Large Format Dye Sublimation Printers

Large Format Dye Sublimation Overview

When looking for a large format printer for dye sublimation transfer you need to be aware that not all printers are suitable. We get asked many times by people "Can I use my HP Plotter or Can I use my Encad" and the simple answer is "no you can't" The reason for this is that "any" sublimation inks will only work through certain types of print heads namely those which have "Piezo Electric" heads. The printers that utilize these print heads are Mutoh Roland Epson and Mimaki. All other printers use thermal print heads which will not work with dye sublimation inks.

Before deciding on which printer is right for you, consider the following points

Width

Generally speaking large format printers are anywhere from 44 inches wide to the 104 inches wide printers.

Speed

This criteria is often the most misrepresented by printer distributors to entice you to purchase a printer from them so please study this carefully it could save you a lot of money.

A lot of companies when quoting you print speeds will always quote you the top speed of the printer which in our opinion is wrong for instance. A couple of years back we came across a company that was quoting the print speed of a Mutoh Falcon at 60 feet per hour, we told the potential customer that this was incorrect and the true print speed was more like 20-25 because the print speed they were being quoted from our competitor was at low resolution draft mode 360 dpi black only. You do not purchase a high resolution full color printing system to print 1 color low res black. You purchase the system to produce eye catching full color photo realistic transfers so you will find that with any printer most of the time you will end up printing in the mid range of the printers quoted speed.

Don’t be mislead by our competitors claims of higher print speeds, it's False. Another misconception propagated by our competitors is that the faster you print the cheaper the per square foot print costs will be. This is also totally false. No matter which type of printer you buy – Epson Roland, or Mimaki – your per square foot print costs will be the same, yes a faster print will produce more print for you to sell but, the amount of ink laid down on the paper with a good ICC profile will be the same no matter what speed you are running at.

Faster Print Speeds Do Not Mean Cheaper Per Square Foot Print Costs

Reliability and Warranty

Most of the printers that are available today are reliable. We use on a daily basis all the printers that we sell and 98% of the time they work but, now and again like all electronic devices they can break down as parts wear out. The parts that are of most concern on printers are the print heads as no matter which inks you use in your printer as soon as you put a none OEM ink in it the printer manufacturer will void your warranty on The Print Head Only your warranty is not void on everything else on the printer. Our competitor takes great delight in implying that unless you take out an extortionate $2000.00 head replacement contract your printer warranty is null and void. This is utter rubbish. At Tropical Graphics we do not go in for this type of behavior and we guarantee that if our inks are found to damage your print heads we will replace your print heads free of charge after all they only cost $70.00 from National Parts Depot

For more information on the individual printers please select from the larger format printer menu above