bigj2552;41119 wrote:had set my mind on the epson b1100 printer but then,
i was reading through jrs post i think....liked the brother MFC-5890CN A3 printer...all in one printer(scanner ect) and you can use ciss refillable cartridges with it...lot easier to get into and fill than the epsons...
and this printer seems to have a better track record than the epsons for some reason !
thats that then..FINALLY..no more looking - this is it ....buying it this week coming so i cant change my bloody mind...again !
luv this forum but sometimes...lol...just when you think you are ready to buy something then....you find more info on something else
great forum with invaluable info
johnny...
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I'm using two Brother printers at present (the DCP-195C, and an MFC-295CN). I don't use my MFC-5890CN for dye-sub yet, but I will do when it becomes necessary. I also have four Epson printers here (B40W, 2x1400, and a 1290S) not counting my R1800 (not used with dye-sub). I have a choice what to use, and I primarily choose the Brothers.
Whenever you go down the unsupported route, you take the responsibility upon yourself to sort out your own problems as you go along. I'm content with doing that, albeit I felt kind of forced into it because of the severely limited options available from the "supported" options. It seems bizarre to me that we pay Sawgrass great wodges of cash for their ink, and in return we can only use the couple of printers they allow us to use. But that's the way of things, I guess, when the tail wags the dog.
No one can say whether the Brother printers have a "better track record" than either Epson or Ricoh when it comes to dye-sub ink because so few people use them for this purpose.
Historically, Epson have a "poor track record" because so many people complain about them. However, Epson is the most prolific of desktop dye-sublimation solutions. If 1,000 people are using them and 100 people complain, then it feels like everyone's complaining about them when only 10% are having problems and 90% are doing just fine.
Ricoh appear to have a better track record, but more and more posts are appearing on this forum of people having difficulties - with colours, and whatever else. This is because the Ricoh printers are becoming more popular. They're being pushed by suppliers and Sawgrass as the "easy solution" based, presumably, on the lack of complaints so far. After all, if only 100 people are using them and 20 people complain, then you won't see many problems. The number of complaints appears to be a lot less (using these arbitrary figures - 20 for Ricoh, 100 for Epson), but the percentage shows the Ricoh being the worse printer (20% complaints, compared to 10% for the Epson) - all figures for illustrative purposes and not intended to imply fact.
It's a question of scale. The more a printer becomes popular, the more people will have problems, and the more complaints you'll see. Conversely, the less popular a printer is, the less people will have problems, and the fewer complaints you'll see. It doesn't necessarily mean either printer is any more vulnerable or invulnerable than the other.
My only advice is to choose the printer setup/system that ticks the most boxes for you. By all means be guided by the complaints of others, but consider how many people are *not* complaining about that particular printer. I chose Brother for my own reasons (I wanted to get away from using a CISS, and I didn't feel that Sawgrass were offering enough alternative options). I accepted putting in the time and effort required to see if Brother printers would do the job, and I continue to accept that there's very few people who I can discuss this particular set-up with.
If you do run into problems with your Brother set-up, then there will be very few people who can help you - so you won't be able to put a "help!" post on the forum and expect an instant reply, or a reply at all. You're on your own.
One of the advantages of Brother printers to me is that you can get them fairly cheap (my recent MFC-295CN cost me about £20) so, if something insurmountable happens, it goes in the tip and I buy a new one. That's not so easy to do when you spend £100+ for an A4 printer or £300+ for an A3 one. The more you spend, the more you *have* to sort out problems. The less you spend, the more inviting the tip looks.
One of the things we don't yet know about Brother printers is what happens when the waste tank gets full (or even if it has one!). Ricohs apparently have a replaceable waste tray. The Epsons can be reset with a utility. But what of the Brother? I would recommend a two-printer set up. By all means have a 5890CN for A3 work but it may also be wise to seek out a cheap A4 model for day-to-day work. If the ink tank becomes an issue, the A4 can be dumped without wasting the more expensive A3. After all, at £20, my MFC-295CN was less than the cost of the waste tray for a Ricoh!
