ok heres the thing...i have boxes of light colored 100% cotton shirts that i use for silk screening. since ive gotten into sublimation, ive noticed that i get more orders of two and three shirts or sometimes just one-of's. i have plenty of white hanes soft l'inks but not many people want white tees (especially girls). it erks me to see those cotton shirts just sit there and not be able to use them for sublimation. i know there are prep papers for use when you are going to sublimate onto cotton shirts. HOTTee, DURACOTTON, SOFTee are just a few of the ones ive researched. i never base my desicions on what the makers of these products tell you..since they will only tell you what you want to hear. so im hoping i can get honest, unbiased opinions from people that have actually used these prep papers.
please tell me about your experiences using these prep papers (or any others like them). any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks.
Miguel
Duracotton is not too bad of a prep but there are some cautions.
First of all you need to heat the duracotton paper above the scorch point of cotton. You only need a few seconds for the duracotton so don't let it go longer if you can help it.
Second is the duracotton will leave a slightly visible box until washed. The way around this is to hit it again for a few seconds with the heat press and a teflon sheet. But wait, if you do this with dye-sub your image will start to sublimate again.
We did a nice sized order on 50/50 saftey green shirts using the above process and they loved the shirts. We could see the press marks but the customer couldn't.
I haven't tried it but you could prep with the duracotton, then peel, press again with teflon, then set with your dye-sub. It would probably be best to do all your prep first, then reset you press to the right time/temp for dye-sub and then do your transfers.
Another word of caution. We have noticed with dye sub that until the shirt is washed the image can migrate if it touches other fabrics. We place a sheet of trace/newsprint paper between prints so that doesn't happen.
Duracotton is not too bad of a prep but there are some cautions.
First of all you need to heat the duracotton paper above the scorch point of cotton. You only need a few seconds for the duracotton so don't let it go longer if you can help it.
Second is the duracotton will leave a slightly visible box until washed. The way around this is to hit it again for a few seconds with the heat press and a teflon sheet. But wait, if you do this with dye-sub your image will start to sublimate again.
We did a nice sized order on 50/50 saftey green shirts using the above process and they loved the shirts. We could see the press marks but the customer couldn't.
I haven't tried it but you could prep with the duracotton, then peel, press again with teflon, then set with your dye-sub. It would probably be best to do all your prep first, then reset you press to the right time/temp for dye-sub and then do your transfers.
Another word of caution. We have noticed with dye sub that until the shirt is washed the image can migrate if it touches other fabrics. We place a sheet of trace/newsprint paper between prints so that doesn't happen.
Happy pressing.
hey binki thanks for replying to my thread. so what exactly is the scorching temperature for cotton? do the 50/50 shirts stand up to the heat better?
do the other prep sheets require high temperature as well?
concerning the box that the duracotton may leave..i suppose i could wash the shirts before selling them..then ill just put a label that says "pre-washed for your comfort" hahaha.
you mentioned prepping the shirts ahead of time and then setting the temp for pressing the sub transfers...how long can i store a prepped shirt before i actually sublimate it? couple of minutes? hours? days maybe? that would be cool if i could spend a day prepping the shirts and then sublimate them as needed.
one more thing..what type of transfer paper did you use? quick release?
thanks for your help. im looking forward to reading more replies on this subject.
cotton scorches at 400F. the duracotton press time is short, like 9 seconds or so which isnt enough time to scorch the shirt. i would suppose you could prep all the shirts and set them aside forever but i did them all in the same day. i used the accuplot paper, low release. i have never had good results with sawgrass+hi release paper and sawgrass does not recommend high release paper for sublijetIQ inks.
cotton scorches at 400F. the duracotton press time is short, like 9 seconds or so which isnt enough time to scorch the shirt. i would suppose you could prep all the shirts and set them aside forever but i did them all in the same day. i used the accuplot paper, low release. i have never had good results with sawgrass+hi release paper and sawgrass does not recommend high release paper for sublijetIQ inks.
thanks binki. it just so happens that i have a couple of packs of accuplot paper somewhere in my room so ill most definetly give the duracotton a try. just one thing...was it the duracottonSUB that you use or duracotton98?
Another word of caution. We have noticed with dye sub that until the shirt is washed the image can migrate if it touches other fabrics. We place a sheet of trace/newsprint paper between prints so that doesn't happen.
Happy pressing.
One quick note here. Dye sub usually doesn't migrate, it's only when it's done with the prep sheets or sprays that this is a problem. If you are using this method I strongly suggest you tell the customer so they don't suddenly find that their favorite shirt suddenly has a new image on it from the shirt you sold them.
One quick note here. Dye sub usually doesn't migrate, it's only when it's done with the prep sheets or sprays that this is a problem. If you are using this method I strongly suggest you tell the customer so they don't suddenly find that their favorite shirt suddenly has a new image on it from the shirt you sold them.
ahh you mean if they happen to place their favorite shirt on top of the one i sold them? but wouldnt washing the shirt before i sell it solve the "migrating" problem? or would it still be an issue even after its washed?
One quick note here. Dye sub usually doesn't migrate, it's only when it's done with the prep sheets or sprays that this is a problem. If you are using this method I strongly suggest you tell the customer so they don't suddenly find that their favorite shirt suddenly has a new image on it from the shirt you sold them.
It sure does. I have the shirts to prove it.
"After sublimation take care not to store sublimated products face to face. Simply place a paper sheet between each item to ensure no ink migration across substrates. " Sublimation Tips and Tricks for Large Format
I would run my own tests before saying yes or no to this one. I have heard that they do migrate even after washing but I have never used the sheets myself. Better to be safe than sorry. I have heard that it can take as long as 3 weeks before the migration happens so be aware of this.
i have never had good results with sawgrass+hi release paper and sawgrass does not recommend high release paper for sublijetIQ inks.
The reasoning behind why a high release paper does not work very well with the SubliJet IQ inks is that the PowerDriver IQ print driver (which dispenses the amount of ink and is made by Sawgrass) drops down too much ink. Otherwise, it would make no sense on how large format printers can use the SubliJet IQ inks and TexPrint XP paper and get great results when they use a RIP - which controls the amount of ink dropped. I have seen this first hand as I used the PowerDriver IQ for some time and now have switched to a RIP. So, it is really important to find a paper that matches how you are dispensing your ink.
The reasoning behind why a high release paper does not work very well with the SubliJet IQ inks is that the PowerDriver IQ print driver (which dispenses the amount of ink and is made by Sawgrass) drops down too much ink. Otherwise, it would make no sense on how large format printers can use the SubliJet IQ inks and TexPrint XP paper and get great results when they use a RIP - which controls the amount of ink dropped. I have seen this first hand as I used the PowerDriver IQ for some time and now have switched to a RIP. So, it is really important to find a paper that matches how you are dispensing your ink.
Mark
Thanks for the info. Can you recommend a RIP with the Epson1280/SublijetIQ bulk delivery?
The problem with using a RIP on a 1280 printer is that the RIP will cost more than the printer unless you buy a RIP without the profiles. With sublimation, you have several different types of profiles for the different types of substrates (polyester fabric, ceramic, metal, glass, FRP plastic,...). Each profile sample must be cured to see what the true color is going to be. And we all know that the cost of blank substrates are not cheap. So, it can become a very expensive process. Hard to sell a RIP for more than what someone paid for a printer. However, in the end it could save you a decent amount of ink that might be worth it depending on how much work you do.
There will be a RIP for the R1800 to use as a hybrid (half dye sub / half inkjet transfer), but that will not be out until later on in June.
Sorry that I don't have any good news for you. But, we have to work with what we got. Best wishes.
sublimation prep sheets.. 
