Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Has anyone had any issues using standard sublimation inks through an Epson Style Photo 1400 and a heat press? I was talking with a rep at Ryonet/Silkscreensupplies.com today and he cautioned me against the Epson 1400 but I should look at the 1800 so that I could use sublimation inks or Chromablast inks. He stated that Chromablast is the only thing good for heat pressing transfers.
I know there are several users on this forum that have been running sublimation ink through a 1400 printer with only the standard challenges that can be overcome with using the printer on a regular basis. The difference on the R1800 is that there are 8-channels of ink compared to the 1400 that has 6-channels of ink. With 8-channels, you are able to run two different sets of CMYK inks that will allow you to serve two different types of products. Sublimation ink is great for polyester fabric and hard substrates. If you are going to want to do cotton shirts, then you are going to need a different type of ink and paper that works with cotton fabric. This is probably why the Rep at Ryonet recommended the R1800. This type of system is called a hybrid printer.
If you have additional questions about hybrid printers, please feel free to ask them. There are a couple of different ones out there that allow you to use different inks and have different software capabilities. You just need to find the correct one for your business.
The 1800 is a discontinued printer, replaced by the 1900. In any event, I'm not sure what the sales rep was basing his opinions on. We are quite familiar with the 1800 and 1400. In fact we were original Beta testers for both systems.
The performance of the 1800 and sublimation ink system was adequate. Based on our testing, we usually suggested the 1400, except in unusual circumstances.
Here's why-
The 1800 was developed for photographers. The theory was that because the system would employ red and blue colors (vs. lt. magenta and lt. cyan), an extra black (matte) and an optimizer (used to give regular photographs a high-gloss), photographic replication would be better. Up to a point, this proved correct.
However, the effect was a non-issue insofar as ArTainium sublimation inks were concerned. Sublimation does not use an optimizer, and the other inks were the same as that used in the 1400. For that reason, the color output between the two printers was negligible.
In addition, the 1800 often proved to be a “cranky” printer, requiring lots of TLC and attention. The amount of crankiness seemed to be in an inverse ratio to how much the printer was used.
The one “selling” point was that it could be split into a CMYK sublimation and Chromablast printer. This of course turned the printer into a glorified Epson C88+. While this theoretically lowered entry/startup costs we weren’t enthused about the downside.
This does not mean the system is not suitable. It could perfectly fit some situations. Because it won’t fit all situations (of course nothing does), ask yourself these additional questions-
What will be my prime sublimation work? If it is fine art, then only having four colors presents limitations.
What is going to be my cotton and cotton blend T-shirt market? If it is going to be white and colors then you will need other printer/inks for the colored fabrics.
Last thought: In researching, focus on what you want to do, rather than on what the equipment can do!
I’m going to have to stop here because I’ve got to get back to work.
__________________
Jack - staff@alphasupply.com - Alpha Supply Company - Dye Sub Tips
Heat Press Equipment and Supplies - 1-800-908-9916
so for a guy looking to print great quality ink jet transfers using CorelDraw, if the 1400 is not the best printer, what would be the best printer solution/choice that other pressers are using. I would like to stay in the same size rang and hopefully the same price range ($300 or there about) and, of course the system would have to be CIS capable. Thanks.
On another note, who and where are the best shirt transfers blank pages out there? I don't want to have to go to BestBuy as they seem to be expensive for Avery paper but I would like quality at a bulk/quantity price.
I think I may have given you too much information in my previous post and confused you.
In the Epson line and in the $300 range, the Epson 1400, with a CISS (bulk) unit and regular ink, is your best option.
If you mean $300 total price, then you need to go to an Epson C88+. The deciding primary factor is size. The C88+ only prints 8.5x11. The 1400 prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfers.
From the tone and tenor of your post I’m guessing that your primary interest is in T-shirts. If that is true, then I suggest that you put sublimation on the back burner; at least until you learn much more about it.
As a supplier I can’t give you specifics on the "best", but I can offer the gist of what we teach our clients: think of “best suited” rather than best. “Best” is often a very amorphous word.
Heat transfer papers are tools and there are different types to accomplish different tasks. The two major types are papers to use with colored fabrics and those to use with white fabrics.
With varying degrees of effectiveness, opaque papers (to be used for colored fabrics) are designed to accomplish the main task of blocking out the color of the fabric. The finish is similar with many. The most differences are in color retention and robustness of the film after washing.
Transfer papers for white fabrics can offer more differences in the finished look. This is primarily due to film type, thickness and when the backer is peeled off the shirt.
As a measurement of time, these papers are generally referred to as “hot peel”, “warm peel” and “cold peel”. Again as a general rule, hot peel paper usually has a flat finish and rougher feel, but often has a softer feel (hand).
Warm peel papers will have a slight sheen and smoother finish, but there is more hand and untrimmed film is more noticeable.
Cold peel papers have the smoothest finish and usually a semi-gloss appearance. These characteristics invariably make it have the heaviest hand and untrimmed film is most noticeable.
Even this brief description of the different paper types often pulls folks towards thinking of only one type as “best”. But remember, they are just tools. Each has a potential use. Here are three brief examples-
I would use a good hot peel paper if I wanted as soft a feel as possible and I was pressing an image that was impossible to trim closely.
I might favor a warm peel if I needed a more “photographic look” and my image was easy to trim.
The cold peel I might use on rougher fabrics or items where I wanted the colors to pop a bit more and washability was not such a big factor (like tote bags).
Insofar as specific papers are concerned my discussion has only been about general characteristics. There can be major differences in durability and longevity.
I’ll stop here (have to get back to work again) but this forum has a great number of smart, experienced decorators and I’m sure you’ll get more feed-back. In addition, if you search around you'll find about a "bazillion" comments on the subject of best :-)
Good Luck!
__________________
Jack - staff@alphasupply.com - Alpha Supply Company - Dye Sub Tips
Heat Press Equipment and Supplies - 1-800-908-9916
Sublimation Inks & Heat Press inquiry 
Re: Sublimation Inks & Heat Press inquiry 
