DSF

Lots of hassle and varying results = Cheap Epson & Unbranded Ink off ebay

Hassle free, marginal loss of quality and increased cost = Ricoh and Sawgrass Inks

Bit of hassle (particularly if you do not use the machine everyday), good results and probably marginally cheaper = Good wide format Epson (at least 17"), branded ink such as Ink Tex (very good ink)

My advice if you are starting out would be a Ricoh and Sawgrass inks, yes it is the most expensive route, but for A4 or A3 it really is your only option for something that has lots of back up by main dealers and has been tried and tested many many times. You only have to ask any dealer how many Epsons are returned versus Ricoh and you will soon realise why they are the most popular small format dye sub printer. Concentrate on selling your products and not how to save pennies printing it cheaper.

Once you are established and have a better idea on dye sub and your customers and their products, then look into the wide format machines with a good quality brand such as Ink Tec which will save you money (as long as you have the space).

Lastly, if you do decide on a Ricoh, you have to buy it from a dye sub dealer. Its a bit of a con because they are exactly the same machine as sold on Amazon, but should something go wrong, it will not be supported.

^^ This.

I'd honestly recommend going down the third Epson route, though. I started off with an A4 Ricoh and almost immediately upgraded to the A3 Ricoh, but switching to the Epson made me realise how much detail I was missing out on. Detail I knew was there on-screen, but which didn't translate well to the final print through the Ricoh. Don't get me wrong, there wasn't anything WRONG with the Ricoh prints, but the difference with the Epson was night and day. Colour accuracy was infinitely better, finer details were there, it was so much cheaper to run, and I can focus on DTG for an entire fortnight without touching any sublimation work and the Epson will work immediately without even a head clean. That may be blind luck, admittedly, but I honestly wish I hadn't wasted as much time as I did with the Ricoh. Was a good way to learn the process, but also meant that I ultimately had to spend more to finally get to the point where I was getting the results I wanted. Already sold one of the Ricohs and am considering selling the other as I haven't used it in months now.

If my Epson packs in, I'll be going for another straight away.

ArtyGamer: Which Epson did you go for?

Was an Epson 7600 that I bought second hand. Had already been converted to dye sub (MK, LBK, C, LC, M, LM, Y) and I mostly use it with single sheet A3 but also print off the roll now and again. Every few weeks I'll have to do one or two regular head cleans, and I've only had to align the heads once since I got it, but that was straight away so my guess is that it was just knocked out of alignment from being driven up to Scotland from England - changes in temp, bumping around etc. Got Paul here to create a profile for the TruePix paper and have had zero issues with it thus far. Had it ten months now.

The Stylus Pro 7600/9600 are built like tanks though and can't be compared to domestic or office Epson printers, and agree that they tend to just keep going without needing much head cleaning etc

Yup. I call mine ED-209.

The trip from Durham to Glasgow isn't too bad ... we've had to take 7600 and 9600 printers up and down flights of stairs for premises moves, and driven around with them in cars/vans up and down hills - all they needed after being left overnight is a quick head clean, and alignment check.