Ricoh GXe3300N and GX7000 Color Printers

These are the only non-Epson desktop inkjet printers
developed for inkjet sublimation cartridges.

We chose to put these printers on a separate page, because of the above statement. While they are quite different from Epson printers, they still have the piezo print-head technology necessary for inkjet sublimation.

As Beta testers for the system, we didn't quite know what to expect as we set up the new unit. We were pleasantly surprised as we went through our tests.

Warning! - Do NOT install the Regular cartridges into the printer before installing the SubliJet R inks, this can damage the printer.

DO save the regular cartridges (they come with the printer, in the box) in case you need to send the printer back to the manufacturer.

Ricoh GX7000 Color Printer

The Ricoh GX7000 inkjet printer (max paper size up to 11"x17"), special SubliJet R sublimation inks and PowerDriver R color management system proved to be an effective total sublimation system.

Note - A special extended paper tray can be purchased which allows the max paper size to be 13" x 19".

Ricoh GXe3300N Color Printer

The Ricoh GXe3300N inkjet printer (max paper size up to 8.5"x14"), special SubliJet R sublimation inks and PowerDriver-R color management system proved to be an effective total sublimation system. The GXe3300N has all of the capabilities of the GX7000 but with a smaller investment.

Note - A special extended paper tray can be purchased which allows the max paper size to be 11" x 17".

As we have for the Epson sublimation systems on the previous page, we have listed our Pro and Con thoughts about the unit.

Our take on Ricoh Printers

Pro

• Print speed is far faster than any Epson printer- We printed 20 of the same 6x8 print on both Ricoh's and an Epson 1400 printer.

  • The Ricoh GX7000 printed the job about 4 times faster than the Epson 1400.

  • The Ricoh GXe3300N printed the job about 8 times faster than the Epson 1400 (yes, that means it is twice as fast as the GX7000).

• Either printer is ideal for mobile retailers. Most mobile and special event retailing have a "need for speed". Also, it is much easier to move a printer with cartridges in it, than it is with a printer with a bulk ink system beside it.

• Very low sublimation entry costs for the Ricoh GXe3300N printer (prints 8.5x11 or 8.5x14). In fact it is our cheapest printer and ink system. This makes it ideal for tight budgets and others like schools and civic organizations

• Cheaper print cost - The SubliJet R Gel inks are different from regular sublimation inks. While the cartridge costs appear to be high, the actual per print cost is about 30% less than a bulk system.

• PowerDriver R is a proprietary color management system that allows you to print with virtually any program. We even tried a "chumpy" (by graphic standards) program like Microsoft Paint and got good results.

• The printer/ink system is remarkably trouble free. As part of our testing, we did not use the printer for 30 days. On the 31st day we ran a nozzle check and noticed a few broken lines. We did one head cleaning and our second nozzle check was perfect!

Con

• Like all inkjet printers, the Ricoh printers can't judge how much remaining ink is available in the cartridges. You may need to keep extra cartridges on hand.

• While the PowerDriver R color management systems allows almost any print program to be used, it does not provide fine art abilities, like you would have with a true graphics program, using an ICC profile. We suggest an Epson 1400 or 4880 for fine-art printing abilities.

• The printers have fairly long internal lines, running from the cartridges to the print-heads. When you install the first set of cartridges, 20 mils of each cartridge goes into filling the lines. This doesn't waste ink; it just means that if you have a big, immediate print job you may need another set of cartridges fairly quickly.

Minimum System Requirements

• A Pentium 4, 3.0 GHz or Athlon XP 3000+ processor

• 1 GB RAM is the minimum, but you really need 2 GB to handle large graphics and fine art

• 30 GB of free hard drive space

• Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 (32 bit, both printers – 64 bit, the GXe3300N only)

The Ricoh GX7000 and GXe3300N printers
are offered on our “Starter Deals” page.

Our final thoughts on the printer/process selection

In addition to running our company, we are contributing writers for several information web sites and national trade magazines. One theme that is in all of our articles is the fact that there are many options, approaches, tradeoffs and realities in the sublimation business.

There is a wide selection of printer choices and sublimation processes. All have some advantages. We highly recommend that you spend a bit of time in research and planning.

Make sure that what the printer and process can do, matches what you need it to do.

The next page deals with continuous "Bulk Ink" systems for current and older Epson printers. If you don't need that information, click here to skip to our "Heat Transfer Press" page. It has valuable information.