Newbie here. With questions on getting started

[The gza]

Hello forum members
i am new to the forum although the I have been reading a few posts here and their.
Before I fire my questions al give a lil back ground info.
Well let's say I have no experience in printing other than printing letters and photos.
I am a farther of 3 highly energetic boys, 2 of which are on the autistic spectrum.
so 1 day I decide I wanted to do my part and help raise awareness by doing a few mugs.
I checked out a few tutorials on YouTube an thought, hey I got half a brain that's works sometimes I can do this.
Bought myself a mug press a few sublimation mugs (I think, they came with the press)
ready to go..... So I thought.
I Didn't realise there's so meny different types of media and methods for printing.

I have a pack of sublimation paper, heat tape, a heat press and mugs.
Question time
1. Is sublimation paper correct for doing mugs.
2. Do I need a special printer. I have a few epsons lying around the house but with standard epson ink.
any advice would be great. And thanks in advance

[The gza]

Ok so I think I have found some answers on here. So my question now is. Is the Icc profile provided when I purchase sublimation ink?
if not how or where do I get the correct profile for my epson.
I asume I can use the one I currently have as its a ink jet.

[technick]

Hi,

Which inks and printer do you currently have?

The most common starter kit is the Ricoh 3110 and Sublijet R inks.

You can do it half arsed with cheaper inks and printer but it will land you in trouble.

[technick]

You will need Sublimation Inks, standard ink will not work i'm afraid.

[ukuwi]

I am presuming like me that you did not realise what a minefield this whole sublimation process can be when you are first starting out, The Ricoh 3110 is an excellent printer for sublimation and are available as low as £40 new, inks on the other hand are not so cheap but I took a leap of faith and only spent £50 for 4x100 ml bottles and also purchased refillable cartridges to save on money, because I had my icc profile made using cheap £6 sublimation paper none of the more expensive papers work for me and the cheap ink and paper gives me bright vibrant results every time, so whilst it is a safer option to go with the industry standard ink and paper you can get just as good results for a lot less money, if you purchase a new printer for sublimation do not be tempted to instal the ink that came with the printer as you will just have to clean it out before you install your sublimation ink and I hear that can be a pain so it's best to avoid.


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[The gza]

Hi thanks for the reply.
If the Ricoh is £40 new then it makes sense to get it in.
I have a used cannon MG5350 at the moment I thought it was a epson sorry. It's the whole icc thing that's got me a bit confused.
where did you get the ink from ukuwi?

[ukuwi]

i got my ink and my paper and my empty cartridges and my free icc profile from city ink express and i am more than pleased with the results I get.

[bigj2552]

Hi,

Which inks and printer do you currently have?

The most common starter kit is the Ricoh 3110 and Sublijet R inks.

You can do it half arsed with cheaper inks and printer but it will land you in trouble.

i have to laugh when i read comments like the one above....( no offense intended )
cheaper inks and epson/brother printers work just fine....dont buy into all the "hype" about buy cheap - buy twice malarkey.
get decent profile done for your "cheaper" inks/papers makes the world of difference :rolleyes:
and a few will come back on here and say " ah for a newbie sawgrass / ricoh is the way to go - it so much easier" - utter tosh !.
how many times have we heard people on here ( incl ME - but not any more ) moaning about ricoh and sawgrass...a lot

nothing in this line of business goes plain sailing my friend...weather you got over the top priced sawgrass inks, or sublinova inks - or have a ricoh or epson printer.
sooner or later all will have probs....
but ALL probs are easily fixed with a little search on here, or youtube - after much hair pulling and swearing !

[Justin]

Have to say BigJ that's really bad advice for a newbie and you should think back to when you started out as well.

A lot of independent research has been done with many of these so called 'cheap' inks and I can tell you for a fact that many do not work. Some work fine to start with and give the impression that all is well. Further down the line they dry out and destroy the Ricoh head. Many sellers are selling standard non gel based inks,vat their own admission, for use in Ricohs.

Best advice from a newbie is get the Ricoh 'Supported' setup, get up and running straight away, tried and tested, ready made profiles and a heck of a lot more from SG. You have lots to learn on your sublimation journey and you'll soon cone to realise the extra pennies per print are well spent. Once you're experienced you might decide to try cheaper routes, products etc. But to start with I wouldn't bother.

Advising a newbie is no place to get into the politics of this and serves to offer no useful information whatsoever.

A better saying I think is, you get out what you put in.

[Justin]

ALL probs are easily fixed with a little search on here, or youtube - after much hair pulling and swearing !

All problems can be sorted by replacing printers, inks etc. When you buy a supported option you have to remember, you're getting a lot more than just ink, years of research and tests, full ongoing support, replacement printers, ongoing education, access to software.

All of this without any hair loss or cursing