Epson SureColor T5160 - 36" Large Format Printer

I absolutely LOVE my printer & my heat press. The package was worth every penny. I did receive one of my mugs broken, but its my fault for not opening those boxes until 2 months later to finally try pressing mugs. Love how much paper it comes with. Wish it came with an extra maintenance box, but that's probably the only thing I would add. (Also I don't really need transfer paper as a freebie, because I do not do any vinyl work.... a freebie package of sublimation paper is much more useful!) :)

Now that we have about 40 hours of experience with our wife-format sublimation printer, it's time for an honest review. The Epson SureColor PRO F570 bundle purchased from Swing Design is perfect for home/hobby use. Once dialed in, the finished custom sublimation fabric for purse and wallet liners is simply amazing. Just for fun, sublimation ceramic mugs and coasters make fun gifts at minimal costs. I am glad we went with the re-fillable F570 instead of less expensive 24" Epson sublimation printers which require expensive print cartridges. The F570 is perfect for our number of monthly sublimation projects. The Epson F570 is simple to setup and quick to the first print. The printer's on-screen instructions are foolproof if you follow them exactly. The included Epson ... MoreNow that we have about 40 hours of experience with our wife-format sublimation printer, it's time for an honest review. The Epson SureColor PRO F570 bundle purchased from Swing Design is perfect for home/hobby use. Once dialed in, the finished custom sublimation fabric for purse and wallet liners is simply amazing. Just for fun, sublimation ceramic mugs and coasters make fun gifts at minimal costs. I am glad we went with the re-fillable F570 instead of less expensive 24" Epson sublimation printers which require expensive print cartridges. The F570 is perfect for our number of monthly sublimation projects. The Epson F570 is simple to setup and quick to the first print. The printer's on-screen instructions are foolproof if you follow them exactly. The included Epson software takes some time to learn and it's unfortunate that it can only be installed on a single computer. Since this is a shortcoming of Epson, Swing Design does not deserve to be dinged a star for that. It is puzzling why anyone would purchase an Epson F570 on eBay (or elsewhere) when prices here at Swing Design are significantly less for brand new, untouched equipment and shipping is included. Shipping to McAllen, TX was fast and everything arrived in perfect condition. We could not be happier with our Epson SureColor PRO F570 bundle from Swing Design. What an awesome printer!

Avoid this model

Purchased the T5475 about 11 months ago and it's been a disaster. About 4 weeks into ownership, it started skipping lines when it printed. Here I am 11 months later, and I have had to make 4 warranty calls for the same issue. They said to swap paper brands so I did, but this did not fix it. Each time the encoder wheel gets dirty with small particles of paper dust. This time the tech has been here 2 days already this week and is returning today with more parts. Initiated the current warranty call Thursday and here it is Friday of the following week and still not working. Just had to pay a local shop to make some prints for me yesterday. I do not print very often maybe one or two days a week and I have printed probably less than 750 sheets total. Given that this ... MorePurchased the T5475 about 11 months ago and it's been a disaster. About 4 weeks into ownership, it started skipping lines when it printed. Here I am 11 months later, and I have had to make 4 warranty calls for the same issue. They said to swap paper brands so I did, but this did not fix it. Each time the encoder wheel gets dirty with small particles of paper dust. This time the tech has been here 2 days already this week and is returning today with more parts. Initiated the current warranty call Thursday and here it is Friday of the following week and still not working. Just had to pay a local shop to make some prints for me yesterday. I do not print very often maybe one or two days a week and I have printed probably less than 750 sheets total. Given that this printer has been torn up about 4 weeks during the first 11 months of ownership is totally unacceptable. Of the 90 days I have needed to print something this unit has been torn up at least 25 of those days. When it works it is a great machine, but reliability has been awful. Over the last 25 years I have had 3 HP wide format printers and never had any issues. Too bad they don't have lemon laws for expensive electronics. This one would fall into that category.

Best purchase so far

This machine has been a blessing. Have had it for about 2 months with slight use (business isn’t booming yet). Straight out of the box, easy set-up, easy software installation. Haven’t had to adjust color settings yet. Hardly uses ink. But I’m guessing the waste tank isn’t very big because it’s already telling me to prepare a new tank and I’m only 2 months in. Come check out Sun-Kissed Creations, LLC on Facebook.

Do Not Buy

Epson has not figured out the design of this machine yet. I received the printer DOA, which was replaced under warranty. But two months after warranty ran out, the printer head is clogged. I've received a $1000 quote for replacement from a certified Epson repair center and they have informed me that due to the design of the machine, it needs to be completely disassembled to access the printer head. A monumental task that we don't want to proceed with. They have advised that the machine is scrap. Purchase extended warranty or make sure that you get your money out of the machine in 1 year. It was a great machine while it worked, but it's largely unrepairable.

Epson Printer

I was so excited to try out this affordable printer. I got it home and got the ink cartridges installed and right away all of the color cartridges were empty. Not a big deal as the ones that usually come with the printer initially are not full. Ordered a new set and installed. Next, i tried to print with the printer. the head moves, no error warning, displays says print successful, not a drop of ink comes out on the paper. Read the online manual, cleaned the print head several times as suggested, still nothing. What a waste of money. will be returning. Do NOT buy. This item is too new with too many bugs to work correctly.

Nice printer for the money

I was told I'd have the printer in 5 to 7 days. It arrived in 4 days later, which was convenient, as I had a job I needed to print. Arrived in a large box, which I thought the truck driver would likely do no more than help me get it into my garage. However, the truck driver delivered to my basement-home office, which he said was in the delivery fee. Therefore, I would give B&H 5+ stars for the ease purchase of the printer over the phone, getting it to me prior to the promised date, as well as the basement/office deliver. There were no print instructions regarding the assembly the printer stand or attaching the printer to the stand. Having owned these type of printers in the past, I was able to figure it out and the stand went together well. This could be a problem ... MoreI was told I'd have the printer in 5 to 7 days. It arrived in 4 days later, which was convenient, as I had a job I needed to print. Arrived in a large box, which I thought the truck driver would likely do no more than help me get it into my garage. However, the truck driver delivered to my basement-home office, which he said was in the delivery fee. Therefore, I would give B&H 5+ stars for the ease purchase of the printer over the phone, getting it to me prior to the promised date, as well as the basement/office deliver. There were no print instructions regarding the assembly the printer stand or attaching the printer to the stand. Having owned these type of printers in the past, I was able to figure it out and the stand went together well. This could be a problem for anyone unfamiliar with this type of equipment, and not very handy. Maybe there were instructions on line - no references that they were. There were basic print instructions for the printer set-up, which again went well, as I had an understanding how the machine worked. I down loaded the printer software and completed this portion of the setup, which went well. I did run into problems loading the paper - the part of the set up I thought would be easy. The roll spindle did not seat when I installed it. I closed the roll cover before I realized the paper had not loaded, and then the cover could not be opened. Called Epson tech services and they were great as far as getting to me right away and trying to figure out how I could get the cover open. Under their direction, I forced the cover open, seated the spindle, got the paper to load, and was in business. I have not had to change the paper yet, so not sure if this will be a problem again. However, when fiddling with the cover for 30+ minutes trying to open it, it was clear that the plastic roll cover and mechanism it attaches to consisted of plastic brackets and gears that were quite delicate. My last wide format printer lasted 25 years, but not so sure that that will be the case with this one. Print quality was very good, and produced prints/plots quickly. As I noted in the headline - Nice Printer for the Money. I don't print large prints/plots every day, so this machine should be fine. However, if you're planning to run this machine every day, you'll want to want to look into the higher priced models that are built beefier.

OK, if you can get the paper loaded...

It's a given that modern ink jet printers are designed to waste as much ink as possible - and this printer is no exception - but with the Epson TC-2170, even the paper loading is nearly impossible. To load standard roll paper it generally take 10-20 attempts before it finally decides the paper is loaded correctly. This is with new rolls, old rolls, anything. With roll photo paper, it's a half day job, 40-60 attempts minimum. One of these days someone's going to have enough and put this thing out the window. We've had experience with all sorts of large format printers over the years and this one is the worst. If you ever get the paper loaded, it does print OK but we could practically do the drawings by hand in the time it takes to get it to accept paper. Epson needs ... MoreIt's a given that modern ink jet printers are designed to waste as much ink as possible - and this printer is no exception - but with the Epson TC-2170, even the paper loading is nearly impossible. To load standard roll paper it generally take 10-20 attempts before it finally decides the paper is loaded correctly. This is with new rolls, old rolls, anything. With roll photo paper, it's a half day job, 40-60 attempts minimum. One of these days someone's going to have enough and put this thing out the window. We've had experience with all sorts of large format printers over the years and this one is the worst. If you ever get the paper loaded, it does print OK but we could practically do the drawings by hand in the time it takes to get it to accept paper. Epson needs to get it's act together.

Sometimes size does matter!

After being frustrated by the local print shops refusing to print on my own 24 paper, I managed to negotiate this new printer with my wife. My old Epson R2400 is getting a little worn out and only prints 13 wide. My project required a 24x30 print. Reading reviews and articles about this and other wide format printers, the only adverse comment I saw for the T2170 were complaints about feeding paper. With plenty of experience arguing with recalcitrant printers, I took the plunge and purchased this one. Surprise with the size and weight of the new printer had me a little worried if it would fit in my computer room. This is a BIG printer, nearly 3' wide and 1 1/2' deep, I couldn't put it where I had originally planned (I should have bought the stand too.) After ... MoreAfter being frustrated by the local print shops refusing to print on my own 24 paper, I managed to negotiate this new printer with my wife. My old Epson R2400 is getting a little worn out and only prints 13 wide. My project required a 24x30 print. Reading reviews and articles about this and other wide format printers, the only adverse comment I saw for the T2170 were complaints about feeding paper. With plenty of experience arguing with recalcitrant printers, I took the plunge and purchased this one. Surprise with the size and weight of the new printer had me a little worried if it would fit in my computer room. This is a BIG printer, nearly 3' wide and 1 1/2' deep, I couldn't put it where I had originally planned (I should have bought the stand too.) After rearranging things and finishing setup, I tried my first print. I had no problems feeding roll paper, and very little with cut sheets. The printer is very fussy about skew when loading, but if you carefully follow the guides, it goes in cleanly, even with an unevenly cut leading edge. The automatic cutter took care of that on the first print. Prints were excellent and well worth the price. It is much more convenient to feed cut sheets from the back rather than the front of the printer, so be sure to leave some room, or put it on a moveable stand of some kind. I consider this printer well worth the price for someone who needs the width. I can't wait to try a really big panoramic print!

The 3170x is an absolute beast

I had a Epson 7720 for 1 year and simply outgrew it. I was changing ink everyweek and it was too small of a printer for my weekly workload. It was time to level up. I spent hours of time researching and learned about the F570 SUBLIMINATION printer by Epson. As I did more research I learned these printers were very similar. I decided to go with this one. After having it a month I must say I am very happy with it. I can print so much in 1 shot. It prints fast. I am able to put up to 11x17 pages but I usually just print everything on the wide format roll. I use this for sublimination printing and it has been an absolute beast. My productivity has tripled since getting it. I am no longer wasting time every week reloading the ink. Filling the ink is very easy. You just ... MoreI had a Epson 7720 for 1 year and simply outgrew it. I was changing ink everyweek and it was too small of a printer for my weekly workload. It was time to level up. I spent hours of time researching and learned about the F570 SUBLIMINATION printer by Epson. As I did more research I learned these printers were very similar. I decided to go with this one. After having it a month I must say I am very happy with it. I can print so much in 1 shot. It prints fast. I am able to put up to 11x17 pages but I usually just print everything on the wide format roll. I use this for sublimination printing and it has been an absolute beast. My productivity has tripled since getting it. I am no longer wasting time every week reloading the ink. Filling the ink is very easy. You just put the bottles in a little part for the ink and the bottles stop filling once everything is full. The colors are vibrant and print to my standard level of quality. I am a designer and clothing shop owner and this printer has been a game changer for our company. I can print so much so fast at a high level. This printer has changed our business.