Hi all I am new here and new to dye sub. I am in the process of looking at getting a epson 4800 with the sawgrass inks ( chroma blast, ar tainium).
I was sent some examples already applied they looked great then they also sent me a chroma blast design that was ready to be pressed onto a shirt. So I turned on my heat press put it up to 375 and pressed it for 40sec. as stated in the directions. The problem is that there is a large square from the paper that discolored the shirt slightly (it was a gray shirt ) making a darker gray box around the logo. Is that normal I put it threw the wash and it made no difference it is still there. Did I do something wrong with the press (which is a very cheap press 300.00 or so Mighty max).
Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it!!!
Dan,
I have the 4800 with Artainium and Chromoblast. Lots of people don't like the Chromoblast but we haven't had a problem with it. We do limit it to white t-shirts though and have NO visible box. Lines of text with no graphics are not a problem. We press at 400 degrees for 45 seconds under high pressure. No fading or wash out and the colors are very good. The main problem we've had is support from Sawgrass and lack of documentation from the dealer. If you have a problem, you will not get the same answer from anyone.
ChromoBlast is a heat transfer. So the process is to seal the ink to a shirt using a paper that is covered in polymer / adhesive. What ChormoBlast does differently (according to Sawgrass) is that the ink has some type of binders in it that allow you to use a paper with a lower amount of polymer on it. It is the polymer that creates a window around the total piece of paper that discolors a shirt. At most of the trade shows, ChromoBlast is printed on only white shirts because the window is harder to notice. Look for a post by AdriacticBlue (might be misspelled) on this forum that shows a picture of ChromoBlast on a colored piece of fabric. There are several reports that the window will go away after the first wash on a white shirt. Not sure if anyone has done a wash test on a color shirt and has before / after pictures. It would be interesting to see.
As far as your press, you might want to look at getting a press that can give you more pressure without harming the structual integrity of the press. I have been told directly from Sawgrass that the more uniform pressure you can put on the press, the better results you get. This means that a swing away press would be the best press to use.
You should know that there are plenty of distributors that sell a hybrid printer that uses one side for sublimation ink and the other side using a specialty heat transfer ink that is not ChromoBlast. You will still get the same issue with the window when printing inkjet transfers unless you do the print-cut application that is discussed all over this forum. The benefit of that type of system is that you will have a dark colored garment option since both ChromoBlast and sublimation ink don't work on dark garments.
Hope this helps. Best wishes in whatever your decision is.
Ok I think I got what your saying. Now my question is this I currently own a Roland 30" versacamm Wideformat printer/cutter which use mild solvent inks would that work for apparel using a transfer paper and will I have good colors on darker shirts? I currently have only used a heat transfer material which is then pressed onto the shirt but if feels like a plastic logo from the 70's.
The problem is that there is a large square from the paper that discolored the shirt slightly (it was a gray shirt ) making a darker gray box around the logo. Is that normal?
Yes, this is normal with ChromaBlast. There will be a clear box around your image unless you trim around every image. Even with white shirts, you can still see the box. Multiple washings is supposed to reduce the clear box's visibility, at least on a white shirt. I can't say that it will ever go away completely.
And FYI, since this post is in the Sublimation Forum, ChromaBlast is not sublimation. Many vendors are trying to market it as a sublimation equivalent for cotton, but it's not. It's much more similar to an inkjet transfer than it is to sublimation. So don't believe the hype the vendors will try to sell you.
Chroma blast 
