Hi everyone, my name is Monica, this is my first post on the forum, though I have done a lot of reading and research here. I own a sign shop and have been doing it for a while and occasionally do the t-shirt transfer thing. I am looking into maybe getting into sublimation printing but I'm still a little confused on the whole process. I understand the basics but I'm still not sure 100% on the inks. I have an epson stylus 1400 and I understand that it comes with dye ink, but I'm under the impression that it's not the same as sublimation dye ink, is that correct? Can I just buy replacement cartridges? What is the best procedure here? Any info would be a great help. Thank you.
Your on the right track.
The ink in your 1400 is NOT sublimation ink. I think it comes with Claria Inks, which is a good thing for regular transfers, but not sublimation.
Sublimation ink does not come in any printer on the market. You have to buy them from Sawgrass or one of their distributors. You can buy cartridges to begin with but if you plan on doing any number of sublimation shirts and other products, then bulk is the way to go.
I, myself, if the cost were not a problem, would go ahead and get a bulk ink system for your 1400 and be done with it. You save money in the long run.
Welcome to the forum! You do need different ink than what you currently have in your 1400 ,, you need sublimation ink,, it is realatively expensive start up but the ink is really a small portion of the costs, the substrates are the expensive part of the whole thing, Alpha Graphics supply is one of the forum members if you look to the left of the screen under prefered vendors list you will see the link,, they are about education and have a lot of information on that site, wold be a great place to start.
I use a 1400 and sublimation ink in a bulk system. If you go with cartridges, you will pay around $75 per cart..a bulk system from a reputable dealer...stay away from ebay knock offs...unless you are pretty tech savvy..anyway a bulk system with hardware and ink will be in the neighborhood of $1300 or so...but you will save a ton of money in the long run..
I would buy the ink and bulk system from the same source....that way if you have problems with profiles or other matters you only have one tech support to deal with.
for what it is worth..sublijet is easier to set ICC profiles...but artainium works as well ...just have to do more to get the ICC profile up correctly
Hi. Shelf life for dye sublimation inks, is similar to that for inkjet inks.
If you are using a bulk ink system, just remember that the ink capacity is equivalent to several cartridges, so buy your sublimation inks in smaller bottle sizes, till you get established.
Sublimation - confused on the inks and process 
