Gel - Ink

[R.Prints]

Fed up with printers blocking and for those who have moved onto Ricoh and gel, would you go back? Yes or no, and why.

[Earl Smith]

No. And you have answered your own question.

But I dont need 6 colours for HD , super colour work.

[socialgiraffe]

Would never leave Ricoh for small format machines.

My 7000 must be at least 10 years old and still doing the job
My 3300 might be slightly younger but was sat for over a year in a cupboard. I needed it for a small job so took it out, did 1 head clean and away it went...

If I was going on holiday tomorrow I would have no hesitation in turning the machines off for the duration knowing that on my return they will be up and running in no time.

Colours are not as good as the 6 colour Epsons, but I can live with that as I have had 10 years of trouble free sublimation printing. Not many people can say that.

[ArferMo]

Gel is a strange term for Ricoh ink. Before I got one I assumed it would be like swarfega but to my surprise it is in fact quite watery not all that different to Epson ink.

[bms]

Fed up with printers blocking and for those who have moved onto Ricoh and gel, would you go back? Yes or no, and why.

Simple answer - Ricoh every time. Had a customer walk in the afternoon who was just about to throw his Epson at the wall due to blockages and went away with the Ricoh. The Ricoh inks are carried down tubes to the printhead so the ink is always at the printhead even when cartridges are removed. The possibility of air blockage or ink flow problems is dramatically reduced. The Ricoh ink is more viscous (not gel like a jelly) and the Ricoh's use more force to push the ink through hence reducing again any problems.

From a supplier point of view as well, no blockages = no support calls for that problem = happy customers and happy suppliers able to concentrate on getting orders out the door

[cleverprintinguk]

HI Guys- I've only ever used a Ricoh and never a problem with such things as a blockage. I've had Friends who have set up with others and just had problem after problem and not focusing on what is in hand- the printing.

We're now thinking of upgrading to a A3 Ricoh to reduce the printing cost!

Cheers

Tom

[R.Prints]

Cheers for your replies. Clear answer my question and am now happy to make the move. "The Ricoh inks are carried down tubes to the printhead so the ink is always at the printhead" At present I am using a Brother 5910 which has the same supply system to the printhead, unfortunately I keep having blockages the same as my Epsons used to do regularly.

[pisquee]

I am using a Brother 5910 which has the same supply system to the printhead, unfortunately I keep having blockages the same as my Epsons used to do regularly.

Are you sure it's an actual blockage, and not a problem with the printer or carts losing pressure due to not being air tight somewhere?
I would very much doubt it to be an actual blockage, but if it was, then I'd be questionning the quality of the ink you are using (you haven't mentioned what you're using) Neither do you say where the printer is, in terms of its environment (temperature/humidity), or how often you use it.
We use large format Epsons, which have similar ink delivery systems - long tubes which the ink is pumped through from large refill carts, and we don't get blockages or clogs with Inktec's inks - we have never looked back since ditching small format printer aimed at home/office users, and consumer grade sublimation inks, and switched to professional production level printers with industrial grade inks.

[Paul]

I use both, Brother and Ricoh.
Ricoh's speed is amazing compare to slow brother but colour accuracy of ricoh is much disappointing.
there is no chance to get blues, reds or purpure to match whats on the screen or even close... but this is with spot colours. images of people or other types are good enough.

[pisquee]

Is that even with custom ICCs Paul?