Just curious as to what kind of printer(s) everyone here uses?  From what I've read so far, Epson seems to be the favorite.  Care to explain why?

From what I understand, the Epson printers waste a lot of ink and require more maintenance (head cleaning, etc.).  My sister has one (WF 1100) and she doesn't like it. She's used carts and bulk ink on this printer.  She told me that if she continues to dabble with sub, she'll get a Ricoh and get rid of the Epson.

For the record, I have a Ricoh GXe3300N...and so far, I'm very pleased with it.  No clogged heads, no cleaning cycles to waste ink and it's very conservative on ink use.  I just run a quick nozzle check if I haven't printed in a couple of days to make sure all is well....then get busy printing.  Prints very fast and the colors are excellent (Sawgrass SubliJet-R inks).  This coming from a guy who used a Seiko ColorPoint2 7204 thermal ribbon printer for sublimation 16 years ago.

No flame wars please

Thanks,
Allen
Green Monkey Graphics

Currently I am running a Epson NX415 all in one with sub inks. I had a WF1100 but had some head clogging issues and dust bunnies. that thing is apparently a magnet for that stuff. I didn't print as much wide stuff as I thought I would so I decided to go back down to my NX415. It has been a trooper. I've ran dye sub inks in it for almost 2 years now with no clogged heads. For the wider stuff I will outsource to someone on here to print the sheets and mail them to me.

I run 2 1100's as well. One pigment and one dye-sub. Both have the CISS systems installed.

I did have an issue with the magenta clogging on the sub printer but found a plug still installed that was blocking air flow and I haven't clogged since. I very rarely even do a cleaning cycle anymore. I just do a quick test print and go to town.

The main difference was going to be price. 13x19 printing right out of the box with the sub ink for around $200-300 versus a ricoh for 1000+

No doubt it's a fine machine and quality for sure but for someone like me who wasn't sure there was even a market for the items I wanted in cheap plain and simple and it's paid off. I've created hundreds of items and continue each week with great success on my 1100's

I said to myself if my 1100 died I would break down and get a ricoh because I know now that I can sell the items and do well with them. I think I am prob the oldest 1100 owner here possibly? I got my first one in 09 and its still running strong.

With the Ricoh printers it seems like you are at the mercy of SawGrass for the GEL INKS. 
Everyone seems to be selling the same cartridges for the same prices - $110 each.
No bulk CIS available. 

The WF1100 seems to be the better option as there are still several
places to get the inks and several CIS set-ups available. 
Yes, the WF1100 can be a pain sometimes with feeding paper and
printhead plugging.

Am I missing something or does the Ricoh print that much better?
Sue2

With the Ricoh printers it seems like you are at the mercy of SawGrass for the GEL INKS.  
Everyone seems to be selling the same cartridges for the same prices - $110 each.
No bulk CIS available.  

The WF1100 seems to be the better option as there are still several
places to get the inks and several CIS set-ups available.  
Yes, the WF1100 can be a pain sometimes with feeding paper and
printhead plugging.

Am I missing something or does the Ricoh print that much better?
Sue2

Sue, yes, you are "at the mercy of Sawgrass."  I do get that many people here don't care for Sawgrass. I've used
Sawgrass inks since getting into sub many years ago and will continue to do so.  I've never had a problem with them.
As far as prices for the gel ink carts for the Ricoh's, I only pay $60.00 per cart ($240.00 per set) for the GXe3300N
and it goes a looooong way. I'm still on my first set of carts...and that's with the initial charge up when setting up
the printer.  I have a new set standing by when replacement is needed. I started printing in early December and have
run almost two packs of paper through it and still have plenty of ink left. I've run many full page prints through it as well.

According to David at Conde, the Ricoh uses less ink than the Epson (by 3 to 1) and have far fewer issues (if any) with
head clogging.

With the conservative nature of the Ricoh on ink usage, I can't see where a bulk system would be necessary. I have no
experience with the Epson printers so I cannot say firsthand whether or not it's any good or better than the Ricoh. I will
say that I love my Ricoh and would buy another one without hesitation. I do plan on upgrading to a GX7000 later in the year.

Thanks!
Allen

I will give you the wf1100 is much cheaper to get into (the 13x19 bypass tray for my gx7000 cost more than a wf1100 alone) but have never had clogging issues and the ink is just lasting so long I am thinking I should not had bought the replacement carts last year . . . haven't had to change them yet

I'm using the WF1100 with CIS.  I make sure to print a test page if I don't sub anything in a week or two (it takes less ink than head cleanings).  Eventually I will probably step up to a Ricoh, but the Epson fit the budget. So far I am happy with my setup.

I have a Ricoh GX7000 and love it.  I'm a hobbiest when it comes to sublimation and my printer will sit sometimes for months without use.  All I've ever had to do it turn it on and let it do it's thing and then go to town printing.  I've yet to have one clog and my prints are perfect..!!!  I can't brag it up enough.  I thought long and hard about what printer to buy, but knew I needed something that I didn't have to battle clogged heads with.  For me, Ricoh is the way to go....!!!!!