Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I am a new member of t-shirtforums.com and a newbie to t-shirts in general, and would like some advice from other well-esteemed, experienced members.
I have produced maybe 50 heat transfers to date using a HP Photosmart printer, which of course, is costly because of the combined-3 color ink cartridges, but I really like the resolution of the photos on the transfer paper. I found one site that sells CIS for HP Photosmarts, but not sure if they sell one for my model. I have also considered purchasing an Epson C88+, but it is not a photo printer, is it? Will it have the same resolution (or better) as my Photosmart? My Photosmart is also a 6 color printer, as opposed to Epson's only 4, although I love the idea of it's cost (cheap) and getting a CIS for it. I have seen these on many different sites, not necessarily related to heat transfer printing, and they're much cheaper than on sites like coastal, imprintables, etc. Can these other CIS systems be used, and then purchase the pigment inks through coastal, just to save some money? Since I don't really know how much work I'll be doing, or how much profit I'll be making, I need the keep the "bottom line" as small as possible!
sometimes when you buy cheap ...you get cheap... I have never been happy with the HP product with transfers...just my experience. I first started in this about 7 years ago with sublimation and used the forerunners of the C88+. I had a C80, C84 and still have a C86 plus a C88+. I have produced some outstanding tile murals with the C80 series in sublimation and I have found no fault with the output. I have an epson 1280 (2) and just purchased an Epson 1400 with bulk artainium inks. The 1280/1400 are both 6 ink systems. I would continue with the c88+ if it could print wide. CIS systems can be tricky to set up and when you buy one..make sure you have some support behind it.
I guess my end comment is ...the C88+ is a good machine...and make sure your CIS source will help with the setup and future issues..
Thanks for the response, guys! Now I'd like to "pick your brains" a little more...
I was able to find 2 CIS systems for my HP Photosmart, but decided against it. For the same price, I could buy the Epson and it's CIS system, and have them for my home office where I do my transfers, and leave the HP for the computer in the living room. I was just concerned about the resolution, but if all of you guys are using it, my assumption is that it must be pretty darn good. Another question is why some of the supply sites here are charging $215 for an empty (no ink included) CIS system, when I can find a multitude of sites only charging around $60 -- could there possibly be such a big difference between the two? Don't they do the same thing?
Right now I am working with heat transfers. I did consider going into sublimation, so I wouldn't have to worry about transfers cracking/chipping, and hearing customers complain about it, but the ink is a lot more expensive and so are the shirts, no? Doesn't everything have to be specially treated or 100% polyester for the sublimation to take? What exactly would the cost difference be between creating a heat-transferred shirt, and a sublimated shirt?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with a newbie like me! It's truly appreciated!!
lets see...first on the choice of CIS...if you buy cheap..buy twice!..cheapies do not have support..for example I had to spend some time on the support line for artainium ink as the ICC profile for Corel Draw is much different. If you buy cheap be prepared to 'go it alone' If I wanted to start with sublimation, I would get the C88+ and go to sublimation ink supplier and just buy the carts to start..to see if you really like it. The only difference between the high and low end is probably support and quality. you might look at Sublimation Ink Pricing for some prices on sublimation inks that are not artianium or sublijet. TOG is in a battle with sawgrass over this and so far TOG is still in the fight.
Yes you have to use polyester shirts for sublimation and use white..unless you go to vaporapparel.com and get some of their colored shirts which will take sublimation. yes they are more expensive but you get such a better garment..your total cost of garment/ink/paper would be about 6-7 dollars BUT you can sell for 20-25. For more info check out DyeSub.org - An educational site for dye sublimation and digital transfer printing. Incidently you will find that TOG also advertises on that site
Depending on the transfer paper/ink/printer I would guess that you could get a transfer on cotton for about half of a sublimated product
Thanks, Charles. Still trying to decide what to go with dye sub, heat transfers or Chromablast. Everyone keeps talking about an invisible "box" in regard to Chromablast, but I'm used to trimming transfers (I had been doing heat transfers). So is there any other draw backs to Chromablast?
Also I keep reading about ICC profiles and having to use this with Corel or Photoshop - what exactly IS an ICC profile, and why would you have to use it? Also, what if you're using Fireworks MX and then using PowerPoint to layer the design together? I know it sounds kind of jackassed, but I'm used PowerPoint for work and have just fallen back on that rather learn a new software...
Any input would be appreciated! BTW, the Soft L'ink shirts and other subliminatable substrates are SO expensive! Ouch! Really thinking about Chromablast now!
Epson C88+ resolution question 
