Hi,
I'm very new to T-shirts business and am interested in printing Ts for hikers/runners etc. Most likely my clients will want their Ts printed on 100% polyester shirts. And thanks to the recent ISS show and this forum, I learned about dye-sub transfer.
Unfortunately I cannot afford to replace my fairly new Canon printer with an Epson CIS, not now anyway. I'm wondering are there any reputable (if any at all) companies out there that will custom-made dye-sub transfers, Has any of you have any recommendations?
Hi, as far as I know sub transfers are best used within a couple days,,,, however you can buy a c88 epson,,,,, and cartridge sub ink and your in business,,,,, the vapor shirts are perfect for what you want to do I wear them all the time,,, they work great,,, wicking action works great.
Friday I placed an order with a company called My Transfer Source. I haven't received them yet, so I can't say much more, except that they have no minimum. 8"X11" transfers start at $2 each, $5 shipping.
I have used mytranserfsource a few times. Have nothing to say but that they are great to work with. Usually turn around is a week. Sometimes quicker, emails are usually answered within an hour. Depending on what time of day you send one. Am very impressed with their CS and product.
My transfers came in the mail today. I ordered on Friday. I received an email on Monday saying my transfers were shipping. The arrived on Wednesday via Priority Mail. Can't ask for any better than that!
The quality of the transfers was excellent. This is the first time I've tried sublimation and I was blown away by the results. Very nice.
They also included a nice instruction sheet, which I greatly appreciated. In addition to the temp, time and pressure settings, they included some things I would never have thought of. The call it "dressing the press." This includes using a sheet between the front and back of the shirt to prevent bleed through, using a lint roller to remove lint which may show up as blue spots, and using a spray adhesive to prevent the transfer from moving when opening, which can cause ghosting.
I was considering getting a small cartridge based dye sub printer, but from what I can tell, my cost per print would actually be higher than what I can order them for. And considering the great turnaround time and excellent customer service, I see no reason to get my own printer at this point.
Last edited by AustinJeff; August 1st, 2007 at 10:51 PM.
What temperature do you heat press dye sub transfers at?
The instructions called for 400 degrees for 45-55 seconds. With VERY light pressure. I followed these instructions when testing on 100% poly.
I also did some tests on 50/50 for which I turned it down to 390, as I was pretty sure that the higher temp for that amount of time would scorch the cotton.
The 50/50 test was very interesting. I was hoping for a vintage look, and I was very pleased. I have pics that I will post in a new thread.
The instructions called for 400 degrees for 45-55 seconds. With VERY light pressure. I followed these instructions when testing on 100% poly.
Interesting. That seems like a looooong time at a hot temperature. Did you have any scorching? Maybe the light pressure keeps it from burning? Or is it the poly?
I think I may hit Ron up for an order to test them out.
The Idea with light pressure is the ink turns into a gas so u have to have light pressure ,,, high temp,,, and dwell time for the ink to attach itself to the poly,,, also when you wash the 50/50 the ink will not stay completely as it only works with poly. its really tough to scorch poly as it will withstand high temps for a prolonged period of time,,, even mugs are done at about 380 for 4 minutes,,
Interesting. That seems like a looooong time at a hot temperature. Did you have any scorching? Maybe the light pressure keeps it from burning? Or is it the poly?
I thought it was a long time, too. In fact, I had my fire extinguisher ready, just in case.
There was no scorching. Apparently the poly has a much higher scorching point than cotton. I'm not sure what this means for blends, though. Will the cotton still scorch at it's normal temp, or is it some type of average of the two? I can think of one sure way to find out...now, where did I put that fire extinguisher?
I've posted some pics and thoughts about achieving a vintage look using dye sub on 50/50 in a new thread.
The long dwell time is because of the ink, it has to reach the high temps for all the colors to turn to a gas which is the way the sublimation works. I find most people who start working with regular plastisol transfers hate doing dye sub because of the time involved. I started with sublimation so the shorter times are a piece of cake. The keys to good subbing on shirts are light pressure (no transfer marks) and absolutely no dust or the blue dots will drive you crazy.
The transfers do not have to be used right away but if you store them put them in a sealed bag because of the dust issue. This has never been a problem for me on anything other than shirts.
Also for those using blends, you will loose the ink on the cotton particles at the first washing so you will get the distressed look whether you want it or not. Some people are using sub ink with regular inkjet transfers, but to me it seems a high price to pay when regular ink will work.
Where Can I Get Custom Dye-Sub Transfers Made 
