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Comparison of Ricoh and Sawgrass sublimation printers

YOW! Shop
2 min read
A comparison of two prints of a portrait of a woman featuring a flame motif: on the right, the red and orange tones are significantly more intense when printed with Sublijet HD ink
The logo of the printer manufacturer Sawgrass in grey, featuring a pink and orange ‘W’, with the slogan ‘The Art of What’s Next’ in orange below it
Sawgrass Virtuoso sublimation printer with a SubliJet HD ink cartridge, a tablet running Creative Studio, and a rugby crest printed using this printer

The launch of the Sawgrass Virtuoso SG400/SG800 sublimation printer has occasionally raised questions about how it differs from the well-known Ricoh SG 3110DN/SG 7100 DN sublimation printer. In this article, we would like to highlight the finer points and advantages of the Sawgrass Virtuoso compared to the Ricoh.

The advantages of the Virtuoso printers are generally as follows:

  • The first printing system designed specifically for sublimation printing
  • Complete solution with creativstudio software
  • High colour vibrancy
  • Colour correction via PowerDriver (online registration required)
  • Revised print head delivers higher resolutions up to HD photo quality

The further developments are as follows:

1. Technical changes

  • higher colour resolution
  • faster print speed
  • improved horizontal and vertical pixel formation and placement
  • Improved inks – wider colour gamut

2. Better colour reproduction

  • The latest Ricoh models offer
  • only 600 x 600 dpi
  • whereas Sawgrass printers can achieve
  • 600 x 600 dpi in 23 seconds for A4 format
  • 600 x 600 dpi HD in 46 seconds
  • 1200 x 1200 dpi in 106 seconds
  • Compatible with standard sublimation paper

3. Pixel formation/placement

  • Printers generally operate using two drive systems
  • Vertical dot placement
  • Hardware adjustment along the Y-axis
  • Improved ink dispersion
  • Optimised ink viscosity
  • Horizontal dot placement
  • Hardware modification along the X-axis
Pixelation: Magnified view of a fish print; Ricoh 3110/7100 with blurred streaks; Sawgrass SG400/SG800 with finer, more even lines

4. Ink separation

  • Optimised ink system for sublimation inks
  • Specialised driver software to push the boundaries
  • A wider colour spectrum thanks to more adjustment options
  • Improved droplet control
  • Adaptation to resolution
  • Deeper blacks thanks to more precise calibration
Before and after print comparison: the same image collage, with the one on the right featuring more vibrant colours and deeper blacks thanks to an optimised sublimation ink system

5. The colour spectrum

  • Current Ricoh printer
  • 547,638 colours – 600 x 600 dpi
  • Sawgrass printer
  • 646,373 colours – 600 x 600 dpi
  • 687,754 colours – 1,200 x 1,200 dpi
  • 26% more colours
  • Extended colour spectrum thanks to dot composition
  • results in better shades of blue and red
  • a wider range of printed colours
3D colour space diagram: Sawgrass at 600 dpi (yellow) and 1200 dpi (pink) covers a wider colour gamut than the current Ricoh printer (turquoise)

6. Improved inks – sublijet-HD

  • The new Sublijet HD inks
  • have a modified viscosity for improved pixel formation
  • have a different chemical composition
  • improved flow properties
  • a print image that is 12 per cent more intense overall due to increased ink volume
  • Sealed OEM cartridges
  • with a custom chip
  • Improved durability and reliability
A comparison of two prints of a portrait of a woman featuring a flame motif: on the right, the red and orange tones are significantly more intense thanks to Sublijet HD ink

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Tags Creative Academy Sublimation Sawgrass Sublimation printer

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