Since I’ve been here at Coastal I think that one of the most frequent questions I’m asked is “Which sublimation printer is right for me – Epson or Ricoh?” Well, I thought I’d share my experiences with all those curious entrepreneurs out there.
For starters, you’ll need to gauge how much business you do in a month or year and how fast your production times need to be. Neither Epson or Ricoh printers were ever manufactured for sublimation; the ink originally made for Epson is actually specialized for printing photography. Epson’s prepackaged ink is very highly regarded in the fact that is it smudge and fade resistant. Most Epson printers come standard with six to eight printer cartridges, so by having the additional light cyan and light magenta you’re getting a wider color gamut and noticeably better tonal qualities in your photographs. As far as sublimation goes, when looking at the same finished product done on both systems it may be hard to tell the difference with the naked eye. Continue reading “Epson vs. Ricoh & the Wonderful World of Sublimation”