smackey

1. I have tried several methods to print on dark color 100% cotton tees with a DTG with varied success.
2. I followed some dye sublimation threads but most info was about polyester apparel.
3. I checked websites and found sublimation paper for 100% cotton but I'm confused about the printer I should use. I would like to use 17" wide paper (if possible?)
4. Where can I find sheets or rolls of 17" paper for 100% cotton tees?
5. What printer (Epson, Conde, or some other one) will do the best job and why?
6. I checked the sawgrass website and found inks. Which ink is best for dye sublimation on 100% cotton dark colors?

Thanks for any help?

 

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jpkevin

Hi Stephen,

There is a sublimation paper for dark garments, but it is a heavy white vinyl type material. You print directly onto it with your sublimation printer, Epson or Ricoh, with sublimation ink, Sublijet or Artainium. You then cut off any border area, and then you heat seal it onto the garment. You are not sublimating the shirt, but you are sublimating the vinyl material, and the vinyl is sealed to the garment.

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joeshaul

Quote: Originally Posted by smackey I have tried several methods to print on dark color 100% cotton tees with a DTG with varied success. I followed some dye sublimation threads but most info was about polyester apparel. I checked websites and found sublimation paper for 100% cotton but I'm confused about the printer I should use. I would like to use 17" wide paper (if possible?) Where can I find sheets or rolls of 17" paper for 100% cotton tees? What printer (Epson, Conde, or some other one) will do the best job and why? I checked the sawgrass website and found inks. Which ink is best for dye sublimation on 100% cotton dark colors? Thanks for any help?

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but dark is a very limited option, you will either have to use opaque inkjet transfers, or do something like Kevin suggested for dye sub. Here's some answers to your questions/quandries.

2. Dye sublimation only works on polyester or polymer coated objects, which is why polyester is suggested. The ink will transfer to cotton and look great, however if you're one of the billions of people that actually washes their clothes, the ink will wash out immediately.
3. The paper you are seeing is most likely for the ChromaBlast system which is designed by Sawgrass for a Cotton solution, although I believe it has been deemed not true dye sublimation and does have leave a hand.
4. Rolled paper should be available for that size from most sublimation distributors, Johnson Plastics, Coastal Business, and Conde Inc are some of more popular distributors.
5. The modified epsons have been around the longest, however I've heard good things about the Ricoh unit on these forums. I personally have a C88 with bulk and love it (although it won't do the wider formats). I recommend doing your own research on these forums before buying.
6. Chromablast is the only cotton solution for standard inkjet printers aside from DTG and transfer papers.

There is no "white ink" for sublimation or chromablast, thus the darker the garment gets the harder it is to transfer. Most people have the mindset than a printer can print any color, but that only pertains to it having a white background, if you try and feed a black piece of paper (printed, construction, etc) through and print on it, you soon find out that it's only because the paper is white that the color red actually comes out. This is why your DTG printer prints the design in white for dark garments first, then puts the color on top of it.

As to solutions for yourself, if you cannot get the DTG method to work, screen printing is probably the best alternative method, but it will take more learning than the DTG. You can however have someone either do the DTG printing for you (contract DTG), or if you're doing bulk designs, subcontract the screen printing out or have plastisol transfers made. There is also heat transfer vinyls that have a great feel, some opaque inkjet solutions (dunno thier hand), and solvent printable heat transfer vinyls (great color, slight hand, but a bit of a pain to work with and require a solvent printer).

 

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estrada

Kevin and Joe thank you so much for this valuable information. I have checked the sawgrass website for the "Hybrid sublimation/ cotton system". Sawgrass Technologies - Key System Components for Hybrid Sublimation/Cotton Decorating
It is my understanding that you sublimate the ChromaBlast paper at the same time that this is transferred onto the t-shirt. However this is still a Transfer, right? And since this is a transfer, it will not wash as well as DTG or screen print, and it will not stretch, right? Is this ChromaBlast paper better than others? Is this truly an alternative to DTG for single (you only print one) dark t-shirts? Thanks a lot.

 

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estrada

Also ChromaBlast won't work on dark t-shirts because the overprint area washes away, meaning that since there is no white ink, then any white areas in your image will not be printed onto the shirt. Is this correct? Thanks.

 

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smackey

Thanks for the info.
I worked in the hospitality business and forgot that we were always doing tranfer printing on griege goods.
I'm still trying to figure out how the big boys can make money printing 6 black shirts for $20+ each.
There has to be an easy, cost effective solution.

 

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CUSTOM UK

For small order quantities of colour images onto dark t-shirts, only DTG or use of a transfer medium is a cost effective option. DTG requires a dense white underbase, which adds considerably to the print cost and can be prone to premature cracking of the image.

Sublimation is great for light coloured garments, but unusable for dark garments, due to the need for a white underbase to show the lighter ink colours. Currently available sublimation transfer medium tends to be far heavier than inkjet transfer medium, which for larger images, can add considerably to the weight of the garment.

I think we'd all like to sublimate directly onto dark garments, but the technology just isn't out there at the moment.

 

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