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Ricoh GXE 3300N or GX7000 Sublimation

Spencer McMurtry

Spencer McMurtry

New Member
Hello,
I am buying a Sublimation printer I am learning towards a budget machine before i drop a lot of money to make sure it is going be a wise investment. I am currently looking at the Ricoh GXE 3300N from best blanks.

Has anyone used this machine? should i spend more money and buy a GX7000 or other? The price difference between the two machines is $900.00 with the smallest ink sets (the gx7000 includes twice as much ink). My current heat press is only 14"x16" i have been doing all my shirts with print cut solvent heat transfers and haven't went larger than 13 inches wide yet..

Also is the sawgrass ink the best to get?

Does best blanks have good support / are they a good company?

Thanks!
 
tomence

tomence

New Member
For sublimation i would get the Epson 1400 it prints up to 13" x 19" and i think it is better than the Ricoh. Sawgrass is the way to go.
 
toomeycustoms

toomeycustoms

New Member
Epsons are too much maintenance and hassle if you aren't using on a daily basis. I had 2 Epson 1280's running artainium inks that I replaced with a Ricoh GX 7000. The Ricoh is way quicker and haven't had to do the dreaded head cleaning routine once, even after the thing has sat for a month. The quality on the Epson's was a little better, but the speed and reliability of the Ricoh make it better in my opinion. I can't count how much ink and time I wasted with those stupid epsons.

I'd go with the 7000. I purchased mine with the bypass to do up to 13" wide, but I haven't had a need for it yet. I usually just print on 11x17.
 
binki

binki

New Member
sawgrass is the only option for small format sublimation printing, there are no others.

the ricoh dye-sub ink is twice the cost of the epson based bulk systems.

we have never seen a good direct return for dyesub but it does lead to other work.

t-shirts: blanks cost $4-$6, more than double cotton shirts
mugs: heavy to ship. you can make a nice margin on these though but you will need a mug press ($700)
awards: not a bad product and a good competitor to engraving
other dye sub products tend to be cheap looking and feeling.
 
Spencer McMurtry

Spencer McMurtry

New Member
I am still learning towards the Ricoh GXE 3300N it seems to me the 8.5x11 size will be large enough for everything i am currently doing with my solvent print / cut setup. my whole costs on the 3300n with ink is less than $500.00! does anyone know anything about this exact model? I am not wanting to go with a epson bulk setup at this time because my volume is so low right now. i have read a ton of positive things on the gx7000 i havent been able to find anything on the 3300n. I am going place the order today, super excited! also my plan now is to use vapor appeal clothing.
 
royster13

royster13

New Member
Hmmm......From what I have read, the Ricohs use less ink per print...So although the actual ink (by volume) is more costly, the per unit cost for finished product is lower.....Now I have not tested it so I have no personal experience....I will keep reading to see what else I can find....
 
binki

binki

New Member
royster13 said:
Hmmm......From what I have read, the Ricohs use less ink per print...So although the actual ink (by volume) is more costly, the per unit cost for finished product is lower.....Now I have not tested it so I have no personal experience....I will keep reading to see what else I can find....
Click to expand...

I don't believe PR. The sublijet IQ software with low release paper does use a lot of ink on the 1280.

The ricoh does regular head cleanings and that is the hook that they get you on for no head clogs.

We have had the 1280 for 5 years and there is nothing about dyesub that has been profitable for us other than it allows us to be more of a full service shop.

There is no way we can sell the dyesub shirts with the cost being so high for the blanks and for the ink. The coffee mugs are nice but the quality of the blanks is all over the map. We have as much as a 30% waste from cracking in some batches.

For awards we have been somewhat successful as an alternative to engraved products.

For garments I would put my money on either Screen Printing if the volume is there or Embroidery for the margin and profit per piece.

If price is a problem in purchasing the equipement then purchase a cutter and sell t-shirts with apparel vinyl. Properly done this is a good competitor to screen printing.
 
royster13

royster13

New Member
I do not have a firm grip on the technology end of things, however, like anything these days if you do not buy blanks at a good price it is hard to compete against niche sellers...

For some small orders I use a local place.....They do enough mugs that they are now buying half a dozen skids at a time....When they wholesale their margins are slim so they only way they can make it worth their while is in buying blanks well.....

Same goes for coro signs.....Hard to make money if you are paying north of 1.00 for blanks and the big guys are buying south of 0.65 each.....
 
binki

binki

New Member
Not to be a wet towel but small format dye sub printing is not a real money maker unless you are in a mall setting where you get a lot of impulse buys or in a high production location that you can gang up work. Places where they process film will sell the image on a mug for $24. That is a nice margin on a $3 blank but to do one-offs all the time with no ability to gang up the printing and press process is kind of wasteful.
 
jiarby

jiarby

New Member
I have a Gx7000.. it has been bullet proof. We use it for trophys & awards, not so much for one-offs.
 
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