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FAQ

When using a sublimation print, you press the  mug at 190°C for 4 min.  If it is a dishwasher safe mug the press time increases to 4 min 30 sec.

Check if Sawgrass Print Manager is running, if it is not running, double click on the Icon on the desktop.

You are printing directly to the Sawgrass/Ricoh printer and not using the Sawgrass Print Manager (SPM). SPM not only manages the quality of your print, but also the colour so always print using SPM.

We strongly discourage the use of non-Sawgrass ink cartridges in your Sawgrass SG400/500 or 800/1000 printer.  The reason being is that these ink cartridges are not designed for this printer and come from an unknown provenance. We therefore cannot confirm the quality of this ink resulting in colour issues and also has the possibility of causing nozzle loss or other serious print head related errors.

Because of the potential issues listed above, the use of non-Sawgrass ink cartridges will therefore render the printer warranty null and void.

Blocked nozzles appear as missing dashes/lines on the nozzle check print out. Below is an example of a complete nozzle check as well as a bad nozzle check. A sign of blocked nozzles will be lines throughout your prints.

This articles assumes that you are using genuine Sawgrass ink cartridges that are within their use by dates.  Should you be using expired or non-Sawgrass ink cartridges, we strongly recommend they be replaced prior to commencing the below procedures.

In order to bring back these missing lines, we would recommend performing the following:

  • No more than 3 head cleans, each followed by a nozzle check
  • No more than 2 head flushes, each followed by a nozzle check
  • Print a couple of PRN's to get the ink flowing, followed by a nozzle check. The PRN can be printed from the SPM menu > Printer Utilities > Full Page Full Bleed.
  • If the nozzle check is still not satisfactory with limited improvement, then the next step would be to clean the capping station with some hot distilled water. We would recommend cleaning the filter in the capping station until the fluid evacuates relatively quickly from the suction cup. As a result you may need to clean the capping station multiple times. Once the capping station filter is clean, perform a head flush followed by a nozzle check
  • Perform an ink charge as a last resort. Please be advised that this will use approximately 20% ink.

Please note, that in order to reduce unnecessary ink consumption, it is recommended to perform the head clean or head flush on the relevant head, this will either be head 1 (Cyan/Black) or Head 2 (Magenta/Yellow).

The Nozzle check, Head clean and Head flush options can be accessed through the printer menu > Maintenance.

Should the above instructions not resolve the problem, please submit a ticket with our technical support team for further assistance.

When you purchase a new printer, no ink is present in the ink tubes, only the quality control fluid, therefore the printer will need to perform an initial ink charge. Upon inserting your set of initial starter cartridges, the printer will use the ink to fill the ink tubes, print head tank and print head.  As the set of cartridges that initially comes with your printer are only starter cartridges, this means that your ink levels will be a lot lower than expected and you will therefore not be able to print as many pages as you might expect prior to having to replace them.

The ink used during the initial ink charge is however not lost and remains in the printer.  Once your initial set of cartridges has depleted, the next set you insert will show a level of 100%.

Colour issues can be caused by various reasons. In this instance, black pressing green is caused by one of the following-:

The black cartridge has expired: The first thing to check if the black is pressing green is whether the expiration date on the cartridge has passed. The expiry date is located on the end of the cartridge as well as on the white label located on the side. If the cartridge has expired, we recommend it be replaced for a new one. You will then need to flush the new ink through the ink tubes and print head. To do this, you may print 10 black PRNs. You can access this through the SPM menu > Printer utilities and select the full bleed option.

If you have recently replaced your ink cartridge and are now experiencing blacks pressing green, it could be that your previous ink cartridge was expired. If this is the case, then we would recommend you also print 10 black PRNs in order to flush the new ink through the lines.

Not printing through the Print Manager or incorrect settings: The issue could also be caused by not printing using the Sawgrass Print Manager or, if you are printing from a software other than Creative Studio, incorrectly configured settings. If you are printing from either Photoshop, CorelDRAW or Illustrator, you may verify the correct settings using one the colour settings articles.

Enable ColorSure palette: Depending on the paper and substrate you are using ,you may find that enabling the ColorSure palette under the Colour tab option in the Print manager settings can resolve this issue. When enabled, the ColorSure palette will lay down a bit more ink than normal in order to achieve a darker black.

Poor quality substrate or paper: Another cause for this issue could simply be that the paper and/or substrate you are using is not of high enough quality. Some substrates do not have a thick enough polymer coating in order to achieve a finished product of high quality.