What is the difference between Ricoh G5 and Epson DX5 printhead?
Obtaining an appropriate print head is essential for reliable, cost-effective, high-quality printing. For several years the Epson DX5 print head was the most commonly used print head on the market, but is there still that after the release of other products? One of them is the Ricoh Gen 5 print head, so how do you compare it?
Product specifications
The DX5 is known for its 8-row nozzles, with 180 nozzles per row, for a total of 1440 nozzles with a resolution of 1440 dpi. The Ricoh Gen5 has only 4 rows of nozzles, but has 320 nozzles per row for a total of 1280 nozzles. This is less than the DX5, but since the size of the Gen5 head is reduced by about 20%, the dpi resolution between the two is very similar.
The minimum drop for DX5 is 5pl, but for Ricoh it is a slightly larger 7pl, which can have a very fine impact on the work. Ricoh’s goal is to provide 100 billion drives per nozzle, which shows the focus of the design which is the lifespan
Performance
One difference is the number of channels supported by these heads. The DX5 supports 8 independent channels for 8 different colors, but the Ricoh Gen5 can only use up to 4 channels and 4 colors because of its 4-row configuration.
At a jet frequency of 60 kHz, Ricoh is much faster than the 8 kHz of the Epson head. Although it is slightly smaller and has fewer nozzles, the speed is faster in both, but the speed difference is not as obvious as the other differences.
Conclusion
On the surface they seem to be very similar, but Ricoh does have a significant advantage – longevity. Gen5 is designed for 100 billion drive per nozzle and is built to last. It certainly shows better performance than Epson on lifespan.
For high-volume applications, Ricoh Gen5 is an obvious choice, although for those who really need more than 4 channels, Epson still provides speed and quality to meet any demand.
That is why Epson head mostly used on smaller machines like A2 UV Flatbed Printer while Ricoh more suitable for bigger machine. It seems meaningless to install Epson head on large format 2513 uv flatbed printer.