Sublimation System - Equipment
Heat Presses
How to sublimate mugs - Click here
Advice on choosing a Heat Press - Click here
Mega only offers high quality heat presses as the key to successful sublimation printing is always going to be the quality of the heat press used. No matter how good a printed image is, to achieve good results, you need a press that delivers constant even pressure and heat. That heat also needs to be accurately controlled over the whole heated platen. Cheap heat presses can be found on eBay and from other UK suppliers. Please do not forget that if an offer looks too good to be true then generally it is! We have seen many cheap presses with European CE safety markings and in all occasions in our opinion were not fit for sale on safety and performance grounds. With cheap presses you will often find temperature controllers and timers that offer indifferent performance at best and more importantly the heat platens are not always flat. Without a completely flat evenly heated platen you will always get hot spots and uneven sublimation printing. These were our experiences which are sadly common with many cheap 'economy' presses.
Clam or Swing Press
For A3 we offer two types presses, a Clam and a Swing Press. In terms of performance they are to all intended purposes identical. The Clam press opens quite wide but some users feel uncomfortable about 'leaning into' a press of that size. The alternative is the swing press where the heated platen raises up and then swings away from the base. These are perceived as safer to use by some but you need a larger workspace to accommodate the 'swing away' The 38 x 50 cm swing press is also approximately £130 more expensive than the 40 x 50cm Titan Clam Press.
Clam Press
We other two different designs of A4 and A3 Clam Press all with inbuilt digital controllers for the heat and temperature.
Apollo
The Apollo Presses are our lowest cost units. Conventional rigid construction methods are used to manufacture these presses. They feature advanced electronic controls and a flat heat platen with constant even pressure. The lower cost makes them ideal for those needing to meet a specific budget as a standalone press as part of a Sublimation Starter Kit.
Titan
The Titan range represents the highest quality of Clam Press. Laser cut profiles provide a futuristic design and full digital control is provided for heat and temperature. A perfectly flat, evenly heated platen provides successful sublimation printing every time. Mega has been selling this range for many years without any product issues at all. When budgets allow they are the natural choice for even the heaviest sublimation user.
Advice on choosing a Printer - Click here
Advice on choosing a Ricoh A4 or A3 printer
Why Ricoh?
We sell Ricoh printers for sublimation as their print head technology does not heat the ink in the printer. If you used a manufacturer’s machine with alternative technology it is likely the ink would be momentarily heated to force it through the print head. This would be disastrous if sublimation ink was used as it would sublimate before it ever reached the paper. Also, for shear printing convenience the Ricoh printers accept large capacity SubliJet-R cartridges.
Print Size
The first and obvious difference between the GXe3300 A4 and the A3 Gxe7700N is one can print images twice the size of the other!
Initial Cost
The initial investment to purchase a system based around the A3 Gxe7700N is always going to higher than the A4 GXe3300N but when fitted with the 60ml cartridges the larger printer really wins on running costs as shown below.
Running Costs
The A3 Gxe7700N fitted with 60ml cartridges is considerably cheaper to run than the A4 GXe3300N. Both printers take the 29ml cartridges but the A3 can also accept the larger 60ml cartridges. The cost of the SubliJet-R ink in the 60ml cartridges is some 38% cheaper per millilitre. The A3 GXe7700N also has very advanced automatic in-built maintenance routines which use less ink keeping the printer trouble free and ready to use. These two factors combined means a typical image printed with the GXe3300N A4 printer can be 65% more expensive than if it was printed with the A3 GXe7700N. So, even if you only want to print A4 sized images, for lower running costs we would always recommend the A3 GXe7700N.
Examples of various prints and their associated ink costs can be found on our resources page.
Apollo Clam Presses
Features of 70-1010 and 70-1011 Apollo Clam Presses :
- 28cm x 38cm and 40cm x 50cm
- Digital Time and Temperature Readout
- Teflon Coated Heat Platen
- Wide opening for easy layout
- Best Price, Best Quality
- Easy Handling
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Titan Clam Presses
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Features of 70-1001 and 70-1009 Titan Clam Presses :
- 28cm x 38cm and 40cm x 50cm
- Digital Time & Temperature Readout
- Patented Over-the-Centre Pressure Adjustment
- Teflon Coated Heat Platen
- HRPO Laser Quality Steel Framework
- Smooth Shock Opening. Easy open!
- Scratch Resistant, Baked on Powder Coat Finish
- UL/ULC/CE/RoHS Compliant
- Wide opening for easy layout
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Swing Press
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Features of 70-1003 Swing Press :
- 38cmx50cm (15"x20") table
- Swing head operation for clear view of working area
- Safety release catch
- Fingertip pressure control
- Cast aluminium construction for strength and durability
- Thermal cut out, shuts off power to the elements if temp. exceeds 235ºC +/- 15ºC
- Manufactured and tested to comply with EC safety regulations. CE labelled
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Cap Press
- Ideal for 71-0086 Baseball Caps
- Digital Time & Temperature Readout
- Patented Over-the-Centre Pressure Adjustment
- Teflon Coated Heat Platen
- HRPO Laser Quality Steel Framework
- Smooth Shock Opening. Easy Open!
- Scratch Resistant, Baked on Powder Coat Finish
- UL/ULC/CE/RoHS Compliant
- Wide opening for easy layout
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Mug Press
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The Mug Press sublimates standard mugs of diameter 72 or 80mm. Both heating elements are included and can be changed within seconds.
- Digital time steering : 1-999 seconds
- Digital temperature steering : 0-210°c
- Power : 350 watt, 230 VAC, 2 A
- Weight : 7kg
 
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A4 Ricoh GX e3300N with SubliJet-R® inks
The A4 Ricoh GX e3300N for SubliJet-R® sublimation printing system is the perfect choice for education establishments and for a new business looking to generate big profits on a small budget. SubliJet-R® is a specially formulated sublimation ink for the Ricoh platform that produces brilliant, high-resolution colour quickly and efficiently. Paired with our high quality Ricoh sublimation paper, the 29ml SubliJet-R® cartridge ink produces vibrant, permanent images that are unmatched by any other form of digital printing.
Capable of producing up to 144 colour prints per hour, the Ricoh GX e3300N easily ranks as the fastest entry-level sublimation printer on the market. The Ricoh GX e3300N loaded with SubliJet-R® ink includes the SubliJet-R® PowerDriver® print driver and colour management software. The professional-grade system handles A4 transfer media and comes standard with a high-capacity 250-sheet paper tray. Image cost information is available on our resources page.
A3 Ricoh GXe7700N
The A3 Ricoh GXe7700N for SubliJet-R® sublimation printing system is the printer of choice for anyone needing A3 and for education establishments and businesses that require the highest level of reliability and durability to meet their production demands. SubliJet-R® is a specially formulated sublimation ink for the Ricoh platform that produces brilliant, high-resolution colour quickly and efficiently. Paired with our high quality Ricoh sublimation paper and SubliJet-R® cartridges it produces vibrant, permanent images that are unmatched by any other form of digital printing.
Capable of printing large images with high speed and high quality settings, the Ricoh GX e7700N is the perfect high-production sublimation printing. The Ricoh GX e7700N loaded with SubliJet-R® ink includes the SubliJet-R® PowerDriver® print driver and colour management software. The printer comes standard with a high-capacity 250-sheet paper tray.The A3 Gxe7700N fitted with 60ml cartridges is also considerably cheaper to run than the A4 GXe3300N. Both printers take the 29ml cartridges but the A3 can also accept the larger 60ml cartridges. The cost of the SubliJet-R ink in the 60ml cartridges is some 38% cheaper per millilitre. The A3 GXe7700N also has very advanced automatic in-built maintenance routines which use less ink keeping the printer trouble free and ready to use. These two factors combined means a typical image printed with the GXe3300N A4 printer can be 65% more expensive than if it was printed with the A3 GXe7700N. So, even if you only want to print A4 sized images, for lower running costs we would always recommend the A3 GXe7700N.
Image cost information is available on our resources page.
Accessories for the A3 Gxe7700N Printer
A Bypass Tray and a Spare Feed Tray or the GXe7700N printer to allow different size media to be loaded.
70-9024-FT Spare Feed Tray
250 sheet tray, one extra per printer can be installed. Accepts weights 60 – 105g/m² A4 – A3.
70-9024-BT Spare Bypass Tray
100 sheet bypass tray. Accepts weights up to 255g/m² 13" x 19" or banner paper to 1295mm.
DM 9000 and DM 9001 shears for plastics and Sublimation Aluminium
Two powerful, cost effective, shears which have the ability to accurately cut plastics up to 2.00mm thick and various aluminium materials up to 1.5mm. An important feature of these shears is safety. Free access to the cutting area is prevented by heavy Perspex shielding extending along both sides of the blade. A safety latch is fitted to the pivot to prevent operation without it first being released. For positional accuracy the cutting bed is fitted with a rule which is recessed to assist in securing the PCB or sheeting whilst cutting is in progress.
The DM9000 has a cutting capacity of 203mm (8") and is extremely compact with an overall height of only 575mm and a footprint of 335 X 140mm. It has a cutting bed of 110mm wide from the blade although wider material can be cut.
The larger DM9001 will cut materials up to 305mm (12") and has a height of 670mm and a footprint of 440 x 245mm. It has a larger cutting bed 225mm wide from the blade although once again wider material can be cut.
ES420 Corner Rounder
An inexpensive invaluable tool to meet the demand for a quick corner rounding facility for plastic/metal labels and front panels. It is ideal for finishing off labels and signs produced with sublimation plastic and metal. The table is effectively split into two halves enabling a choice of a 4mm or 6mm radius depending on which side of the table you use. Overall height with handle upright 8" (205mm) and weight 1.2Kg.
Mino General purpose ovens
General purpose ovens for the sublimation of Photo-mugs and WOW™ mugs.
A range of high quality low cost ovens are available - ask for separate
catalogue
