-£500, you can get large refillable cartridges for around £100 a set. So potentially, you could be up an running with a wide format printer for the same or less budget than buying a new A3 sublimation printer.

[ASO Embroidery]

Macabre
the Ricoh A3 printer does do A3plus paper but only with the added attachment I have a GX7000 the older machine so not sure about the new machine but I would have thought It does not sure if that would do instead of going for anything bigger hope this helps.

Dave 271069 My GX7000 prints A4 A3 and as above A3 plus as long as you have the attachment.

Regards Sammy

[macabre]

Thanks for the reply's a lot to think about

Paul

[Alastair@Xpres]

Hey Macabre,

The previous advice is all pretty spot on, lining up extra prints is going to be a nightmare as the slightest inconsistency will give you a misprint which equals waste. If you are going to try this design choice is important. Designs where a perfect line up is not required are best like patterns and abstract designs. Lettering, photography etc is likely to come out not exactly aligned.

This is the only real restriction with sublimation as your equipment dictates the size of print that you can realistically achieve.