Epson XP-15000 Setup

[JTS]

Ya, I originally downloaded the firmware on the front page, them made the mistake of following the instructions...

I understand it's not going to print DTF pretty slow, but in terms of printing pictures as a regular printer, it's fast, even at high res.

Edited April 6, 2021 by JTS

[johnson4]

14 hours ago, JTS said:

Ya, I originally downloaded the firmware on the front page, them made the mistake of following the instructions...

I understand it's not going to print DTF pretty slow, but in terms of printing pictures as a regular printer, it's fast, even at high res.

That’s good to know.  
 

I just bought 15 sets of carts for the 15000, it was $150 for 15 sets, will be here Saturday or Monday, at $10 a set. The ciss is about $35 with shipping but I didn’t buy any of those. 
 

just an FYI, the ones without chips are like $5–$8 a set with slow shipping. 

[JTS]

Will I need any kind of syringe kit to fill the empty carts?  Or does the ink come with everything I need to refill?  I purchased the 250ml inks from Andy.

[wilbert62]

On 4/6/2021 at 12:08 AM, uhim said:

hesitate to ask how to bypass the watermark in EKprint?

I am new to this type of technique I would like you to tell me if there is any configuration when using this printer (Epson XP 15000 DTF) with this EKprint "demo" program

[johnson4]

12 minutes ago, wilbert62 said:

I am new to this type of technique I would like you to tell me if there is any configuration when using this printer (Epson XP 15000 DTF) with this EKprint "demo" program

What do you mean?

[wilbert62]

20 hours ago, johnson4 said:

What do you mean?

If there is a special configuration for this model

 

[JTS]

Time for a followup on this post.  Man, amazing what you what you can learn in 2 weeks...

At this point I have the XP-15000 printing transfers from end to end.  I'm still working out my settings for consistent powder melt, but that has nothing to do with the printer.  The only modifications I've made to the printer is removing the 2 screws that hold the roller bracket in place and removing the roller bracket, installing the chipless firmware, and making a tray out of Dollar Tree Foam to keep the film close to the height it's being printed at so the film won't lift when it close to the end of the page (you'll know what I mean if you convert this printer and use sheets instead of rolls).

Knowing what I know now, I could convert this printer in under 30 minutes.  If I had all the needed supplies, ink, film, power, blah blah blah (which I do now), I could convert this printer and be up and printing transfers in under an hour.  I received plenty of help from this forum when I ran into a few problems, mainly with EKPRINT settings.  I won't mention any names, since I don't want to be responsible for them getting bombarded with messages.  If any of them read this and they can volunteer their services themselves.

I know there is much more in store, since I'm new to DTF, but I'm not new to tech, hardware, digital art (mostly illustrator) and working with new hardware modifications.  From my experience, the hard part is over, fear of the unknown.  This printer prints transfers as good, if not better than, the transfers I've purchased.  I'm not saying it's better or worse than any other DTF printer, since I have no bar of comparison, but I will say that I'm pretty picky about the quality of t-shirts I sell, and I'm very happy with the results I'm getting.  I no longer have to worry about buying from someone who just wants to make $ and doesn't really care about quality (The reds in my transfers are actually the same color red as my art now!).

I'm 100% certain I'll run into plenty of bumps in the road since this seems to be a newer printer in the DTF scene and I'm also new to the DTF scene, but as far as getting the XP-15000 up and printer transfers, it's not tough at all.  Even without help from this forum, a tech savvy resourceful person shouldn't have too much trouble.

I you start out with absolutely nothing but a heat press, like me (well I do have a workshop and a lot of tools and supplies in general) you can get in the game with this printer for under $1,500.  That may seem like a lot, but that's EVERYTHING you will need: Printer, RIP software, ink, film, powder,  extra maint boxes, maint box resetter, multiple sets empty ink carts, print head cleaner, little sponge tip cleaner thingys, syringes, needles and a few other weird things you prob thought you wouldn't need...  You'll make that money back making transfers for yourself if you run a brand or or sell custom tees using transfers.  If you already have a print business, this is really low risk to see if you want to get into the DTF side of the biz.  And if you're a hobbyist that kind of does a little of both, like me, it's a nice thing to have around that should easily pay for itself, and if it doesn't, it's worth the learning experience.

Hope this helps.  I'm more than happy to answer any questions, since others were happy to answer mine.

[CJM]

On 4/21/2021 at 3:41 PM, JTS said:

Time for a followup on this post.  Man, amazing what you what you can learn in 2 weeks...

At this point I have the XP-15000 printing transfers from end to end.  I'm still working out my settings for consistent powder melt, but that has nothing to do with the printer.  The only modifications I've made to the printer is removing the 2 screws that hold the roller bracket in place and removing the roller bracket, installing the chipless firmware, and making a tray out of Dollar Tree Foam to keep the film close to the height it's being printed at so the film won't lift when it close to the end of the page (you'll know what I mean if you convert this printer and use sheets instead of rolls).

Knowing what I know now, I could convert this printer in under 30 minutes.  If I had all the needed supplies, ink, film, power, blah blah blah (which I do now), I could convert this printer and be up and printing transfers in under an hour.  I received plenty of help from this forum when I ran into a few problems, mainly with EKPRINT settings.  I won't mention any names, since I don't want to be responsible for them getting bombarded with messages.  If any of them read this and they can volunteer their services themselves.

I know there is much more in store, since I'm new to DTF, but I'm not new to tech, hardware, digital art (mostly illustrator) and working with new hardware modifications.  From my experience, the hard part is over, fear of the unknown.  This printer prints transfers as good, if not better than, the transfers I've purchased.  I'm not saying it's better or worse than any other DTF printer, since I have no bar of comparison, but I will say that I'm pretty picky about the quality of t-shirts I sell, and I'm very happy with the results I'm getting.  I no longer have to worry about buying from someone who just wants to make $ and doesn't really care about quality (The reds in my transfers are actually the same color red as my art now!).

I'm 100% certain I'll run into plenty of bumps in the road since this seems to be a newer printer in the DTF scene and I'm also new to the DTF scene, but as far as getting the XP-15000 up and printer transfers, it's not tough at all.  Even without help from this forum, a tech savvy resourceful person shouldn't have too much trouble.

I you start out with absolutely nothing but a heat press, like me (well I do have a workshop and a lot of tools and supplies in general) you can get in the game with this printer for under $1,500.  That may seem like a lot, but that's EVERYTHING you will need: Printer, RIP software, ink, film, powder,  extra maint boxes, maint box resetter, multiple sets empty ink carts, print head cleaner, little sponge tip cleaner thingys, syringes, needles and a few other weird things you prob thought you wouldn't need...  You'll make that money back making transfers for yourself if you run a brand or or sell custom tees using transfers.  If you already have a print business, this is really low risk to see if you want to get into the DTF side of the biz.  And if you're a hobbyist that kind of does a little of both, like me, it's a nice thing to have around that should easily pay for itself, and if it doesn't, it's worth the learning experience.

Hope this helps.  I'm more than happy to answer any questions, since others were happy to answer mine.

Hi. This is a great story to hear. Appreciate you sharing. Are you on any of the face book group? I’ve/am doing a lot of research but all this is a bit overwhelming of which printer to get, who to get from, convert yourself, have someone do it, Maintenance etc... would like to try to connect to ask you questions straight up. And get specifics. I guess I’ll ask the first would you offer assistance with the same printer? Setup and all?

[johnson4]

44 minutes ago, CJM said:

Hi. This is a great story to hear. Appreciate you sharing. Are you on any of the face book group? I’ve/am doing a lot of research but all this is a bit overwhelming of which printer to get, who to get from, convert yourself, have someone do it, Maintenance etc... would like to try to connect to ask you questions straight up. And get specifics. I guess I’ll ask the first would you offer assistance with the same printer? Setup and all?

No matter the situation, you will make mistakes, that’s how you learn. No one will give you a turn key answer, because there isn’t one. 
 

it’s all really basic actually. 
 

buy an Epson printer, 6 color plus with rip software available. Choosing one of the “popular” ones will help you the most, since you can learn from others experience. 
 

p400/p600/p800/L1800, etc. 

Finding which printer you want, shouldn’t be bad. The l1800 is slow and entry level. The rest, all have pros and cons, which are different for different people. 
 

no matter what you choose, it needs:

a RIP software. A “ best” doesn’t exist. It’s subjective. Ekprint, Cadlink, Acroip. Basically that’s it, that have any experience/following anyway. 

Chipless firmware 

remove the rollers, some take a screw or two, some pop out by hand. No dissembling needed. 
 

empty ink cartridges.

 

the rest is fine tuning your setup, and asking questions as you go along. Your not going to know every question you’ll need to ask, until you get to it. When you do, someone will help. 
 

if you buy one, same thing. Your basically paying someone to do the work( maybe 30 minutes, and $50) for you, at the tune of $1,000+. UNLESS you buy from someone who offers exceptional support, and will walk you through the process, then that extra cost is put to good use, because they’ll have all the answers for you. 
 

no matter which route you go, you’ll make mistakes, maybe break something. You figure it out, and move on. 
 

 

it’s really that simple. 

 

[JTS]

IMO, if you have some tech skills and are motivated, the XP-15000 is the way to go to get started. The "conversion" is the easy part. Everything else is where it gets interesting.

You'll need all the supplies not matter which way you go, so may as well save on the printer itself. 3/4 of the money I spent is wrapped up in everything but the printer.  So if you're starting with nothing, be prepared to spend around $1,200 minimum.  Any less and you won't have everything you need.  I can tell you first hand the XP-15000 works for DTF.  How well compared to other printers, I can't say.  I can say, I'm happy I spend less than half the $ I originally thought I would to be up and running with all the supplies I need to print hundreds of transfers.  To be honest, I'm really not done spending money.  I still would like to have a legit curing machine.  But I can do what I need to with what I now have to make my money back, then invest more if I want to.

You just need to take the leap, have some fun and go into it knowing you'll have some bumps in the road.  There were a few days I was kinda panicking (Johnson4 can vouch for that).  But I stuck with it, asked questions and researched.  This forum and YouTube are your friend.

[johnson4]

3 hours ago, JTS said:

IMO, if you have some tech skills and are motivated, the XP-15000 is the way to go to get started. The "conversion" is the easy part. Everything else is where it gets interesting.

You'll need all the supplies not matter which way you go, so may as well save on the printer itself. 3/4 of the money I spent is wrapped up in everything but the printer.  So if you're starting with nothing, be prepared to spend around $1,200 minimum.  Any less and you won't have everything you need.  I can tell you first hand the XP-15000 works for DTF.  How well compared to other printers, I can't say.  I can say, I'm happy I spend less than half the $ I originally thought I would to be up and running with all the supplies I need to print hundreds of transfers.  To be honest, I'm really not done spending money.  I still would like to have a legit curing machine.  But I can do what I need to with what I now have to make my money back, then invest more if I want to.

You just need to take the leap, have some fun and go into it knowing you'll have some bumps in the road.  There were a few days I was kinda panicking (Johnson4 can vouch for that).  But I stuck with it, asked questions and researched.  This forum and YouTube are your friend.

To follow up on your comparison, the Xp 15000 is just as fast, and works just as well as the p400/p600/p800, from experience. 

[johnson4]

The waste tank resetter works perfect.

[gforeman44]

johnson4 do i need to buy another waste tank or can i reset the original waste tank

[johnson4]

22 minutes ago, gforeman44 said:

johnson4 do i need to buy another waste tank or can i reset the original waste tank

I reset the oem and the aftermarket one without an issue. 
 

I took the top off, threw away the cotton, and now it’s a tank I just dump every reset. 

Edited April 24, 2021 by johnson4

[gforeman44]

Ok thanks 

 

[JTS]

Another update:

First print after a ton of tests and tweaking.  Still need to tweak ink setting, but I'm almost there.

This is the logo for my arcade (which I had to close due to the Rona).  I designed the logo 7 years ago.  It's pretty awesome to 100% design and print my own shirts!

I'm getting holes that I think are due to my underwhite layer being too think and absorbing too much powder.  Then when I flick the film, chunks of completely absorbed white ink are coming off and leaving blank spots.

The close up of the "A" shows a hole from my above theory. The other close up is just a close up in general.  Very minor, but I plan on resolving this issue with some tests and tweaks tonight.

Also seems a bit thick in the main yellow area.  I think that's due to the thick white underlayer and thick powder absorption as well.  Overall I'm very happy with the quality.  As good or better that what I've been ordering.

[gforeman44]

Does any one have settings for ekrip for xp 15000 o printed twice and it just dumping ink. Or if you can youbtell me what to play around with to get less ink thanks

[johnson4]

Gotta change the settings. It auto selects 3 passes for the underbase. Start out with 70 percent color and 70 percent white( and 50 percent white under base) and work from there. All single pass, 1440x1440. 

[305custom_tees]

Hi everyone I just joined this amazing forum! I currently own an epson XP 15000 but I use it only for stickers and regular inkjet transfers, I also have a sublimation printer that use for face masks and neck gaiters, WF 7510 oldie but goodie, when I started this side hustle I had no idea what I was gonna do, I got the xp 15000 and some transfer papers, loved my prints but once I pressed into my garments everything changed, the feel was awful! Wash tests are great tho, but If I wanna sell good quality products ( I’m more into t-shirts now), I need some quality prints, (sublimation is wonderful but again, limited color garments), I really like my black tees also got some sublimation vinyl (easy subli), but it takes time and again the feel to touch is a little bit heavy, I tried the DTF transfers and ohh boy, really like the full color capability, the feel, wash test is great, one of my customers suggested me to go for it since I made him some tees with the DTF transfers, sorry for my long story 😂, so my question is should I buy another xp 15000 to convert? Or should try with a different model? New? Used? Sorry if this is not the right topic to ask! 

[johnson4]

49 minutes ago, 305custom_tees said:

Hi everyone I just joined this amazing forum! I currently own an epson XP 15000 but I use it only for stickers and regular inkjet transfers, I also have a sublimation printer that use for face masks and neck gaiters, WF 7510 oldie but goodie, when I started this side hustle I had no idea what I was gonna do, I got the xp 15000 and some transfer papers, loved my prints but once I pressed into my garments everything changed, the feel was awful! Wash tests are great tho, but If I wanna sell good quality products ( I’m more into t-shirts now), I need some quality prints, (sublimation is wonderful but again, limited color garments), I really like my black tees also got some sublimation vinyl (easy subli), but it takes time and again the feel to touch is a little bit heavy, I tried the DTF transfers and ohh boy, really like the full color capability, the feel, wash test is great, one of my customers suggested me to go for it since I made him some tees with the DTF transfers, sorry for my long story 😂, so my question is should I buy another xp 15000 to convert? Or should try with a different model? New? Used? Sorry if this is not the right topic to ask! 

It’s up to you, the 15000 works, but is new to the game and has quirks. For low volume printing, it would work fine given your technically inclined. 

the L1800 is a tried and tested printer, quite a few have them. 
 

the p400 is another great option for lower volume users, even high volume users who don’t want to deal with ink settling issues ( white ink is your enemy) then the p800/p600 for people who will print a lot. 
 

there are others, older machines. The p400/p600/p800 all read full inks always, the 15000 doesn’t and needs reset. 
 

personally I roll print and use the p400, and have been testing the 15000 for a few weeks now. 15000 works great, but I also know what I’m doing. It does have random quirks that the others do not have. 
 

 

 

[305custom_tees]

22 minutes ago, johnson4 said:

It’s up to you, the 15000 works, but is new to the game and has quirks. For low volume printing, it would work fine given your technically inclined. 

the L1800 is a tried and tested printer, quite a few have them. 
 

the p400 is another great option for lower volume users, even high volume users who don’t want to deal with ink settling issues ( white ink is your enemy) then the p800/p600 for people who will print a lot. 
 

there are others, older machines. The p400/p600/p800 all read full inks always, the 15000 doesn’t and needs reset. 
 

personally I roll print and use the p400, and have been testing the 15000 for a few weeks now. 15000 works great, but I also know what I’m doing. It does have random quirks that the others do not have. 
 

 

 

Thanks for your honest reply! Do you suggest a brand new printer to convert or a used one would do? I have someone selling me a xp 15000 for $300 used! But I can feel this printer is gonna be sold out everywhere in a couple months, I don’t wanna mess up the one I got currently for my other crafts 😋🤟🏼

[johnson4]

49 minutes ago, 305custom_tees said:

Thanks for your honest reply! Do you suggest a brand new printer to convert or a used one would do? I have someone selling me a xp 15000 for $300 used! But I can feel this printer is gonna be sold out everywhere in a couple months, I don’t wanna mess up the one I got currently for my other crafts   

 

I don’t think it matters, I’ve used refurbs and new/used. Only issue I’ve had was with the P800 paper tray on the refurb units recently. It’s all up to you though. 

 

I have one for sale, XP 15000- new refurb with 1 year Epson warranty. $375 shipped. Doesn’t include oem ink, but can include a set of refillable ink carts WITHOUT chips( needs to be made Chipless anyway). Still wrapped from Epson. 
 

it’s a current gen printer, so I’m sure you’ll be able to find out though, unlike me and my P400’s. Lol. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by johnson4

[305custom_tees]

1 hour ago, johnson4 said:

 

I don’t think it matters, I’ve used refurbs and new/used. Only issue I’ve had was with the P800 paper tray on the refurb units recently. It’s all up to you though. 

 

I have one for sale, XP 15000- new refurb with 1 year Epson warranty. $375 shipped. Doesn’t include oem ink, but can include a set of refillable ink carts WITHOUT chips( needs to be made Chipless anyway). Still wrapped from Epson. 
 

it’s a current gen printer, so I’m sure you’ll be able to find out though, unlike me and my P400’s. Lol. 

Thanks a lot good sir, I would take the one u got for sale but I’m only using my PayPal Credit for now😄, still gotta figure out if I wanna use a ciss or refillable carts also 

[johnson4]

17 minutes ago, 305custom_tees said:

Thanks a lot good sir, I would take the one u got for sale but I’m only using my PayPal Credit for now😄, still gotta figure out if I wanna use a ciss or refillable carts also 

No worries, it’s listed on EBay if you wanted it. 
 

ive used both, if you use a ciss, use dampers

[Mdrake2016]

On 5/2/2021 at 1:33 PM, johnson4 said:

No worries, it’s listed on EBay if you wanted it. 
 

ive used both, if you use a ciss, use dampers

Do you happen to still have it for sale?