I,m trying to get top photographic quality on T shirts. I'm also trying to do this on dark shirts. Is there a transfer paper that will come close to what I can get on a photo quality inkjet printer printing on glossy photo paper?
I,m trying to get top photographic quality on T shirts. I'm also trying to do this on dark shirts. Is there a transfer paper that will come close to what I can get on a photo quality inkjet printer printing on glossy photo paper?
You will never duplicate glossy paper and transfer paper. However Everlast for darks is the paper I recommend. It stretches and does not crack. Colors hold up in wash. Lou
I think the important thing to remember is that heat transfer from a ink jet will last for several washes. The fact is they will lose sharpness after each wash, I had a paper expert tell me that most ink jet transfer keep wear-ability for about 40 times through the laundry. I hope this helps. .... JB
There is a guy that works for Cond'e who is on this forum. He states the Sublidark product is a superior method that holds up real good and has a good hand. This may be an option for you if you have sublimation equipment. I have been trying to get a sample from him and my actual Cond'e rep for a while with no luck. It might be something new that they are either testing or just don't have enough supplies yet, but once I get a sample I will let you know how it works.
Lou & JB will correct me if I'm wrong...I count on that...but your ink is going to be as important as the paper.
I have resisted using paper for darks because I never got a good looking, lasting print. Two things have changed that for me.
1. I bought an Epson C120 that uses durabrite inks.
2. I used that ink on the Everlast for darks.
I made a test shirt, and after 3 washes, it looks as good as the day I pressed it. The other papers with HP Vivera inks were fading and cracking by 3 washes. To me, that says it was both the ink and the paper.
I agree he Epson OEm ink works great. I think the sublidark may work, but the cost of the ink will not be worth the results. I think as time and tecnology continue the ink jet results are going to be beter and better. I think sublimation has it's place in the market, I just don't think it's with garments. I know others will disagreeand that is fine. We all have opinions, likes,dislikes, and this is what allows us to learn and grow. .... JB
After reading several threads commenting on the success of the Durabright inks I thought I would get another printer for the office and try it. It looks like the durabright carts are only made for the 8.5 inch wide printers. Now that would seriously reduce my ability to use this for doing a lot of shirt designs. At least with Chromablast you can do 11X17. I own a 4880 which does 17" wide, I also have a pair of 1280 that do 13" inches wide. I would have a hard time doing shirt transfers on a printer that could only do legal size prints. Do they not have Durabright for a 13" wide printer?
COEDS,
I don't disagree with you when you say Sublimation printing on apparel is not its strong suit. I get much more jazzed after finishing tile, mugs, metal, and all the other substrates where the results always blow the customer away, but with that said. I still do more t-shirts than anything else. Everybody wants a dozen of this and a half a dozen for that with a bunch of colors. Nobody does the Transfers up where I live so I am pretty much their only option. I personally don't like doing the shirts as much as everything else but they are my biggest seller.
So, can I use refillable carts with pigment ink that would print regular documents as well as transfers that would hold up like Durabright? Do they need to use a program like MultiRip to run? I am new to this whole Transfer ink stuff. I have used every sublimation ink on the market even one thats not on the market and used the ICC Profiles to run them. Is that the deal with these inks too?
I don't know how often I would use the Transfers so a huge investment like that would not be the direction I would go with right away
If you have an Epson 4880, it come with pigment inks( Epson Ultrachrome). This is a archival ink, and should hold up very well, if the transfer paper is good. I just started with T-Shirts ( about 2 weeks), so I don't have a lot of experience with shirts. I been doing Fine art Giclee prints (archival quality) for over 6 years. I have tried refill carts from various manufacturers. I,m trying to get as close as possible to matching my prints with the Quality on T shirts
So Kenny, are you saying that the UltraChrome carts (which I have 2 full sets and nothing to do with them will work supposedly like the Durobrite inks because they are both Pigment based? Is there anybody else out there making t-shirt transfers with Ultrachrome? Does it hold up under the heat and transfer process. If this is true it might be worth looking into having a second 4880 to to all my regular prints and transfer prints.
So Kenny, are you saying that the UltraChrome carts (which I have 2 full sets and nothing to do with them will work supposedly like the Durobrite inks because they are both Pigment based? Is there anybody else out there making t-shirt transfers with Ultrachrome? Does it hold up under the heat and transfer process. If this is true it might be worth looking into having a second 4880 to to all my regular prints and transfer prints.
Ultrachrome is just an advanced durabrite ink. They made the change for the photo industry not for the transfer industry. You actually see little difference in the 2 with appareal. Ultrachrome is mostly used with 6- 8 color printers. What you need to think is pigment inks. it can be called lou's pigment as long ads it is pigment ink. Lou
Yes, Pigment inks are the most color fast. I've been using my 9600 for everything. Even T-shirt print outs. I tape 4 -11x17 sheets togeather and run it as a 44" wide print. I just have to be careful that nothing falls in the seams.
Last edited by Rodney; September 23rd, 2008 at 08:44 AM.
Reason: removed sales info as per forum rules
I run everything through my rip. (Ergosoft-Studioprint). It is an expensive way to go, but by far the best quality. I have all my media custom profiled with the included spectophotometer and profiling software. Ergosoft does an excellent job at making use of the fullest potetial of the ink media color gamut, by plotting the maximum color range that you cat get, and reading the print out back in to create a custom profile. I am not promoting Ergosoft, it just happens to be the one I'm most familar with. I have used 2 other rips.
Photo Quality on dark shirts 
