Here's the tee with the color print before and after washing. The one to the left is before the wash and the one to the right is after the wash.
Jan,
Are you trimming at all on the black-and-white images? If not, it's impressive. My concern on the earlier examples was the appearance of a yellow window and the look that the window survived washings. The colors on these look very vibrant, but it appears to take up the entire area, so I can't see if there'd be a window. Have you used JPSS to see how they compared? Curious as to what made you th ink to use Chromablast transfer paper with standard inks? It may well be a stroke of genius!
Thanks so much for taking the time to provide this great information!
I think the yellowing you mention in the earlier pictures Ken, was where Mark deliberately used a tan coloured shirt, to make the polymer window a lot more visible. In his posting, Mark suggested the use of a contour cutter.
The real test for Jan's experiment, would be to compare JPSS side by side with the Chromablast and compare results after say ten washings. There is also the comparison in costs between JPSS paper and the Chromablast paper.
Still an interesting development on this thread though.
Will, I didn't do anything deliberately on my chromablast transfer but I still have a yellow ring around my image and that is probably 6-10 washings now. I used the chromablast ink and transfer paper. I think the ring comes from the paper. I didn't trim mine in as far as I should have, so I have a nice 1/2" ring around my pic. Very frustrating. I'm going to try Jan's discovery and see if I can get an image to hang on to the cotton with just plain old epson ink.
The yellow ring (AKA polymer window) is a result of the transfer paper... not the ink. The reason why I asked about the colors making it through the wash test is the ChromaBlast paper is a low polymer transfer paper - which means that there is less polymer (adhesive) on the paper compared to other types of transfer papers. Sawgrass got this paper created this way because they added binders to the ChromaBlast ink that would help the ink adhere to the shirt. Thus, getting a good wash test as shown in my post above. However, the Claria inks will not have these binders. So that is why I was interested in seeing the pictures.
As for how to remove the polymer window, you either have to hand trim it or use an optical cutter. If you go with the optical cutter, you will have to put the transfer paper on an adhesive carrier sheet first because the ChromaBlast paper is not a weedable paper (2-ply transfer paper that will allow you to do a print-cut application without a carrier sheet). I still feel that the ChromaBlast paper is a good choice for white shirts and could be an option for color shirts if you are able to trim close around the design by hand. The extra work needed to print-cut it makes it less desirable in my opinion.
Nice job thinking outside the box. This might be an alternative for some people to consider.
I trimed the edges of the color image and just the outline of the black and white, leaving about a 1/4 in of white but there is not yellowing in between the letters of the name Brian, that was the whole paper. I will wash then again and will post the results. When I did the tees, I pressed that at 375 for 40 sec and use a parchment paper to cover the tee. After the 40 sec, I remove the paper while it was still hot and pressed again for 10 sec with the parchment paper. It comes out with the smooth hand and then I washed and dried it twice. I will try a little darker tee, like ash to day with and image leaving most of the paper on and see if I get the yellow film that someone mentioned. I did have any 50/50 tees but will try to get some, because I feel it might just hold up a little better with a 50/50 even though it's pretty good on 100%.
The yellow box is because it was done on a yellow tee. The key to look for is to do a print on any shirt not white and see if the polymer window where there is no ink is noticeable from the rest of the shirt. Most people don't want to see any excess polymer window on a transfer paper - similar to what you would get when doing dye sublimation This is the reason why you see so many posts that talk about print-cut using an optical registration cutter on transfer paper. This will remove any excess polymer where there is no ink.
I have not tried the second press with parchment paper that you are doing. Interesting concept that I will try next time. Thanks.
I completed the test on an ash tee and here are the results. As you can see, the pic to the left is the ash grey before the wash with the border and it remained after three washes. It decreased a little but not much. Here also are the pics of the white tees after 6 washes. They are holding up pretty well with no yellow film. I believe that the chromablast transfer does not work well with darker colors. However, it does have potential for white tees. It would be cheaper to use the Claria ink with the chromablast paper than using the chromablast ink which is more expensive and leaves a harder feel. I still haven't used the 50/50 tees, but will and will try again with a dark tee of that quality.
I believe that the chromablast transfer does not work well with darker colors. However, it does have potential for white tees.
Jan,
I agree with your statement. I think the ChromaBlast product is a good solution for white shirts. If the paper was weedable and it is easier to print-cut it, then I would think it would be decent solution for color shirts when doing a print-cut application.
Thanks for taking the time to run these tests. I am sure it will help others with their decisions in the future.
Sawgrass got this paper created this way because they added binders to the ChromaBlast ink that would help the ink adhere to the shirt. Thus, getting a good wash test as shown in my post above. However, the Claria inks will not have these binders. So that is why I was interested in seeing the pictures.
Mark
I do not use Claria inks, but I believe that Durabrite type inks have a binder, which is why they have been used with reasonable results, with the diy dtg machines people are currently building.
With Hanes discontinuing their Soft Link tees, it really only leaves Vapor producing sublimation tees. I have searched on the net, but found it virtually impossible to find people selling regular polyester tees, that could be used for sublimation. It really does seem that 'cotton is king'.
Alternatives I have found that use sublimation inks, are subli-flock a tight knit polyester weave and subli-dark vinyl. The subli flock being fabric, does not crack, or peel, but its texture gives a fuzzy effect to your images. The subli-dark vinyl is unusual, by virtue of the fact that the image is laid face down onto the garment and the image rises to the surface of the vinyl when pressed. Great concept, but the vinyl has a significant hand. Someone described subli-dark as being like having a raincoat sewn to your tee, they weren't kidding.
One thing Sawgrass suggests is after heat pressing, stretch the shirt in both directions to help pull apart the mask transfer and it will wash away better. I washes away pretty good.
Hi. Sadly they are the 'wrong side of the pond' Jan. Shipping to Europe is only worthwhile if you are buying in bulk, due to the excessive freight charges.
Here is another tee with the Claria ink and the Chromablast paper. This time I pressed it at 375 for 35 sec. I was told by conde to press for 35 Sec to eliminate the yellowing. The first picture with the GOP and DEMO was before the wash and the second pic has been washed twice. The mickey pic has been washed 10 times now and it's still looking pretty good. I believe the chromablast paper and the claria ink is a good match. Has anyone tried it as yet?
Is it just my eyesight or is there a yellow image surrounding the first GOP image? Did you trim this at all? I don't see it in the second pic. I have a chromablast ink & paper image on a white tee that has been washed 6-10 times - not sure how many times it's been in the wash, but the colors are still vivid. Unfortunately, so is the yellow ring around my image. I used a 100% cotton tee. Are your tees 100% cotton or a combo of cotton & something else? Is this claria ink the ink that comes with epson printers or something that they sell? If it holds up that nicely I might use it instead of the chromablast.
This is a discussion about Why hasn't Chromablast replaced conventional garment sublimation? that was posted in the Dye Sublimation section of the forums.
Re: Why hasn't Chromablast replaced conventional garment sublimation? 
