If you’re thinking of getting into dye sublimation printing, you’ll be wondering which is the best dye sublimation printer for you to go for.
Do you go for an Epson, a Ricoh, a Sawgrass Virtuoso?
For me this is a very easy question to answer. Sawgrass Virtuoso, no exception, no doubt.
In my experienced opinion, nothing else comes close, if we’re talking about small format Dye sublimation printers.
Before I continue, let me assure you that I have nothing to do with Sawgrass, I don’t work for them, I’m not sponsored by them, I have no ulterior motive to say what I’m saying – it’s simply my opinion that when it comes to small format dye sublimation printing, there is no other sensible option but Sawgrass Virtuoso.
A short history about small format dye sublimation printers.
Going back to the early 00s, when I was fairly new to the Tshirt and gift printing industry, small format dye sublimation was all about Epson printers. Everyone back then was using an Epson, there was no alternative for small format dye sub printing.
When they worked, they were fine, but they were a bit of a nightmare to keep working – and to be fair to Epson themselves, this wasn’t just down to the printers themselves, but also due to the fact that they were open systems, meaning that they were mainly running with continuous ink systems or refillable ink cartridges, which could lead to problems.
The other major problem back then, was that if you had a problem with your printer, and phoned Espson for support, they weren’t interested once they heard that you were running dye sublimation ink, as they classed this as third party ink, which meant that they wouldn’t support you under the warranty.
Jump forward a few years, and Ricoh gel jet printers came along, the GXE3300N A4 and GX37110 A3, followed by the SG3110 and SG7110. (SG stands for System Geljet, by the way, not Sawgrass as some people assume).
These printers were like a breath of fresh air compared to dye sublimation printing with Epsons. Ricoh small format printers (A4 and A3) are brilliant workhorses, they just keep working!
I remember being amazed the first time I’d left a Ricoh with sublimation in, switched off during a vacation, to return, switch it on, and start printing straight away without even having to do one head clean!
There was some shock initially at the price per ml of the ink cartridges vs what people were used to paying.
People (me included, at the time) had failed to take into account the fact that this Gel ink is more efficient than standard inks, it goes further, and on top of this, there’s a lot less requirement to use ink for head cleans.
So, for the small format (A4 & A3) sublimation printing business, Ricoh printers were a brilliant development, and things improved with the next generation of Ricoh printers, the SG3110DN & SG7110DN.
The problems with Ricoh printers
The only real problem with Ricoh, was the same issue with Epson, which was there was no printer warranty for anyone using dye sublimation ink. If you had a problem with your printer, as soon as you phoned Ricoh and mentioned the fact that you were printing with dye sublimation ink, they didn’t want to know.
Other than this, if you were using cartridges, and therefore had a fully closed system (which is how printers are designed to work) then the only occasional issue with Ricoh printers is the banding issue, which is a very simple one to fix. It’s just a case of re-setting the head position, in the menu on the printer, with the up and down arrows.
There will be the occasional fault, too, of course, but it’s rare with Ricoh, they’re well made printers.
Problem Solved by Sawgrass
After this situation had been going on for quite some time, with the warranty issue on Ricoh printers, Sawgrass came up with a solution to resolve this issue while hugely improving things for dye sublimation printing businesses in one fell swoop!
They created a new improved A4 and A3 dye sublimation printer, using the same physical framework of the SG3110 and SG7110, but with upgrades under the hood.
At the same time, they developed the amazing Virtuoso Print Manager, which is like power driver (the previous Sawgrass print driver) on steroids.
As if that wasn’t enough, they also created Creative Studio, which is an online design suite specifically for garment and giftware decoration, and bundled this all together, along with… Fully inclusive warranty.
The warranty for everything, is all handled by Sawgrass. So if you have a problem of any kind, there’s just one place to contact, and you don’t need to worry about your printer not being covered under warranty.
What’s so good about the new Virtuoso printers? Aren’t they just re-badged Ricoh SG3110 & SG7110 printers?
This is a common question, and it’s a fair question.
From the outside the SG400 & SG800 look just like the Ricoh SG3110DN and SG7110DN printers but with a Sawgrass badge.
But there’s more to these new dye sublimation printers than meet the eye.
- More colors
- Faster printing
- Increased print resolution
- Increase print quality
- More economical ink usage
More colours
An increase in the color gamut of approximately 26%.
Faster printing
The Virtuoso printers print up to twice the speed of the previous Ricoh printers, at up to 156 prints per hour.
Increased print resolution
Maximum print resolution of 1200×1200 dpi, vs 600×600.
Increased print quality
The new XY drive system provides a higher quality print, thanks to improved dot formation and placement.
More economical ink usage.
The new HD inks are more dense, which makes them go further.
Game changer for dye sublimation printing!
I don’t think new dye sublimation printers quite appreciate how lucky they are to be getting into the business right now, with this fantastic fully comprehensive system available at such an affordable price.
I also don’t think many people who’ve got setup to print via dye sublimation within the past year or two realize quite what a bad move they made by avoiding the Sawgrass Virtuoso system in order to save a few dollars on the initial setup costs!
The benefits above are just the beginning of it, I’ve not even touched yet on the amazing power of VPM and creative studio…
Virtuoso Print Manager
VPM is more than just a print driver.
It has the simplicity and ease of use of a print driver, but with some of the features that would usually be associated with expensive commercial print rips, some of which cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars!
Including hot folders with customizable presets, image nesting, web to print workflows, advanced color management including spot colors…
Sawgrass are continually improving and adding to it to, I’ve seen a number of improvements since it was first released.
Creative Studio.
Creative studio is an online product design tool created specifically for dye sublimation printing, and there’s literally nothing else quite like it (or at least there isn’t, that I’m aware of, at the time of writing).
You simply select the product you’re going to be printing (or use the search tool), then add your image, if you’re printing your customer’s own logo or photo, etc., scale it, add text if required, select font, color, size, and then print.
Not only this, but there are hundreds of design templates ready for you to customize, and a huge and growing library of curated, copyright free images and fonts for you to use, all within creative studio!
For example, assuming that a customer comes along and wants a wooden trophy shield printing with a soccer theme. Instead of creating this from scratch, you can look for a template which you think works for the job, and then simply change the team name, and the text, change the colors accordingly, and create the design in a fraction of the time it would have taken you to create it from scratch.
Then, you can simply click on the mockup maker icon to save a product mockup of the design on the wooden trophy (or whatever your client has requested) to show them how it’s going to look, and gain approval prior to printing.
You can also use the mockup maker to create your own unique product images for online and offline use!
Warranty and support.
In addition to all the above, the warranty and support offered by Sawgrass is another reason to go for Sawgass virtuoso.
If you have a problem, you can get support from Sawgrass via phone, online chat, or email – and they have a remote support tool so you can give the support team access to your system if needs be.
The warranty in the US is one year, in the UK & Europe it’s 2 years.
Need to print bigger?
The bigger brother to the SG400 & SG800, is the Virtuoso VJ 628, a 25″ printer which has become particular popular with printers of large Chromaluxe Aluminum panels, with up to 8 colours, and a max print resolution of 1400×1400.
While the smaller two printers in the range are Ricoh based, the VJ 628 is manufactured by Mutoh.
Technically speaking, it’s still classed as a small format printer, but at a max print width of 24.4 inches, it’s the first “small format” dedicated dye sublimation printer which is capable of printing full bleed 24″ prints.
It’s not just about the print width, though. This is a seriously good printer in terms of resolution and color definition, and can be used with a range of different ink set options.
This printer uses Epson print heads, but unlike the small format Epson heads that were a pain to work with dye sublimation inks, these are the Epson DX7 print heads, the same heads that are used in many commercial level wide format printers including Mimaki, Roland and Mutoh.
The VJ 628 comes in two main configurations (there are a few more configurations, but most suppliers sell it set up for one of these two main ink configurations), dual CMYK (for faster print speeds), or 8 colour for the best colour definition.
Keep in mind that, of course, if you’re wanting to print at the full 24″ full bleed, to print on the 24″ Chromaluxe panels or other similar sized blanks, you’ll need a suitable size heat press, such as the Geo Knight DK25 or DK32.
What about cheaper sublimation printer?
When it comes to the smaller sublimation printers, there are cheaper options, which can look quite appealing, and which have sold very well on eBay and other websites for the past few years.
These are Epson or Ricoh printers, usually with a continuous ink system or refillable cartridges.
I’ll just give a few warnings about cheap sublimation printers before I conclude this post.
Greater chance of errors and faults.
Over the years, I’ve helped many people with problems with their printers. When it comes to Ricoh printers in particular, I started to see a pattern.
Just about every time there was what appeared to be a terminal issue with the printer, when I asked them what ink they were using, it wasn’t Sawgrass ink, it was a cheaper imported non branded sublimation ink, and when I asked what kind of cartridges they were using, they were refillable.
I had supported many customers who were using the Ricoh printers with Sawgrass cartridges, and there was rarely a phone call from one of these customers with a serious issue. What became very common, however, was phone calls from people who couldn’t get support from where they’d bought their printer from, who were unable to print due to a serious issue, and who were using refillable ink cartridges.
What I came to believe, is that many of these problems are caused due to the fact that the use of refillable cartridges means it’s no longer a closed system, as it would be with standard cartridges.
Air, and possibly other things such as small particles of plastic from the stopper in the tops of the cartridge, or bits of dirt in the funnels used to refill the cartridges, could end up getting trapped in the pipes and then causing damage to the print head.
This, and/or an issue with cheaper poorly made sublimation ink, and/or cheap poorly made refillable cartridges (or a combination) are more than likely to be the cause of these kinds of issues, in my opinion.
Not Necessarily Cheaper Printing
As well as the cheaper purchase price, many people opt for a cheaper sublimation printing system with non-Sawgrass inks based on a potential saving in print cost.
The first thing to say about that, is that the print costs with Sawgrass Virtuoso printers, is much lower than many would assume, also, the ink cost is one of the smallest factors in the overall cost of sale of a dye sublimation printed garment or gift item. So to go for a cheaper system for the sake of a potential slight saving in printing costs, probably isn’t the best business decision, when you take everything else into account.
Plus, this potential saving that many think they’ll get with a cheaper dye sublimation printing setup, is often not quite what it seems.
Yes, the price per ml of some of the cheaper systems may be half the price (or even less), but as well as the potential for issues caused by cheaper, lesser quality dye sublimation inks, and refillable cartridges, there’s also the fact that…
Cheaper dye sublimation printer setups can use as much as double the ink
No, they don’t tell you that in the sales copy! 😉
You see, Sawgrass are a big company, with a lot of resources, and they’ve been doing this for a long time.
They have put enormous effort over the year into developing fantastic dye sublimation inks, to the highest quality standards, and they’ve also done a tremendous amount of work over the years on the color profiles.
The result of this, is that their systems produce brilliant results, with all designs, whether you’re looking for super vivid colors for a cartoon style design, or very realistic photographic printing.
If you haven’t got the resources to do all of this, which I suspect is the case when it comes to generic cheap dye sublimation ink being imported under various different names, how do you get around it?
The simple answer is, is with over saturated ink profiles.
Simply putting more ink down can hide a multitude of sins, but what it can also mean is that people have bought a system based on the ink costing half as much, and don’t realize that they’re actually using twice the amount of ink too!
Not only this, but systems like this may produce acceptable looking cartoon style designs, it is very difficult to get realistic photographic prints when you’re putting down too much ink.
I’m not saying there aren’t now other manufacturers of dye sublimation inks who also, like Sawgrass, produce brilliant inks and great profiles, capable of great results for all types of imagery.
At the time of writing, I’m not personally aware of anyone but Ricoh offering anything anything of this quality, but this doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone either now or by the time that you’re reading this. So all I would say is, if you are looking at an alternative to Sawgrass, just do your research and be sure you’re making a good business decision.
