Alps MD 1000 Standard Thermal Printer

The alps 1000 md ,is the best printer for making decals .The only advantage a 1300 has over the 1000 is you can use the blue alps cartridges which are mainly used for photo's the 1300 md comes with a built in dye sub. key function. It's just Like the Alps 5000 printer-which you will need to buy a Dye Key for, to put it in the dye sub. mode .the 5000 md has only one advantage its takes 7 cartridges as compared to 4 for the 1000md or 1300md . all three print in 'WHITE'' . however the ''BEST BANG FOR YOU BUCK ''is the 1000.
Since, I wrote this review I have been contacted by a lot of ebay members who has been taken by sellers ,who have stated printer work's , or that don't have them hooked up to a computer ,only to fine when they receive printer its ''DOA '' (dead on arrival ) . Well here is a test to check printer
Follow the steps below to perform the print head check.

This test applies to the Micro Dry series MD-1000/1300/5000(P)only.

Turn the printer off.
Load a sheet of white laser paper.
Press and hold the "Power" & "Ready/FF" buttons at the same time.
Release the "Power" button, and keep pressing the Ready/FF" button.
Right after you release the "Power" button, count 4 seconds, and release the Ready/FF" button.
Immediately, press and release the "Ready/FF" button one last time.
The printer should start printing a series of letters, numbers, horizontal lines and a black solid bar at the bottom of the sheet.
Once this test page is completed, turn the printer off to stop the test.
(ZR-1-1991)

Despite the false statements made by sellers on ebay, the MD-1000 is only a Micro-dry printer that functions via heat transfer that gets good results by heat transfer of the ribbon color to the paper. The Dye Sublimination process uses VERY high heat to transform the Photographic Quality ribbon color into a gas which transfers to the special Photographic Quality paper. UNFORTUNATELY BUYERS ARE LED TO BELIVE THAT THE MD-1000 CAN DO THAT. IT CANNOT. An excerpt from the ALPS web site:

In which printers are the Photo (Dye-sublimation) inks used?

The Photo (Dye-sublimation) ( blue plastic cases) inks, can only be used in the MD2300, MD1300 and the MD-5000P. The MD-5000 must have the optional dye-sublimation kit installed. The MD-2300 and MD-1300 have the dye-sublimation printing as a standard part of the printer.

This printer has been a joy to own. It performs every time it is used. I originally thought the cartridges were expensive, but then I bought another printer, and was immediately pleased again with the cost of the Alps cartridges.

The pages print slowly, but they are worth the wait. This is the only color printer (except laser) that I know of that will not wash away with water. It will not fade or run.

This is also the only printer that prints with a white cartridge!!! This is great for printing iron on transfers for dark colored shirts, or printing on dark pages.

I have truly enjoyed owning my Alps electric MD-1000 micro dry color printer, and would recommend it to anyone looking to buy.

Jon

It's true the alps md1000 does print a crisp, clear photo but there are some downfalls to owning this printer as well. The printer is old and is no longer supported on the alps electric website, also, it is parallel so you must have a bi directional printer cable to use all the features, I also just learned that the printer only prints so many bands and then is useless, I have bought one on ebay and one on craigs list, neither of them worked, you also must have a special xp driver for it to work on xp, of which you can no longer get on their support website. What I have learned through my experience is that Hiti makes a photo printer that prints just as clear and crisp and the cost for a brand new one is about the same as buying a 10 year old alps md 1000. Check out their website, it is superior to alps in every way.

Superb for printing decals, is capable of printing white & metallics, print process is waterproof. This is the second MD1000 which I have owned, my first one having given many years of reliable service. Though no longer available new, this printer is still state of the art. Mine was well packed with the print head stabilized to prevent damage during shipping. An excellent buy!