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Author Topic: Has anyone converted a new Epson 3880 for dye sublimation.  (Read 10628 times)

dgberg

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Has anyone converted a new Epson 3880 for dye sublimation.
« on: August 22, 2013, 11:16:39 am »

There are about a half dozen small Epson printers converted for dye sublimation.
The 3880 is not on the list. I can purchase the refillable carts from Jon Cone but his dye ink is not for sublimation.
The Sawgrass folks sell sublimation ink in bulk that I could fill the carts.
No rip required as I am only printing photographs on transfer paper for sublimating to Chromaluxe panels.
What drew me to the 3880 was its lack of clogging and great track record. All the other Epsons seem to have clogging problems over time with dye inks. None of the smaller Epson printers have no changes made to them other then installing dye ink before any other oem ink has been run through the printer. I see no reason this will not work?
I have a call into Sawgrass and Conde Systems to see what they have to say.
Anyone with experience converting pigment ink printers to dye sub?
« Last Edit: August 22, 2013, 11:18:22 am by Dan Berg »
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dgberg

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Re: Converting 3880 to dye sublimation? Or just go to 9890 for dye sub.
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2013, 01:29:36 pm »

Found out through the grapevine that the 3880 is not supported for dye sublimation.
What I also found when checking prices for the Epson 7890 was a price for $2495.00. They are not in stock and no idea when delivery might occur.
The salesman at Lexjet proceeded to tell me they have new 9890's in stock in NJ. with free shipping and a price of $3195.00
Both of these printers are supported for dye sublimation.
I already have a 9900 and the inks that come with the 9890 can be used in my 9900. Thats quite a deal.
The major problem with setting up a dye sublimation business with that size printer is you need a heat press just as large. They run 8k to 10k,ouch!  Time to look for a used one.


« Last Edit: August 22, 2013, 08:15:41 pm by Dan Berg »
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Has anyone converted a new Epson 3880 for dye sublimation.
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2013, 03:01:36 pm »

I'm in the process of ordering supplies and converting a 4800 for dye sub aluminum transfers .We ran several 4800 and 4880s for various purposes in my previous life for various products, some running epson inks for matt paper prints and others with the sawgrass inks for 8 or 10 different products we offered such as t shirts, mugs etc.  So I called my former plant manager about what he remembers using the sawgrass inks. One thing he  said was the sawgrass inks didn't seem as prone to clogging as Epson inks.  Considering all of these machines were used pretty heavily (2 8 hour shifts and 3 in the christmas season), the sawgrass ink fed Epsons were easier to maintain than the others.

Hope he's right, because my 4800 won't see nearly that much production at first, and the inks are pretty pricey.
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dgberg

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Re: Has anyone converted a new Epson 3880 for dye sublimation.
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2013, 04:45:29 pm »

Seems Sawgrass has a lock on the dye sub inks.
If you have a serial number for a 42" printer or larger you can purchase the JTeck inks in bulk.
1 liter bottle is $165.00 (16.5 cents per ml.) If i get the 9890 I may go this route. That same size ink from Sawgrass is $250.00
Epsons new F6070 CMYK dye printer really looked good but at $8,500  thats a killer especially when I can get a new 9890 for $3195.
Will be offering panos on the Chromaluxe metal and wood panels if I can get all the right equipment.
The big problem remains finding a used 48 to 60" wide heat press. New is just out of the question.
« Last Edit: August 22, 2013, 05:53:06 pm by Dan Berg »
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Mark Lindquist

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Re: Has anyone converted a new Epson 3880 for dye sublimation.
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2013, 05:55:20 pm »

Seems Sawgrass has a lock on the dye sub inks.
If you have a serial number for a 42" printer or larger you can purchase the JTeck inks in bulk.
1 liter bottle is $165.00 (16.5 cents per ml.) If i get the 9890 I will probably go this route. That same size ink from Sawgrass is $250.00
Epsons new F6070 CMYK dye printer really looked good but at $8,500  thats a killer especially when I can get a new 9890 for $3195.
Will be offering panos on the Chromaluxe metal and wood panels if I can get all the right equipment.
The big problem remains finding a used 48 to 60" wide heat press. New is just out of the question.

OK - now we're talking Dan.  This is VERY interesting to me, as you know.  Let me know when you get this whole process working, I'm down with the whole thing.  I hear you with the heat press - mucho dinero, for sure. 
Why not just spring for one of these babies:  http://www.digifab.com/equipment/heatpress.htm

Presses like this sometimes come up on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/S-M-Machine-Co-Heat-Transfer-Sublimation-Press-48-x-36-/300952708439?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item46122de557

Very exciting - good luck with it all.  (Try to get a BIG one, eh?  LOL)

-Mark
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tastar

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Re: Has anyone converted a new Epson 3880 for dye sublimation.
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2013, 06:23:31 pm »

We have a customer who has a 4880 configured with Sawgrass Sublijet IQ inks - they are closing down the line of product that they have been producing with this printer and are selling it. If you talk to Sawgrass, the 48/4880 series of printers is great for Sublimation - they don't clog as frequently as other Epsons and are generally very reliable. The 4880 that is for sale has a relatively new head and capping station and is in very good condition.

And, you can use the Sawgrass driver when printing, which Sawgrass says is color accurate, but a lot depends on paper, the transfer substrate, and the temperature and pressure at which the sublimation process is done. We've configured the Wasatch RIP a few times for use with sublimation, and I can't imagine getting good and predictable results without it (nor without profiling software and a Spectrophotometer).

If you are interested, we have a link on our website to it - here - you can email the owners from this link.

Tony

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dgberg

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Re: Has anyone converted a new Epson 3880 for dye sublimation.
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2013, 08:14:47 pm »

Tony,
Thanks for the link.

Mark,
As you know this is unchartered territory for me.
Seems like everyone I talk with wants to sell packages and am not quite sure that is necessary.
Will keep working on this and will let you know how it shakes out.

Wayne Fox

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Re: Has anyone converted a new Epson 3880 for dye sublimation.
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2013, 10:45:46 pm »

Seems Sawgrass has a lock on the dye sub inks.


Yeah, they won a patent law suit some years back, and it seems they also were able to get a licensing arrangement with Epson to put their ink into Epson cartridges, something Epson has been able to enforce.
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dgberg

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Re: Has anyone converted a new Epson 3880 for dye sublimation.
« Reply #8 on: August 23, 2013, 05:30:29 am »

Yeah, they won a patent law suit some years back, and it seems they also were able to get a licensing arrangement with Epson to put their ink into Epson cartridges, something Epson has been able to enforce.


From what I read they also signed a licensing agreement with JTeck.
Sawgrass would not relent on all the desktop machines 24" and smaller but gave the ok to sell for 42" larger.
You will see that note several times on the JTeck website.
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