Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Hi guys, Im very new to this business, still in my research stages and want to know which direction to take. I understand archival inks are best for cotton and sublimation for polyester, but dont they give the same results if printing using transfer paper and heat press? Which gives better quality shirt printing,is long lasting/wearing and customer friendly ie no returns/complaints? What brand of inks do you recommend? Im thinking of purchasing the Epson 1290s, i this a good printer for this kind of work?
I understand archival inks are best for cotton and sublimation for polyester, but dont they give the same results if printing using transfer paper and heat press?
That depends which kind of transfer paper. Dye sublimation uses transfer paper, but none of the paper is left behind, just the ink. So no, it's not at all the same.
If you meant could you use dye sublimation inks with standard inkjet transfer paper... I don't know. I suppose you could, but you wouldn't want to. One because even if it works (which I think it would) it will probably run, and two because it's more expensive.
SuperCool. Thanks for that. I was thinking it would be best to use archival inks but I needed to make sure. Thank you so much. Also as Im based in the UK, does anyone know of the alternatives to Magic Mix and Magic Jet? I found a company selling Lyson. Has anyone heard/or used this product? Oh one more thing, is anyone using a combi press? Im thinking about getting one that does tees, caps, mugs. Any thoughts?
Basically, dye sublimation is better quality, but normal heat transfers are easier to work with.
Dye sub:
is more expensive (inks)
only works with manmade fabrics (you'll need 65% polyester blend at a minimum, generally)
has no hand (the shirt feels very smooth after pressing)
works great on light to medium colored shirts
takes longer to press (~60 seconds instead of ~20 seconds)
has a bit of a higher quality end product, since the ink becomes part of the shirt itself
Normal Heat transfers (non opaques):
is cheaper
has more sources for supplies
has a slight hand (not bad, but some people might not like it)
requires trimming of the transfer paper (takes time)
works great on white or ash, not as well on medium colors
works on most fabrics (including 100% cotton, poly/cotton blends, etc.)
I don't know of any UK paper/ink alternatives. You might also look for Transjet II (same thing as Magic Jet) or IronAll/SoftFeel/MiraCool. For inks, just try to find something that says it's pigmented (the Epson OEM Durabrite inks are, but you perobably can't find them wholesale).
thank you all. So its ok to print transfers using Durabrite instead of me purchasing magic mix. I understand doing these will mean i compromise on quality?
thank you all. So its ok to print transfers using Durabrite instead of me purchasing magic mix. I understand doing these will mean i compromise on quality?
Potentially. I've heard some people say there is a significant difference, and others say there isn't much of a difference at all. We're currently using Durabrite still and the quality is good, but I haven't had a chance to use Magic Mix yet to compare (we will soon). Another note is that buying Magic Mix in bulk will be a lot cheaper than buying Durabrite cartidges; about 4 times cheaper, roughly (plus the initial one-time cost of the bulk system, of course).
sublimation or archival inks? 
