Printer for A3 transparencies?

[BlueToBits]

My HP officejet 7500A MFP just keeled over and I need to replace it. My main task is printing A3+ transparency sheets. I am using a special paper and pigment ink will not work. It must be dye ink. I can't seem to find an off the shelf A3 printer that uses dye inks !! the all seem to use pigment inks now. I must be going mad. I'll consider anything... I'm getting desperate!!

Is there an A3 printer out there that will can print using dye inks?

Just for info:
My paper media is the type used to print backlit posters. Often seen as scrolling adverts in bus shelters. It is very tough and tear resistant polyester film. The ink is reverse printed on the coated back side of the transparency which feels like very fine sandpaper. The front side is high gloss. Dye ink fills the roughness in the sandpaper side and I think there's some form of chemical reaction as the ink dries and solidifies. The sandpaper becomes like a semi-flexible translucent diffusing resin. Backlit colours are super vivid and black become opaque. The ink on the sheet becomes waterproof.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Have you tried and tested the film material you are referring to - do you get prints which work for your application ?

Is there an A3 printer out there that will can print using dye inks?

There are plenty printers on the market for you - A3 printers with dye inks like
the Canon IX6850 or Pro 100s or IP8750
Epson models like the L1300 or L1800 or ET-7750 or XP-15000,
and probably some more, and you can run pigment ink printers like
the P600 as well with dye inks. There would be some questions to aid the choice of those models - what is your printing volume - do you need the borderless option , are you planning to use that printer for other tasks - home office - general private use etc ?

 

[BlueToBits]

Hi. Thanks. Sounds encouraging. Yes. Worked fine on my HP7500A . I bought a HP7612 as it seemed to be the upgraded version and the inks wouldn't properly wet the paper. The black even appeared white from the viewing side. Colours totally washed out. I'm printing the front sheets for these clocks https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clock-Large-Colour-Changing-Rainbow/dp/B07BRZ1MVR
I make them in batches of 10 once a month and there are 3 printed sheets 400x300mm in each clock. It's heavy on the black ink. I cut sheets to A3+, print and trim. No other real printing duties for this printer. Cheers

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

The HP 7612 runs with pigment inks , not very suitable for transparency type prints.
How stiff is your foil material ? - it could cause feeding problems with some printer models feeding from the bottom, it may require a test.

 

[BlueToBits]

Pretty stiff. about 150 microns thick thinner than a business card, probably as thick as a quality brochure or textured photo paper. It comes tightly wound on a 3" diameter roll, but will easily pass round a 1" roller. It's designed for wide format inkjet printers. The HP7500A had no problems. I rarely tried to feed more than one sheet at a time, but it would do it.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

since your foil material is coming off a roll it is most likely still curled which can create paper feeding problems even if the thickness is within limits. It's difficult to judge but I would think you are better off with a rear feeding model like the Pro 100s or the Epson ET-7750 but you should try it first if possible. There are more Epson A3 photo printer models like the XP-900 or XP-960 - both bottom feeding. The ET-7750 as an ink tank/CISS like printer comes with a large supply of inks but the base price is significantly higher, additional ink supply is much cheaper than with genuine cartridges - Epson or Canon alike - but savings would be there only over the long run. So there are plenty models to choose from but I'm reluctant at this time to make a clear recommendation in light of some assumed paper feed issues. I hope that somebody else can comment on that.

 

[The Hat]

@Ink stained Fingers, I reckon you have covered just about every possible printer that might suite his needs and @BlueToBits should now look at some of your recommendations and decide which one would be best, the only problem he has to face is the paper curling issue..

 

[BlueToBits]

It comes off a roll but I store cut A3+ sheets and store them flat. The curl really isn't a problem. I'm sure any printer that ca

 

[BlueToBits]

This is great @Ink stained Fingers. Thank you so much for your assistance and suggestions.
I like the look of the Epson XP900 as this seems to tick all the boxes and have a scanner and copy facility which will also help get a bit more use from it. I will let you know how well I get on.

I've spent most of the morning on the phone to HP support.
If I understood correctly, due to changes in legislation in ink manufacture and composition, Dye based inks are now no longer (HSE?) compliant, and for the foreseeable future all HP printers will only print using be pigment inks.
For this reason
"printing and printing on transparencies, transfers, and some photo papers will no longer be supported by new HP printers."
I don't know whether to believe this.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

if dye based inks will be affected by stricter legislation - assumingly about environmental restrictions - all printer manufacturers would most likely be affected alike; I'm not aware of such changes at this time but I won't exclude that possibility. And yes, inks and papers are tuned for best performance in combination, some inks don't print well on some types of papers already today.