Printer/Copier Buyer, Beware!

Not all companies pride themselves on being experts in their fields, or on keeping up with technological equipment advances and changes in technique. In fact, if more suppliers employed and trained their sales people to educate first and sell later, we would have fewer unhappy customers out there who think negatively about the supply process in general.

It all starts with the sales person. Is his goal the quick sale or the long-term relationship? Does she seek to meet her quota or to educate her customer as to what’s best to buy? It may surprise you but, more than any other single factor, education that grows into a solid foundation of knowledge is what keeps customers and repeat business. And this is nowhere more true than when it comes to purchasing an output device for digital transfers, or the transfer paper itself.

Beware the "yes/yes" answer

Would you rather buy from a company that you trust over the long haul, or a yes/yes company that only cares about getting your first purchase? A good price doesn’t always mean a good deal. For example, saving 10 cents on a sheet of transfer paper now may cost you dearly if it ruins your copier’s fusing section and turns that $10,000-$50,000 copier into a boat anchor.

Further, if you’re not sure the new copier upgrade you’re thinking of purchasing works with your current throughput materials, find a dedicated, knowledgeable paper supplier and ask. I receive many calls from disgruntled copier owners who are running oil-fuser transfer paper through their oil-free and hot-fuser copiers . . . with devastating results. My heart drops when I hear the frustration and disappointment in a voice on the phone that says, “But my copier sales rep told me the new copier works with all the same materials as my old one. . . .” If only they’d called me before taking that yes/yes advice.

My suggestion, in many cases, is that, if you are upgrading to a new high-speed, oil-free Laser/LED color copier for your general office needs, also purchase and dedicate a color laser printer just for running your transfers. This is a low-cost solution because laser printers run for around $500 now, and special oil-free and hot-fuser transfer papers are available for white fabric, dark fabric, and non-fabric applications that work well with many of them.

Know your equipment

Not all of the new generation Laser/LED oil-free copiers are compatible with the new-generation transfer papers. This is due to varying reasons but some of them involve the toner composition, oil-less fuser, and/or oil in the toner. In addition, we have polymerized toners which save on printing costs and result in a higher gloss output. Because there are so many copiers/printers that do work with our new-generation transfer papers, I will give examples of some copier models with which I have experienced inconsistencies. Bear in mind, my testing was performed solely for the purpose of assessing the devices’ facility to output digital transfers, rather than general office-copying work.

The Canon 3200/3220 is a fantastic office copier for black/white and color flyers and brochures and all your other printing/copying needs. Costing around only $12,000, who could ask for more! However, if you want to run transfer papers (oil-free) you may experience problems with the toner not fusing properly or with the transfer paper wrapping around the exit rollers. On some models, I have found that “Tracing Paper Mode” works the best. But on other models, I have found no mode that works consistently. My suggestion in such a scenario is that you simply enjoy your fabulous new Canon 3200/3220 for all your office needs, and spend $500 on a laser printer for your digital-transfer needs. It really does make sense to have dedicated machines for different business purposes, especially when laser printers are so affordable now.

The Konica/Minolta bizhub PRO C500 copier is a perfect workhorse for the growing office, but I do not recommend running transfer paper through it as I have experienced problems with such papers jamming in the imaging area. With the C500’s higher-gloss output—due to its polymerized toner and its booklet-making capability—it’s a great deal for under $40,000 . . . which makes it worth spending $500 for a desktop laser printer on which to run your transfers.

For those of you who have HP color-laser printers, these are fine as long as you use the oil-free, high-temp transfer paper for white and for dark fabrics. If you want to use this printer for non-fabric transfers, I suggest the same as above unless your HP is a 2200, 2500, 2550 or 2600. Although these models are a few years old, they are still available on the market so it is appropriate to detail a few other reasons why certain machines are not recommended for producing digital transfers.

With the Xante CL30 color copier, we have found that a shadow is visible after the image is transferred onto the fabric. Our testing indicated the Xerox Phaser 7700 DX/GX color printer to be prone to jamming issues in the fusing section when running transfer paper. The Ricoh CL2000 and 3000 models have left roller marks on the coatings of the transfer papers I have tested so I recommend going with one of the other Ricoh models for your transfer business.

The affordables

Don’t get me wrong, all the above models have excellent printing features for normal laser-paper applications, but please use a different printer for your digital transfers. Here are a few examples of the less-than-$500 desktop laser printers to which I refer, that work with heat pressable transfers for white fabric, dark fabric and non-fabric:

It is important to note that the non-fabric transfer referred to is the toner-release transfer paper applied with a heat press, as opposed to the “water decal” transfer for candles, soap, windows, vases and other non-heat-pressed materials. Do not run a laser water-decal transfer through an oil-free printer unless the instructions clearly state that it is suitable for oil-free equipment. If you want to create products using water-decal transfer paper and you do not have an oil-fuser copier, I strongly suggest obtaining an inkjet printer (some models cost under $100) for your decal applications.

The Steady-Eddies

If you still have an operable oil-fuser copier from a few years ago—such as the Canon 900, 1000 or 1100, Ricoh 5200s and 6000s, or a Xerox Doc 12 or Doc 40—you are lucky and I hope you keep it as long as you can. If you don’t have such an ideal transfer-paper copier, there are companies that are refurbishing and selling them for less than $2,000. If you can still get parts and service, you’ve got a great bargain and can keep your business going with traditional transfer papers for several more years.

On the desktop-printer end, the Konica Minolta magicolor 2200 was one of the best little machines ever built and could run transfers all day without a hiccup. I truly wish they still made them but, if you can find a refurbished model, good for you.

Question and investigate

Don’t forget, you’re in charge and the customer is always right. If you are not happy with the answers you receive when trying to determine which equipment is right for you or whether you are purchasing the right transfer paper, get a second (or third or fourth) opinion.


Even if you are visiting an office-supply store to buy a laser/LED color printer, ask the sales associates there if it has an oil fuser. If they don’t know, put the responsibility on them to find out for you. If they care about your business, they will find the answer or find someone who can better assist.

No more oil-fusers: What a shame. The new higher-speed technology, to me, sacrifices the high image quality of the past. For the digital-transfer industry, unless you have 10 heat presses functioning full time, you don’t need a copier that prints more than 10 copies a minute. Don’t the copier manufactures realize that many transfer-paper customers buy copiers (and I mean multiple copiers) solely to run heat transfers?

I receive many calls from customers who want to replace/upgrade their old Ricoh 6000 or Xerox Doc 40 with a new model and there are just too few options now. Not all new-generation transfers perform the same on certain media as our traditional transfer paper versions have. We are going through an era of change and we need to prepare our customers for alternatives.

Just ask me

I have compiled a comprehensive listing of copiers and printers that details which types of transfer papers can run through them. Just drop me a line and request my “CLC/CLP Compatibility List.”


For around $600, you can purchase a desktop laser printer and an inkjet printer which will enable you to offer a huge variety of promotional and gift items. The laser printer can be used for producing your white-fabric, dark-fabric, and heat-pressable non-fabric items. The inkjet printer can be used for your non-heat-pressable items such as candles, soap, vases and other 3D items.

Please ask questions and know what you are buying. There are many options out there for every type of transfer business. Don’t let your only limitation be your reliance on wrong information.



Theresa M. Brisch
Brisch Papers LLC
Tel:  +1-973-220-8803
Email: info@BrischPapers.com
Web: http://BrischPapers.com