OKI vs iColor

OKI has been recognized as an innovator in the decorating market for more than 15 years, and introduced the first printer dedicated to using white toner nearly 10 years ago.

OKI has a vast 40-year history of manufacturing printers, including color printers for over 22 years.This experience goes into every OKI Digital Transfer Printer built and is married with the latest technology to deliver rich color and vibrant white that stands out from the competition.

In the world of white toner laser printers, there are two prominent names that come to mind: OKI and iColor. Both brands offer printers that allow you to create a variety of custom decorated products including T-shirts and apparel, ceramic mugs, wooden signs, and much more. This is all made possible by their white toner printing technology, which is designed specifically for heat transfer applications. White toner allows you to print and transfer photo-quality designs to any color of surface, including black and dark-colored T-shirts, while other decoration methods like sublimation are limited to white and light-colored products. Though both brands of printers, OKI and iColor, offer seemingly similar printing capabilities, one of the brands shines high above the other, and that brand is OKI. Let’s get into the reasons why you should choose OKI over iColor for your next white toner laser printer – starting with a comparison of the two brands.

Engine Manufacturer

Open Platform

Colors

True Black

Black/White Swapping

Transfer Media Size

8.5″ x 11″ (Letter)

11″ x 17″ (Tabloid)

11.8″ x 19″

12.6″ x 19″ (Tabloid XL)

13″ x 19″ (Super B)

Paper Path²

Print Speed

Durability

Resolution

Price

Warranty³

4-Color Station

Pro8432WT

4-color digital LED printer

OKI Data

Yes

+ or ▇

True Black or Composite Black

Yes

Straight-through

Up to 9 ppm for 11″ x 17″ transfers

LED printers have longer life spans and fewer repairs – no moving parts

1200 x 600 dpi

$7,240

  • 2-year on-site for printer
  • 5-year on LED printheads
  • More than 300 technicians available nationwide come to you

4-Color Station

Competition

4-color digital laser printer

Third Party – Rebadged

No

Composite Black Only

No

Bends 90 degrees / Z-path

Up to 12 ppm for 11″ x 17″ transfers

The moving parts laser printers have leaves them susceptible to breakdowns

1200 x 1200 dpi

$9,995

  • 1-year warranty (not on-site)
  • Replacement parts sent to you
  • Repaired off-site by technicians then returned when repaired

5-Color Station

Pro9541WT

5-color digital LED printer

OKI Data

Yes

True Black

Not necessary

Straight-through

Up to 12 ppm for 13″ x 19″ transfers

LED printers have longer life spans and fewer repairs – no moving parts

1200 x 1200 dpi

$13,649

  • 2-year on-site for printer
  • 5-year on LED printheads
  • More than 300 technicians available nationwide come to you

What’s the big difference?

ADVANTAGE: OKI

OKI’s open platform gives users media & RIP options – so you’re not locked into a single solution.

2-year on-site warranty

Larger media sizes

OKI’s single pass technology and straight-through paper path

True Black – more colors, better details, and savings

Pro8432WT flexible black/white toner swapping offers true black for critical projects

5-station advantage: Pro9541WT has largest color gamut available and the most options for controlling white

Intelligent White controls built into the Pro9541WT including spot color White and trapping

4-Color Station: Pro8432WT
4-color digital LED printer


  • Engine Manufacturer: OKI Data
  • Open Platform: Yes
  • Color: + or ▇
  • True Black: True Black or Composite Black
  • Black/White Swapping: Yes
  • Transfer Media Size:
    • 8.5″ x 11″ (Letter)
    • 11″ x 17″ (Tabloid)
    • 11.8″ x 19″
  • Paper Path: Straight-through
  • Print Speed²: Up to 9 ppm for 11″ x 17″ transfers
  • Durability: LED printers have longer life spans and fewer repairs – no moving parts
  • Resolution: 1200 x 600 dpi
  • Price: $7,240
  • Warranty³:
    • 2-year on-site for printers
    • 5-year on LED printheads
    • More than 300 technicians available nationwide come to you

4-Color Station: Competition
4-color digital laser printer


  • Engine Manufacturer: Third Party – Rebadged
  • Open Platform: No
  • Color:
  • True Black: Composite Black Only
  • Black/White Swapping: No
  • Transfer Media Size:
    • 8.5″ x 11″ (Letter)
    • 11″ x 17″ (Tabloid)
    • 11.8″ x 19″
    • 12.6″ x 19″ (Tabloid XL)
  • Paper Path: Bends 90 degrees / Z-path
  • Print Speed²: Up to 12 ppm for 11″ x 17″ transfers
  • Durability: The moving parts required by laser printers leaves them susceptible to breakdowns
  • Resolution: 1200 x 1200 dpi
  • Price: $9,995
  • Warranty³:
    • 1-year warranty (not on-site)
    • Replacement part sent to you
    • Machine repaired off site by technicians then returned when repaired

5-Color Station: Pro9541WT
5-color digital LED printer


  • Engine Manufacturer: OKI Data
  • Open Platform: Yes
  • Color:
  • True Black: True Black
  • Black/White Swapping: Not necessary
  • Transfer Media Size:
    • 8.5″ x 11″ (Letter)
    • 11″ x 17″ (Tabloid)
    • 11.8″ x 19″
    • 12.6″ x 19″ (Tabloid XL)
    • 13″ x 19″ (Super B)
  • Paper Path: Straight-through
  • Print Speed²: Up to 12 ppm for 13″ x 19″ transfers
  • Durability: LED printers have longer life spans and fewer repairs – no moving parts
  • Resolution: 1200 x 1200 dpi
  • Price: $13,649
  • Warranty³:
    • 2-year on-site for printers
    • 5-year on LED printheads
    • More than 300 technicians available nationwide come to you

What’s the big difference?

ADVANTAGE: OKI

OKI’s open platform gives users media & RIP options – so you’re not locked into a single solution.

2-year on-site warranty

Larger media sizes

OKI’s single pass technology and straight-through paper path

True Black – more colors, better details, and savings

Pro8432WT flexible black/white toner swapping offers true black for critical projects

5-station advantage: Pro9541WT has largest color gamut available and the most options for controlling white

Intelligent White controls built into the Pro9541WT including spot color White and trapping

OKI Partners with the Best in the Industry

The superiority of OKI printers is echoed by industry leading partners that have developed media, transfer RIP software, fabrics and more, specifically for OKI Digital Transfer Printers. OKI resellers are carefully selected for their ability to help customize solutions that meet your needs, ensuing you have the tools and resources needed for success.

Our open platform allows users to choose from multiple software and transfer media partners, giving you more options to suit your decorating goals and maintain your budget. with OKI, you’re never locked into a single solution.

OKI Gives You the Benefits of Black Toner

With OKI, you have the flexibility to use black toner when decorating white and lighter surfaces which helps to produce sharp details, deeper blacks, darker colors and saves you money.

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black is the Standard for a Reason

For over 100 years, professional printers have known that combining Black (K) with Cyan, Magenta and Yellow (CMY) delivers a wider range of colors and the richest blacks. Without black toner or ink, graphics and photos lack depth, and attempts to simulate black using CMY often result in shades of brown.

Sharper Details Where it Matters

Black toner delivers the sharpest edges and the most readable text. When layering CMY to create black, detailed edges may become fuzzy or show halos because of the overlapping toners.

Cost Savings

Black toner delivers true black at a lower cost. Mixing CMY to simulate black uses more toner than just using black alone. Imagine the cost of running an inkjet printer to print text documents using CMY ink in place of using less expensive black ink? That’s just crazy.

Both the OKI Pro8432WT and Pro9541WT give you the option of using black toner, especially important when decorating white and light-colored materials. The 5-color Pro9541WT gives you both Black and White all the time, while the OKI Pro8432WT offers the ability to swap between using CMY+Black and CMY+White.

Straight Through Paper Path – Less Pain, More Gain

Single Pass Color™ technology and the straight through paper path engineered by OKI allows for faster print speeds, minimal paper jams, and supports thick & specialty media with ease.

Coatings on transfer media can be susceptible to rubbing off.
OKI’s straight through path avoids bending and scraping media.

Straight Through Paper Path – Less Pain, More Gain

Single Pass Color™ technology and the straight through paper path engineered by OKI allows for faster print speeds, minimal paper jams, and supports thick & specialty media with ease.

Coatings on transfer media can be susceptible to rubbing off. OKI’s straight through path avoids bending and scraping media.

OKI Makes White Printing Easier!

Along with superior color control, intelligent color matching, and color calibration, OKI technology provides smart features to help you optimize the use of white.

The Pro9541WT is the only digital transfer printer that gives you both automated placement of white on existing designs, or the option to selectively control where and how much white is used by handling white as a spot color when using CorelDRAW and Adobe applications.

High-end features such as trapping are built into the OKI Pro9541WT, delivering the cleanest edges around your designs.

OKI Makes White Printing Easier!

Along with superior color control, intelligent color matching, and color calibration, OKI technology provides smart features to help you optimize the use of white.

The Pro9541WT is the only digital transfer printer that gives you both automated placement of white on existing designs, or the option to selectively control where and how much white is used by handling white as a spot color when using CorelDRAW and Adobe applications.

High-end features such as trapping are built into the OKI Pro9541WT, delivering the cleanest edges around your designs.

OKI Makes White Printing Easier!

Along with superior color control, intelligent color matching, and color calibration, OKI technology provides smart features to help you optimize the use of white.

The Pro9541WT is the only digital transfer printer that gives you both automated placement of white on existing designs, or the option to selectively control where and how much white is used by handling white as a spot color when using CorelDRAW and Adobe applications.

High-end features such as trapping are built into the OKI Pro9541WT, delivering the cleanest edges around your designs.

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