about dye sublimation

[o3TEZ]

im looking at getting a epson stylus 1400 printer that is dye sub compatiable. i plan on doing some mugs and tshirts for family and friends and possibly start up something later. i own a mimaki plotter with camcad,photoshop c2,illistrator and im buying corel after the holidays. im just starting up and not doing to much just learning the equipment.
my first question

does anyone have this printer and how do you like it? (i know that is two questions)

I noticed the dye is in the $120's for one cartrige. how does this even out per shirt and how many prints will you get out of a standard C M Y K set up?

do you think this is a good buy?
http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=637265&Ntt=epson 1400&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text

Does anyone know of any cheaper place to get these IQ inks. the cheapest i found was on sawgrass tech from this site
http://www.bestblanks.com/1280inks.html

thank you for any replys in advance. justin

 

[msrobere]

Take a look at conde.com. This is where I buy all my sublimation supplies.
I purchased a epson 4800 setup as the duo system.
I know on the 4800 my cost is about a penny a square inch. They can tell you what the cost would be for that printer.

Michael

 

[Deepguy]

Dye sublmation sucks

im looking at getting a epson stylus 1400 printer that is dye sub compatiable. i plan on doing some mugs and tshirts for family and friends and possibly start up something later.

Unless you use this stuff on a regular basis it dries up and stops up the ink heads. Replaced two printer because I did not use it enough. Yea can make money if you sell but my guess is supplies etc will be a problem.
Be sure you plan on making stuff just to keep the system working :Big Laugh

 

[Air Art Girl]

First off, you will need both a mug press and a flat press to sublimate. If you are not sure of you level of business or interest, why not start with an inexpensive C88 with cartridges and see how it goes before upgrading. Inks are expensive, I try to buy as local as I can for inks and blanks to save on shipping. Where are you located? You might want to look into the ArTanium inks over the IQ. IQ takes a printer driver and the ArTanium only takes ICC profiles and the regular printer driver for the C88, and has better color. If you find you like sublimation the 4800 Hybrid may be your upgrade printer as you can put both the ArTanium and the new ChromaBlast inks in the same printer. The ChromaBlast inks are the ones that will dye sub to cotton instead of having to purchase the more expensive poly coated cotten garments.

 

[o3TEZ]

thanks thats good info. i wonder if there is some way to store it without drying up. mabe after every use vacum seal it so there is no air. do you think this could work. wonder why it drys out.

 

[o3TEZ]

thanks artgirl i will research some more on the c88 and the 4800 and see which one would fit the bill. i was reading a little about the chromablast last night. thanks for all replys

 

[cajun312]

For the smaller printers a bulk system or re-fillable carts are a must the pre filled carts will run you broke. Also check Texas Original Graphics, they have sub ink much cheaper than Sawgrass and it works great.

 

[msrobere]

I know from the last trade show (SGIA) that epson is not making the 4800 anymore the new one is the 4880. From what i hear the cartridges are different as well so that they have to come out with cartridges for the new model. I use the multink instead of the chromablast. With the multink i can print on the transfer material for cotten shirts and use it to print on 17" x 22" paper as well. I don't see that much difference between the multink and chromablast other than price and then you are stuck with using chromablast ink and you also have to use their paper.
To get started with the mugs you can buy a couple of mug wraps for about $22 each and do them at home. It takes longer but if are not doing a buch mugs all the time it is worth it. When you get into the larger printers you have to factor the cost of the rip software too if you are using the duo system in the 4800.

 

[Replicator]

Welcome !

 

[Bogie]

Yeah, the mug wraps work fine...

Does any particular mug/ink combo prove to be more durable? The ones I tried were definitely not dishwasher safe...