Anyone here know about sublimation printing?

Flink_Poyd

A bit random for here but rather than sign up for yet another forum thought I'd ask here first.
I've been looking at buying a printer and press for sublimation printing, the idea is to set up a little business for wifey and see if she can manage it enough and make a bit more money with the idea of her eventually getting off working nights and into something part time coupled with said business.
The main outlay seems to be the printer, or more specifically the ink, as it's a bit specialist hence they try and rinse you blind for it, something like £50 per cartridge as it's a gel based sublimation ink.
So, anyone?.......

ChrisMusic

I had a dye sublimation printer back in the early nineties, made by 3M and cost more than a new BMW, so I guess that's not the route you are taking.  Printer technology has come a long way since then.

A friend runs an Epson printer for dye sublimation printing, which is then transferred to other objects.  Is that what you are considering?

The consumables are expensive, so you need to get good workflow sorted and minimise waste.  So, yes, you do get tied in to the suppliers, and bled dry over ink costs, but you have to price that into the product, so whilst paying out for a new cartridge is painful, it comes back in from sales (hopefully).  As with any business, there is always up-front risk.

His main issue is that the colour can vary, usually in the magenta part of the spectrum.  I'm not sure if that is a printer issue, or occurs on recharging inks, or is more random.  I'm not sure if he has any other maintenance issues.

If you have any specific questions I can fire them at him.

Flink_Poyd

ChrisMusic said:

I had a dye sublimation printer back in the early nineties, made by 3M and cost more than a new BMW, so I guess that's not the route you are taking.  Printer technology has come a long way since then.

A friend runs an Epson printer for dye sublimation printing, which is then transferred to other objects.  Is that what you are considering?

The consumables are expensive, so you need to get good workflow sorted and minimise waste.  So, yes, you do get tied in to the suppliers, and bled dry over ink costs, but you have to price that into the product, so whilst paying out for a new cartridge is painful, it comes back in from sales (hopefully).  As with any business, there is always up-front risk.

His main issue is that the colour can vary, usually in the magenta part of the spectrum.  I'm not sure if that is a printer issue, or occurs on recharging inks, or is more random.  I'm not sure if he has any other maintenance issues.

If you have any specific questions I can fire them at him.

The printers that Ive been looking at are Ricoh, some guy is selling his old setup on eBay which is heat press, printer (Ricoh GXe330n) and a few consumables. There seems to be an Epson vs Ricoh debate which splits people, Epson can clog up Ricoh less so, Epson cheaper to run, Ricoh expensive inks etc.
 Its the general running costs Im thinking of I guess, how many pages will you get out of one set of inks etc as a full set could be £200+ on top of eBay price.
 I might just go for it as Im sure I'd be able to sell it on again if it doesnt work out

ChrisMusic

Cost per page will depend very much on the density of printing.  Saturated colour will obviously use more than pale pastels or white space, as will areas of high density.  You can manage that to some degree by the choice of subject matter, sizing, and any treatment/correction to the graphics or images.

If the ink sets are one colour per cartridge, then up-front cost is higher, but running costs are lower, whereas if they are multiple colours per cartridge you will probably throw quite a lot away if you are predominantly using only a small part of the colour spectrum.  Unless they are rechargeable cartridges, that is.  Again you can control that through image selection and preparation and production planning to some degree, to spread the usage across the spectrum.  You'll soon learn which colours you use more of, and be able to plan and buy accordingly.  Not too much of a problem with a four colour system though. 

Managing waste is a critical issue in controlling costs.  Ink clogs and such do not help there, and cause frustration and production downtime.  I have no idea about Ricoh printers, but I have great respect for Ricoh as a company.  It seems like you have done your homework on this.

Good luck  

Flink_Poyd

Carts are single colour and £50 a pop each, black cyan magenta and yellow. It's going to be a mix of logos/photos/images and text/slogans. It's a bit of a gamble and for a start and there will be waste as it's a new process to learn so I'm not expecting instant profit just to learn from the mistakes for a start.
It would just be nice to have something small up and running that is easy to manage but can turn some money over. As with most things it's not the idea that makes it work but marketing it which will fall mostly on me. Time isn't always my best friend.