 Printing 24x14 on a 15x15 Platten Iron
I have an item that is similar to a mouse pad in construction but is 24" by 14". It is a play mat made to be used by gamers who play collectible card games as to give a clean soft surface to lay their cards on as they play. Collectible card games like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Magic: The Gathering have made these items popular among this niche group. The surface is made of polyester so it is perfect for sublimation printing. The mats generally have elaborate designs on them depicting dragons, Pokemon, or other elaborate fantasy art. A customer has brought in a blank (white) one and would like me to print some custom work onto it. He would like a mural that covers the entire span of the mat. I have an Epson 4800 with a roll feed paper system so printing in this size is no problem, however, my iron platen is only 15" by 15". I have tried to print on some scraps with a portion of the image "double pressed" if you will, and there is a clear difference where that happens. Flawless registration is going to be difficult to say the least. Here was my plan of attack, please let me know if you have any advice, input, or if you have a method you have developed for something like this.
Split the artwork into 2 even parts. Each part will measure aprox. 12"w x 14"t. This will easily fit on my platen. I will place both prints on the mat to double check my measuring and make sure my parts will match up. I will (with a large amount of heat tape I imagine) fasten one side of the print to the face of the pad. Again I will check to make sure the print will have room to cover the mat on the opposite side. I will set my timer, check my temp, and let the iron do the work. Now the second one will be more difficult. I will cut with a razor and a straight edge perfectly along the line of the image on the transfer paper and use the back side of the paper as a guide showing me where to place it along side the image that has been transferred onto the mat. More heat tape, reset timer, let it rip.
Now, I do have a few questions and concerns;
When I make the second transfer will the iron have an effect on the already printed side? I am guessing that there will be a few inches of space that is printed already that will have to face the iron for a second time. Will this change the color of that part of the image? Will it be noticeable? Also, will having the opposite 3 inches ironed (during the first print) prior to applying the image to it, in any way change the appearance of the final sub print to go there?
Please help me out here. I have until right close to Halloween to get this done. If it helps I can upload scans of the image but I think knowing that it is mostly black with some autumn leaves is enough to know what I am working with.
Thank you for all your help ahead of time.
Joe | 
