This forum has a wealth of info! I am having a little trouble piecing together what I need through searching however.
My goal is to do heat transfers on plain white t-shirts for friends, family, and later on for a website of mine. Nothing big. I researched the inkjet transfers and tested with it. I was disgusted with a paper that I bought at Staples to test with as it deteriorated after a couple washes and the print faded. Then I read about and purchased the Jet-Pro SoftStretch paper. Great stuff as far as feel goes, but the color faded after the first wash. I'm not happy with inkjet printing thus far. I am using 100% cotton t's. I assume this is normal. Would I be correct?
I want something that is durable and that will last the life of the shirt. Again, cost has to be cheap. I have researched and found the Epson C88+ as an inexpensive intro/option for Sublimation printing. But I have also read that it isn't true sublimation and it will leave boxes around the design (though I don't mind busting out the scissors). That is fine, but how is the quality and lasting-quality?
Am I barking up the right tree here or doing something wrong with my process of inkjet printing? Dye/sublimiation sounds like it works better, but I want the advice from people that have been doing this and know the comparisons of these methods.
Your best bet is to get inkjet transfer paper from a vendor that participates on this forum.
My favorite paper is the Jet Pro Soft stretch (for inkjet)
Yes it does have a hand, yes it will wash away after many washings (20+)
Yes, it does leave a rectangle on the shirt (hard to see)
I think you will be happy.
I think, I would not buy a c88 (too old)
I like the epson 1400.
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David Gross, Conde Systems www.conde.com
As I said, I already bought and tried the JPSS transfer paper and the color faded on the first wash. I'm looking for something permanent (or at least much more so).
I am looking at the C88+ because it is under $100 for the printer or around $350 with ink(dye?) and paper from a vendor on here. The 1440 is around $1400 by its self. Too spendy for what I'm working on.
On Epsons site the C88+ printer is only $85. The ink they have listed is I'm guessing the standard inkjet ink. Who sells the sublimation ink for this printer? Do I need any other equipment or just sublimation cartriges?
This forum has a wealth of info! I am having a little trouble piecing together what I need through searching however.
My goal is to do heat transfers on plain white t-shirts for friends, family, and later on for a website of mine. Nothing big. I researched the inkjet transfers and tested with it. I was disgusted with a paper that I bought at Staples to test with as it deteriorated after a couple washes and the print faded. Then I read about and purchased the Jet-Pro SoftStretch paper. Great stuff as far as feel goes, but the color faded after the first wash. I'm not happy with inkjet printing thus far. I am using 100% cotton t's. I assume this is normal. Would I be correct?
I want something that is durable and that will last the life of the shirt. Again, cost has to be cheap. I have researched and found the Epson C88+ as an inexpensive intro/option for Sublimation printing. But I have also read that it isn't true sublimation and it will leave boxes around the design (though I don't mind busting out the scissors). That is fine, but how is the quality and lasting-quality?
Am I barking up the right tree here or doing something wrong with my process of inkjet printing? Dye/sublimiation sounds like it works better, but I want the advice from people that have been doing this and know the comparisons of these methods.
I'm all ears...teach me!
The three methods you are most likely looking into:
Utilize and inkjet transfer paper like JPSS, there's been some discussion as to which printers and types of inks hold up best, I forgot what the verdict was, but most household printers either use a Pigment or a Dye based ink (not to be confused with Dye-sublimation ink).
Chromablast, produced by Sawgrass Ink (the owners of the dye sublimation patent in the U.S.), from what I recall reading, this is essentially using an ink and polymer system that creates a durable long lasting garment, but is not true dye sublimation on the garment. I believe you still have to trim the image. This method was designed for Cotton t-shirts. This is most likely what you were reading about for cotton products.
Dye sublimation, special formulated inks that when heated turn into a gas and will bind to a polymer/polyester substrate. Will not work on Cotton past the first wash, on a 50/50, the cotton fibers will wash out, so a 100% polyester garment is the prefered choice. No trimming required as the paper doesn't transfer any thing except the ink, however you are limited to lights and brights, and even with brights your color gamut changes depending on the color of the garment.
I personally have an epson C88 with bulk fed dye sub inks, however I do not use it for garments as I also have a DTG printer. I primarily use my dye sub setup for awards. If you are looking at solely using it for garments, most dye sub garment printers prefer the wider format printer model, although your initial cost will go up due to needing more carts/bags (most of the printers above the C88/120 model have 6+ colors) and the printers will be more expensive.
I must have seen the chromablast. I just want a finished product to be proud of...not one that will look like crap after a few washes. I read a good thread about chromablast and it seems promising (Why hasn't Chromablast replaced conventional garment sublimation?), but spendy for the ink. As for sublimation with a C88+, are there good and bad dye sub inks to go with? Either way it looks like a C88+ would be fine for home/small business use in either method of heat transfer (I won't need anything wider than 8 1/2 paper). If there is a serious difference in sub ink & poly compared to chromablast & cotton, I don't mind switching to some poly t's.
I currently have the HP printer that came with my PC awhile back. It uses the standard HP ink and I've tested a couple different papers. I do like the JPSS, but the image faded bad. I can't remember the heat/time settings, I'll have to check when I get home. I did use instructions that I found on here. I just simply had to play with the pressure a little to get it right.
If you are in US, the only legal small format sublimation inks are Sawgrass inks SubliJet and Artainium lines. Most of the sublimation dealers will carry the ink as well. Johnson Plastics, Conde, and Coastal Business Supplies are a few that I use. Coastal Business offers free shipping after a certain amount and you can get 5% off by reading their post in the preferred vendors forum.
I use Artainium on my C88 with a bulk feed system. My prints were coming out too dark at first, but that was a color profile mishap, after setting the profile up properly, things have been running fine for over a year now. Occasionally the heads will get a bit dry and require a few cleaning cycles, I also had an air bubble in my line once which I had to suck out with my priming syringe bottle. Other than that, system's been pretty good to me.
The main problem with poly is many people may not like/are not used to the feel, then there are vendors like Vapor Apparel that try to create a better feeling polyester garment but has a higher cost.
I'm thinking that I'll stick with cotton for the time being. I'll look at chromablast a little more. I'm curious if I can find it in a bulk ink system to make it cheaper per print.
Does anyone sell vapor shirts for relatively cheap? I'd be buying in bulk, but not hundreds at a time. Maybe 25 per size for 6 sizes or something similar. Anyone you'd recommend?
If it faded after the 1st wash it is aproblem with the ink you use not the JPSS. I have test prints now that at over 100 washes and no fade.Also sublimation only works on polyester garments. Ink jet dye ink and sublimation are not the same thing.
Sublimation will leave no square round your image, but you can not print on cotton with it.
Do some more reading.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrant_007
As I said, I already bought and tried the JPSS transfer paper and the color faded on the first wash. I'm looking for something permanent (or at least much more so).
I am looking at the C88+ because it is under $100 for the printer or around $350 with ink(dye?) and paper from a vendor on here. The 1440 is around $1400 by its self. Too spendy for what I'm working on.
On Epsons site the C88+ printer is only $85. The ink they have listed is I'm guessing the standard inkjet ink. Who sells the sublimation ink for this printer? Do I need any other equipment or just sublimation cartriges?
I own the Espon 4880 Hybrid. It is a great machine, but expensive for a start up. If I were you, I would truely think about how much you are going to use your machines. I have found out the hard way that if you are not printing every few days, it WILL clog up and cost you tons in ink lost. Maybe find someone that you can buy the prints off of at first and then as your demand really starts coming in, then purchase a machine. You also need to have a heat press in which to adhere the transfers. If you would like to talk more, you can give me a call at 360-616-4617.
Good ;uck.
Catie
Sublimation Mid-Startup Questions 
