Epson vs. Ricoh ink cost

[uk1simon]

I have Epson DX4000 myself for office use and I have noticed exactly the same thing as you mentioned louise020171. If you use the printer regulary then it works great, otherwise it just clogs up. When it clogs up you need to clean heads, when you clean heads you loose a lot of ink and that's the main drawback. But bear in mind that Epson ink for CISS is much cheaper then Ricoh cartridges.
I'm going towards Ricoh but still doing my research.
I'd like to hear some more from Epson users.

Thanks for your answers.

Regards,
Simon

[Andrew]

I suppose you already have your answers - if you will be using regularly and want to produce items as cost effective as possible then it's Epson. If you want to use occasionally then Ricoh is probably a safer bet.

Never used a Ricoh personally but can't say when we used the smaller epson's that we had any real problems. Always worked well and any blockage that did develop cleared easily. If Ricoh was an option then I wouldn't have been tempted away if it costs more to print but we did have regular use. I wouldn't think either way will be that much of a wrong decision.

[gstk]

I have owned both- currently use the Ricoh 3300 and love it to bits. I wouldnt touch a D120 - I wouldnt want one for free. If you are new to it then the Ricoh will save you heartache. Ciss is always going to be cheaper but time is important as well.

good luck

[Paul]

is it something about D120 their so crap??? coz we dont hear that much bad about other epsons

[gstk]

I think that must have been their worst model. I had 2 D88 before that and they were relatively pain free. The D120 was a donkey.

[Paul]

same here. had d88 and never had a problem. R300 was my first one and good printer too.

[uk1simon]

thanks guys for your posts

[Paul Richards]

When I first looked at Sublimation printing, I contacted Epson and they would not give a warranty on any Epson printer using sublimation inks. I am a long term photographer using Epson printers up to A1+ printers, and after consulting with many manufactures, went for the Ricoh Gx 7000. The main reason being that there would be times when the printer would not be worked on a regular basis. Printers need to be used to prevent nozzle blockages
The Ricoh printer seems to handle uses on a irregular basis without nozzle cleans, thus saving liquid gold {Ink}.When investing substantial money in printers, I try and look at the long term situation and what will cost less and maintainence free.
Sadly the suppliers of sublimation inks are not prone to giving discounts regardless of quantity ordered
Perhaps members of this forum could get together and order sublimation inks in bulk orders so that maybe a supplier might respond!

[dj_doubler]

When I first looked at Sublimation printing, I contacted Epson and they would not give a warranty on any Epson printer using sublimation inks. I am a long term photographer using Epson printers up to A1+ printers, and after consulting with many manufactures, went for the Ricoh Gx 7000. The main reason being that there would be times when the printer would not be worked on a regular basis. Printers need to be used to prevent nozzle blockages
The Ricoh printer seems to handle uses on a irregular basis without nozzle cleans, thus saving liquid gold {Ink}.When investing substantial money in printers, I try and look at the long term situation and what will cost less and maintainence free.
Sadly the suppliers of sublimation inks are not prone to giving discounts regardless of quantity ordered
Perhaps members of this forum could get together and order sublimation inks in bulk orders so that maybe a supplier might respond!

Only problem I have been finding is getting the SubliJet cartridges cheaper then £160+VAT for a full set... just like yourself Paul I have the Ricoh GXe3300 and I put the cartridges in 2 days ago (from new) and filling the tubes shows that all the inks bar black are only half full... so in 3 wks time ill be ordering another batch of £160 ink... taking total outlay to around £800 or so.... alot of mugs to be sold to get that back :-p

[Red5]

Only problem I have been finding is getting the SubliJet cartridges cheaper then £160+VAT for a full set... just like yourself Paul I have the Ricoh GXe3300 and I put the cartridges in 2 days ago (from new) and filling the tubes shows that all the inks bar black are only half full... so in 3 wks time ill be ordering another batch of £160 ink... taking total outlay to around £800 or so.... alot of mugs to be sold to get that back :-p

So your printing 858 ish a4 sheets every 3 weeks? (see my first post) as some people are getting 286 A4 sheets from a new set of inks.
Sounds like to me that your printer is new? as if putting in a new set of ink carts, in a already used printer the cart levels would not drop much. i.e. a lot of peeps get hung up on the "ink in the tubes, priming the system etc" but in the end it will get pushed along and out on to your paper, its only the very first set where you are technically not getting all that you have paid for. When i stated my business i built in to my plan that the first set of inks would be for training, guess it depends on how much dosh one has.