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Setting up Your Printer

Congratulations on your new Sawgrass printer! Before you can begin creating vibrant, professional-quality transfers, there are a few important setup steps that need to be completed. Proper installation will help ensure reliable performance, maintain print quality, and protect your printer throughout its lifetime.

This article will guide you through the initial setup process, including unboxing the printer, installing the ink cartridges, attaching optional accessories, and connecting the printer to your computer or network. By following these steps, you'll have your printer up and running and be ready to start printing in no time.

 

Windows & macOS Install & Get Started Video

Windows

MacOS

 

1. Unboxing the Printer

  1. Prepare a place for your printer that's sturdy, with space on all sides for ventilation and climate control, and a nearby outlet as the printer should be left on 24/7. Do not place the printer in a humid or dusty environment, the printer must also not be place in direct sunlight and away from any heat source.
     
  2. Next take off the protective covering from your printer's packaging and remove the plastic film from around your printer. It's time to come out of the box!
     
  3. Carefully grip the bottom left and right sides of your printer to lift it. We even added indents on the back sides to help with the transition and to ensure a secure grip!
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  4. Once your printer is out of the box, go ahead and remove all pieces of tape from the outside of the device.
    • Don't forget the tape attached to the top cover or the Styrofoam block located on the inside of the printer. Make sure you remove this because if you don't it could result in Service Code errors!

We recommend you keep the box and packaging so you can use it again when moving the machine

 

2. Attaching the Option Tray or Bypass Tray (Optional)

  1.  After all tape is removed from the device, you will want to attach your bypass tray or additional paper tray, if you have purchased one.
     
  2. Once everything is attached and the printer is in the correct location, go ahead and turn the printer on. The black power plug connects to the left side of the printer.

For further information, please see our detailed guides:

3. Installing the Ink Cartridges

A very important note before we insert the cartridges: please doublecheck that these are the inks you want to use. Once loaded into the machine, this will be the ink type through the entire life of your printer!

  1. Remove the packaging from the print cartridges.
    Do not touch the ink supply ports of the cartridges.
     
  2. Open the right front cover.
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  3. Check the orientation of each cartridge with the ink Use by Date facing you, and then install them gently.
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    Install in the following order from the left: black, cyan, magenta, and yellow.
     
  4. Push in each cartridge.
     
  5. Repeat steps 3 to 4 for all four cartridges.
     
  6. Once all 4 cartridges are inserted, close the right front cover and power the printer on.
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  7. This will start the 7 - 13 minute initial ink charge process. This might be a noisy process but don't be alarmed! 
    Note: While the printer is performing its initial ink charge, we recommend downloading Sawgrass Print Utility so that you're ready to begin the installation process as soon as the ink charge is complete.
     
  8. As soon as this process has been completed, the printer will return to a Ready state and display the ink levels.
    Important: You may notice that the ink levels will not be at 100%. This is normal as the ink will have been used to fill the ink lines and print head.

Important: For EU and EUX models we strongly recommend also setting the Auto Off function to OFF.

As per our recommendations, the printer will need to be left switched on at all times in order for the printer to performs its automatic maintenance. The printer has an auto-off function which allows the printer to power itself off when not connected to a network. We recommend setting this Auto-Off function to Off as per the instructions below. 
Menu> System Settings> Admin. Tools> Main power off network disc.> Off

 

4. Installing Sawgrass Print Utility

 

Now that the printer has completed its initial ink charge process and is displaying a Ready status, it's time to install Sawgrass Print Utility if you haven't already done so during the setup process. SPU is required for printing to your Sawgrass printer and provides access to printer management, color settings, and print controls.

Once installed, launch Sawgrass Print Utility and sign in using your Sawgrass account. If you do not already have an account, select Create Account and follow the on-screen prompts to register. After signing in, SPU will guide you through the installation of the correct printer driver for your printer model, allowing you to complete the final stages of the printer setup.

 

5. Connecting the Printer

The final piece in this article is to connect the printer.

Please note however that if you are wishing to connect the printer via USB, you will be notified during the installation of the printer driver the exact moment when to connect the cable to your PC or Mac.

 

Connection Method Article Reference

USB

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 Connecting an SG500/1000 via Ethernet or USB

Ethernet

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 Connecting an SG500/1000 via Ethernet or USB

Wireless

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 Connecting an SG500/1000 to WiFi