Your Sawgrass SG500 or SG1000 printer is designed to deliver consistent, high-quality sublimation prints. Following a few best practices will help protect your investment, maintain print quality, and maximise the life of your printer.
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Use Genuine Sawgrass Cartridges
For the best performance, always use genuine Sawgrass ink cartridges. These can be purchased from one of our official dealers: https://www.sawgrassink.com/find-a-dealer/
Why this matters:
Our Sawgrass Printers are specifically designed to be used in conjunction with Sawgrass inks.
They ensure accurate color profiles and reliable transfers.
They help prevent clogs and damage to the print head.
They maintain your eligibility for Sawgrass support (lifetime) and warranty coverage.
Non-genuine inks can be the cause of:
Poor color results.
Clogging and print defects.
Potential damage to the ink delivery system.
Voided warranty.
Be Mindful of Cartridge Expiry Dates
Sawgrass cartridges have an expiry date to ensure optimal ink performance. The reason for the addition of expiration dates to our cartridges is because, after a certain period of time, the formulation of the ink within the cartridge can change which may affect the performance of your printer.
Using expired cartridges may:
Reduce color accuracy.
Affect transfer performance.
Increase the risk of clogs or print issues.
For optimal performance, we do not recommend using expired cartridges. Replace cartridges when they reach their expiry date, or in a timely manner thereafter, to ensure consistent results and reliability.
Perform Regular Printer Maintenance
Routine maintenance keeps your printer in top condition.
Good maintenance habits include:
Running nozzle checks periodically.
Printing small jobs regularly to keep the ink flowing, should you not print very often.
Keeping the printer in a clean, dust-free environment.
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Performing alignments every few months to ensure the printer is correctly calibrated:
Clearing any build up of paper dust or debris inside the printer. This can be done using some compressed air directed away from the print head carriage.
Leave the Printer Powered On At All Time
One of the most important tips is to leave your printer powered on.
Why this is important:
The printer performs an automatic maintenance cycle which is triggered every 10 hours from standby.
These cycles help keep the print head coated in ink which prevents the ink from drying and clogging the nozzles.
There is no specific setting or option for this, your printer is designed to manage its own maintenance when left on.
Leaving the printer powered off for an extended period of time may result in clogged nozzles but also the printer may initiate an extended maintenance at power on which will increase ink wastage.
For users who have the EU or EUX model, if you notice that your printer is powering off by itself when left in standby then you may need to change the following setting:
Menu> System Settings> Admin. Tools> Main power off network disc.> Off
Maintain a Suitable Print Environment
For best performance:
Keep the printer at normal room temperature. (15-25 degrees C / 59-77 degrees F).
Avoid dry or humid environments. A dry environment may cause nozzle to dry up whereas a humid environment may cause the ink to bleed on the paper when printing. We recommend between 45%-55% humidity.
Keep it away from direct sunlight or heat sources such as your heat press or radiator.