Ricoh Fabric Printer Tutorial

Find / remove the tray

Remove the tray from the printer by grabbing the front of the tray with your thumbs on the green tabs and lifting the front end and then pulling the tray out of the printer.

Open the tray

Press together the two tabs at the front of the tray to open the frame 

Load your fabric

Position your fabric over the center platform so that a single layer of fabric is in the desired area. For a tshirt, you'll need to open up the tshirt and put just the front or back on the platform and fold the rest of the tshirt underneath.

Orient the cloth in the correct direction for your design, centering and straightening for the desired results. Note that the top of the shirt will be at the front of the printer (closer to you), not the back (by the wood wall).

Tuck fabric in & close tray

Place the cloth on the tray, smooth out the wrinkles, and tuck all of the excess cloth underneath the black printing stand in the tray. It is important for the printing area to be as smooth and free of wrinkles as possible. Also, do not leave fabric poking out from the sides of the frame. 

Iron fabric

Before the cloth can be printed on, it needs to be ironed and pressed. 

Turn on the printer

If the printer is not already on, press the power button until it turns on.

Load tray into printer

Load the tray with your fabric into the printer by placing the rear side of the tray into the printer and then slowly pushing until you hear a click, at which point the tray is fully inserted into the printer.

Load tray into printer

Load the tray with your fabric into the printer by placing the rear side of the tray into the printer and then slowly pushing until you hear a click, at which point the tray is fully inserted into the printer.

Open Ricoh Design Software

Open Ricoh Design Software on the computer next to the printer.

If you have create a design to be printed, make sure it is loaded onto a USB drive and insert the USB drive into the computer

Select Advanced Designer

Then select garment type, thickness, size (normal size is A4), and orientation.

Import design

Bring in your own design by selecting "import image" and then "computer, SD/microSD card, USB memory", then "select image" and locate the image on your USB.

Adjust design

Adjust the design of the image on the garment. To adjust the size of your image, click on it and drag the blue circles outward or inward.

Select Print/Save when you're done

This will send the print to the printer

Insert tray into the finisher (the lower unit)

Press and hold the “Stop/Unlock” button on the finisher, open the door, and insert the tray without touching the inside of the finisher.

Ideally, the finisher is still hot from the ironing process. If not, follow the preheating instructions beginning in step 5 of the “Printing Your Design” section.

For most applications, leave the temperature and timer at the settings they are already at. If you need to adjust the temperature or time (for a special fabric or use), see the Makerspace attendant for help. 

Slide lever to the right to start the finisher

Once the “Start” button is no longer lit and the LCD on the printer reads “Ready,” printing has finished.

Carefully remove the tray from the printer by lifting the front end and pulling it out of the printer, without touching the top of the fabric.