ALPS MicroDry Printers & Supplies

Our Business

We provide the following services directly from Japan:

• ALPS printer sales.
  All printers serviced or refurbished.
• ALPS accessory & supply sales.
  Inks (incl. Elephant's Rocket inks), decal paper, cables, paper trays, SCSI adapters, etc.
• Software, drivers & information for ALPS printer users.
  Windows, Mac, and linux, in English and Japanese, including a new 64-bit Windows utility.
• Servicing: Maintenance, Repair, and Refurbishing
  In partnership with official ALPS agent Elephant's Rocket.
• Documentation and information on ALPS printers to help users extend the useful life of the printer, maintain them properly, and if necessary carry out certain repairs on their own.

How to Purchase

1. Browse from Products & Services below.
2. Read this page and Maintenance for information on ALPS printers.
3. Read and understand the Privacy Policy (GDPR compliance for European customers).
4. Contact us via Email.
   Please state delivery country and state/city for shipping estimate.
5. Orders processed via email.
6. Payment via Paypal (preferred) or bank transfer.
7. Products dispatched.

Using our Service

• Contact: Email (Contact, Payment, Shipping).
• Payment: Paypal (preferred), or bank transfer (Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho, Japan Post Office).
  Prices in Japanese Yen (JPY).
  For conversion information, please consult your payment provider or online services.
  Current April 18^th 2024 rate ~154 JPY per US Dollar (XE Currency Converter).
  Pricing in USD and Euros to follow shortly.
• International Shipping: For printers (~9 kg) dedicated handling (UPS Special Delivery, Federal Express, DHL, TNT, etc.) recommended over EMS where available.
  For other items EMS recommended to save costs.
  Other shipping methods available on request (Contact, Payment, Shipping).
• Local Shipping: Shipping inside Japan via Japan Post registered parcel (yupack) for printers, or standard (teikei) / non-standard (teikeigai) parcel service unless otherwise requested.
  Courier services (takuhai) available on request (Sagawa, Kuroneko Yamato, etc.).

Products & Services

1. Contact Details, Payment and Shipping Information
2. Printer Sales
   1. MD-2000 / MD-2010 / MD-2300 / MD-4000
   2. MD-1000 / MD-1300 / MD-1500
   3. MD-5000 / MD-5000i / MD-5500
3. Ink Sales
   1. Standard MicroDry inks (incl. White and the new Elephant Rocket's inks)
   2. Dye-Sublimation inks
4. Accessories & Supplies Sales
   1. Printer Accessories
   2. Supplies (e.g., decal paper))
   3. CDs & Manuals
5. Repair & Refurbishing Service
   1. Repairs, Servicing & Refurbishing

Standard Accessories & Supplies

Availabiliy varies per printer model. Can be purchased separately (see Products & Services).

• Paper output tray
  Telescopically extends in front of printer.
  Nominal price: 3500 JPY
• Parallel cable
  For printer models utilizing a parallel port.
  Nominal price: 1000 JPY (exact price to be quoted for new items at time of sale)
• Parallel-to-USB converter cable
  Either ALPS or generic (Elecom, Belkin, etc.) converter cable for use with parallel-port printer models.
  ALPS-branded cables nominally 6000 JPY
  Generic cables nominally 1500–4000 JPY
  Note: these cables do not support scanning with the MD-1500 and MD-4000 models.
• Dye-sublimation key
  A key which enables MD-5000 and MD-5500 models to print in dye-sublimation mode.
  Nominal price: 4000 JPY
• SCSI conversion set
  Some printer models intended for Macintosh users are SCSI-only, others can be converted from parallel to SCSI with this attachment. In particular, it applies to the early MD-2xxx and MD-4xxx models with a "J" suffix, and the later MD-1xxx and MD-5xxx models.
  Nominal price: 3000 JPY
• Media for decal printing
  Japanese A4 and B4 decal paper sets of exceptional quality are available.
  Note that naphtha can remove ink from decal paper, hence test printing is feasible without wasting precious media.
  Nominal price per set: 1000 JPY
  (see Supplies)
• ALPS media
  While stocks last, ALPS-branded media for MicroDry printers is available at nominal cost (see Supplies).
• Driver and Program CDs and manuals
  Generally for use outside Japan, the drivers available from the Groups.io ALPS group are sufficient. CDs with drivers can be included at customer request. Furthermore, original Japanese CDs for various versions of drivers and application software for various printer models are available, as are manuals (see CDs and Manuals, and Drivers).

Accessories available on Special Request

• A power cable is not normally shipped, but can be included at customer request. This will have a standard connector for Japan.
• A USB cable is not normally shipped for MD-5500 printers, but can be included at customer request, at nominal cost.

Maintenance Information for ALPS Printer Users

Generic reference and maintenance information valuable to ALPS printer users.

1. ALPS MicroDry & Dye-Sublimation Inks
2. Driver Information
3. ALPS Printer Care and Maintenance
4. ALPS Printer Servicing and Repairs
5. Macintosh Support and SCSI Information
6. Groups.io ALPS-related Group
7. Elephant's Rocket Contact Information
8. Elephant's Rocket Official Support Conditions
9. ALPS Micro Dry Printers (moderated Facebook Group)
10. Design your own Alps / OKI custom decals

Notes for First-time Users

ALPS printers are nominally 100 V devices (MD-5000 and MD-5500 can handle 100V–115V) sensitive to voltage fluctuations, requiring a stable power transformer to operate in most geographical regions outside of Japan.

If you have a non-working ALPS printer, we recommend you first contact the Groups.io ALPS group support community for advice before considering repair services.