Sawgrass Sublimation Refillable Ink Conversion Packs - advice please

[Claire15]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could share any experience of using these kits/inks for the SG400.
They seem pretty good value for money but I'm wondering if that old adage 'the cheapest is the most expensive in the long run' applies to using compatible/refillable inks.

Many Thanks and sorry if its a newbie Q I did search but the threads were pretty old.

[InkExperts]

Hi Claire,

Sounds like you may be referring to the conversion kit we are selling here? - https://www.inkexperts.co.uk/product-ca ... tion-kits/

We have a number of users on this forum who are using this conversion [MENTION=911]socialgiraffe[/MENTION] uses one albeit on his Ricoh (which is basically the same as the SG400) we have always had good reports from users in reference to quality of the print, ease of use and setup / installation.

Compared with Sawgrass ink cartridges you should find extremely comparable quality and results, but gain a massive saving on the cost.

Hopefully any members using our inks can comment with their thoughts and feedback.

Alex

[Claire15]

Thanks Alex it is indeed and you come highly recommended so I'll be popping an order in =)

[socialgiraffe]

Hopefully any members using our inks can comment with their thoughts and feedback.

Hi Claire

Ink Experts ink and refill kits are excellent. The black (which is always the problem colour) is spot on and you get a fantastic deep solid colour. Make sure you install the profile and you will be good to go. Their support is also second to none and you will not be disappointed.

One small tip would be to change your refill carts about every two years (depending on usage). Printers need air tight ink channels and the constant pulling out and pushing in eventually wears the seal.

[Claire15]

Ahh fab, thanks so much [MENTION=911]socialgiraffe[/MENTION], much appreciated.

[InkExperts]

Thanks Alex it is indeed and you come highly recommended so I'll be popping an order in =)

Thank you Claire much appreciated! If you need any help or advise just give me a shout!

Alex

[Baldy]

Looking into this as an ink alternative too for my SG800.
Is there much that needs to be done with regards to changing over from Sublijet, and does it affect / prevent use of Virtuoso print manager or creative studio afterwards?

[UK Printed Mugs]

Also are carts chipped so need to be reset and are ink levels still able to be read by printer and software driver?

[InkExperts]

Looking into this as an ink alternative too for my SG800.
Is there much that needs to be done with regards to changing over from Sublijet, and does it affect / prevent use of Virtuoso print manager or creative studio afterwards?

When using our conversion kit (cartridges and inks) there is nothing really that needs to be done - just remove the existing ink cartridges and install our cartridge set filled with our ink. We suggest cleaning the printing heads 2 times to purge the old ink through the system and draw our ink through.

On the latest version of VPM we have found that using 3rd party inks does cause the program to print a cross hatch over all designs making them unusable. To get round this the only option is to use alternative image editing / printing software such as GIMP, Photoshop or Serif. This solves the VPM issue and also allows the use of our ICC profile which couldn't be used with the VPM software either.

Also are carts chipped so need to be reset and are ink levels still able to be read by printer and software driver?

Olly, the cartridges have AR chips (auto reset) so no need to physically reset, again the latest firmware on the SG printers is now stopping displaying an ink level (we have 2 x SG400, one is quite old and shows ink levels, one is 4 months and shows no ink levels) we believe this to be an update to the printers internal firmware. Again,not a major issue as the cartridge ink level can be easily seen by opening the front door / cover. But annoying all the same.

Alex