Sublimation Printer Comparison
When selecting the right printer to start your merchandise line or home business, it's important to calculate the ownership cost over the entire lifecycle of the printer. We have tried to provide a simple and easy to follow cost comparison below, if you have any questions about the F160, please call on 1300 426 438.
| Feature | Epson F160 | Sawgrass Virtuoso SG500 | Epson ET1810* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Cost | $1199.00 | $990.00 | $298.00 |
| Sublimation Ink Included | 1120ml | 124ml | 0ml |
| Paper Included | 300 Sheets ($98.85 Value) | 0 | 0 |
| Warranty | 1 Years (3r Optional $200) | 2 Years | 0 Years |
| On Site Cover | 1 Years (3r Optional $200) | 0 Years | 0 Years |
| Hard / Soft Substrate ICC Profiles | Included | Included | Not Included |
| Wifi Connectivity | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Print Size | A4 | A4 | A4 |
| Page Print Speed | 65s per A4 | 25s per A4 | 180s per A4 |
| Replacement ink cost per 100ml (CMYK Set of 4) | $139.80 | $1225.81# | $100 (EST) |
| Design Software | Not Included | Included | Not Included |
* Based upon converted printer with sublimation ink.# Based upon 31ml cartridges at $95 per cartridge, $3.064 per ml. 100ml x $3.064 x 4 colours = $1225.81
| Cost | Epson F160 | Sawgrass Virtuoso SG500 | Epson ET1810* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Cost | $1199.00 | $1017.50 | $248.00 |
| Sublimation Ink @200ml per year1 | $838.80/3yr | $7354.83/3yr | $600.00/3yr |
| Printer Error Waste Products2 | $0/3yr | $0/3yr | $3120/3yr |
| Design Software | Variable | Included | Variable |
| Total Cost 3 Years3 | $2037.80 | $8372.83 | $3968.00 |
1 This does not account for the ink initially supplied with printers. ET1810 based upon conversion printer ink of medium quality. 2 The allowance for wasted blanks is based upon $20 per week over 52 weeks, for 3 years, this allows for incorrect colours and waste ink droppage on paper due to printer not being designed for sublimation. Example would be one phone case, one mouse pad, one mug and one tumbler, easily accounting for $20. 3 From reliable sources, Sawgrass printers do consume approx. 20% less ink than the Epson to produce the same result.
In summary, we believe that the Epson F160 is the clear winner, even if you pay for the best and most expensive graphical design software in the market (Photoshop) and allow $1500.00 for this application including updates and many more features than you would ever need, the Epson comes in under half price of the cost of ownership of the Sawgrass.
Whilst we list the potential losses due to wasted merchandise, we believe this can be reduced by purchasing a high quality ink for sublimation, most notable would be Izumi Japanese inks that come with Colour Profiles to reduce this wastage, but also come at a higher price (Justifiable).
The untold cost for using cheap inks without colour profiles in not measurable, many starter sublimation start ups, trying to use these inks without colour profiles, leading to frustration and failure. Most sublimation start ups fail due to lack of initial investment in the correct equipment.
We suggest in order of our preference:
We have tried to be as subjective as possible, if you have any feedback or any of the statistics or costs have changed from the time of this listing, please update us with the relevant links and information at [email protected].
