I LOVE the idea of sublimating onto cotton. Mainly because i want to make onesies and cotton is the most breathable fabric for babies. BUT its hard finding reviews of FOREVER Subli-Light with this being such a new thing. Also i can tell there are A Lot of hate/biases against cotton sublimation. I'm wondering if people just haven't been trying the new technology and still have old opinions, or if cotton sublimation is fine only for hobbies and not for business purposes.
Brandonttech
The reason you aren,t seeing cotton as much is because it is less costly to make shirts with plastic recycled soda bottles. And who ever said polyester is more breathable? The New athletic manufacturers conning the gullable customers. You couldn,t give polyester apparel away years ago. Why because it is to hot to wear.
AL
AL
I regret not reading this post when it was first posted, but you noted "first hand experience only", so I stayed away LOL.
There's nothing wrong with these dyesub-to-cotton transfers. People just get upset when others believe it's true sublimation when it's not. It's the same concept as using Heat Transfers for cotton, except the dyesub-to-cotton transfers sublimate the inks to the transfer fibers and then the transfer adheres to the cotton, whereas, Heat Transfers use pigment inks (recommended) to dye the transfer fibers and then the transfer adheres to the cotton.
The only difference is the dyesub inks permanently adhere to the transfer's fibers, whereas, the pigment ink does not, and over time pigment transfers will fade. Well, another difference is most Heat Transfers need to be trimmed and the light dyesub-to-cotton transfers don't.
But they BOTH use a transfer that adheres to the cotton. Whether one lasts longer than the other (long term), is still in the air. Depends how the garments are washed. Although, I use JetPro Soft Stretch with pigments inks and have created many designs for my wife's shirts and still look great, well after a year.
Sidenote: Most of these dyesub-to-cotton transfers (that I've read), recommend using Vector art only; not Raster. Dyesub-to-cotton transfers have trouble transferring raster gradients or lighter color areas. They need full-toned colors. Regular Heat Transfers can use Vector and/or Raster art and transfer with no problem.
As far as your concern for the breathability for babies, cotton is the best choice. MOST babies don't drown in sweat, so they don't need polyester to wick sweat away. And if a baby was to sweat in a polyester onesie, I bet they'll be cold because MOST polyester has a tight knit, which will keep the sweat close to its body. It's not like they are out running around where the sweat can wick out and dry fast. LOL
I believe the reason people think they are more breathable than cotton, is because when you sweat, it keeps you cool, so you think air is flowing through the garment when in fact it's your sweat touching the skin. LOL
There's nothing wrong with these dyesub-to-cotton transfers. People just get upset when others believe it's true sublimation when it's not. It's the same concept as using Heat Transfers for cotton, except the dyesub-to-cotton transfers sublimate the inks to the transfer fibers and then the transfer adheres to the cotton, whereas, Heat Transfers use pigment inks (recommended) to dye the transfer fibers and then the transfer adheres to the cotton.
The only difference is the dyesub inks permanently adhere to the transfer's fibers, whereas, the pigment ink does not, and over time pigment transfers will fade. Well, another difference is most Heat Transfers need to be trimmed and the light dyesub-to-cotton transfers don't.
But they BOTH use a transfer that adheres to the cotton. Whether one lasts longer than the other (long term), is still in the air. Depends how the garments are washed. Although, I use JetPro Soft Stretch with pigments inks and have created many designs for my wife's shirts and still look great, well after a year.
Sidenote: Most of these dyesub-to-cotton transfers (that I've read), recommend using Vector art only; not Raster. Dyesub-to-cotton transfers have trouble transferring raster gradients or lighter color areas. They need full-toned colors. Regular Heat Transfers can use Vector and/or Raster art and transfer with no problem.
As far as your concern for the breathability for babies, cotton is the best choice. MOST babies don't drown in sweat, so they don't need polyester to wick sweat away. And if a baby was to sweat in a polyester onesie, I bet they'll be cold because MOST polyester has a tight knit, which will keep the sweat close to its body. It's not like they are out running around where the sweat can wick out and dry fast. LOL
First off, MOST cotton is more breathable than polyester. Depends on the knit used, but cotton has a more open knit than almost ANY polyester.
Secondly, again, cotton IS breathable. The reason sports teams moved to polyester jerseys is because they stretch helluva lot more than cotton and cotton/poly jerseys, they are lighter in weight and they wick the sweat away from the body to the outside, therefore, dries faster. Cotton on the other hand, is heavier and when you sweat, it absorbs the sweat instead of wicking it out, and dries a lot slower and makes the jersey heavier. Believe me, I still have original baseball jerseys that were 100% cotton and when I used to sweat, woowee it was harder to move, got hotter and felt heavier. I also have these newer polyester authentic jerseys, and they are awesome. The only negative is they can freaking snag and rip easy. The older jerseys started to transition to open holes in the cotton/poly, and now they are like an open-knit mesh polyester to help with breathability.
I believe the reason people think they are more breathable than cotton, is because when you sweat, it keeps you cool, so you think air is flowing through the garment when in fact it's your sweat touching the skin. LOL
." i can tell there are A Lot of hate/biases against cotton sublimation"
As Walking Zombie explained, if we can't stay true to the lexicon or dictionary, how can there be meaningful discussion of any kind?
Sublimation is the fusing of the ink into the polyester fiber...a permanate, last forever outcome.
AND...and this is real important. sublimation results in NO HAND.
Those who chatter about sublimating on cotton lose those attributes that make sublimation so incredibly desirable. How many characteristics of sublimation must be lost before it is recognized as an imposter?
My experieince with FOREVER SUBLI and other suggested solutions delivered a product that failed in every way to meet my expectations. So the 'hate' you suggest is the product of repeated disappointment, and the head-slap that follows, "I should have known better. IT IS NOT SUBLIMATION!"
Now YMMV and your expectations and needs much different than mine. So go buy some stuff, press it and wear it about and let us know of your experience.....before to impose the outcome on a helpless child.
And let me add point #3. Poly garments do not absorb sweat. So after wearing the tee for a year and running 25 miles a week, it does not smell like a lost sock in the locker room. Cotton will absorb and retain odor and as soon as the heat RH increases, you know you are wearing a stinky shirt.
WE all have different expectations. For you Faux Poly may be perfectly acceptable and honestly, I hope that it does and you can start providing product in which you can take pride. After all, infants are not going to put the garment to much of a test.
As Walking Zombie explained, if we can't stay true to the lexicon or dictionary, how can there be meaningful discussion of any kind?
Sublimation is the fusing of the ink into the polyester fiber...a permanate, last forever outcome.
AND...and this is real important. sublimation results in NO HAND.
Those who chatter about sublimating on cotton lose those attributes that make sublimation so incredibly desirable. How many characteristics of sublimation must be lost before it is recognized as an imposter?
My experieince with FOREVER SUBLI and other suggested solutions delivered a product that failed in every way to meet my expectations. So the 'hate' you suggest is the product of repeated disappointment, and the head-slap that follows, "I should have known better. IT IS NOT SUBLIMATION!"
Now YMMV and your expectations and needs much different than mine. So go buy some stuff, press it and wear it about and let us know of your experience.....before to impose the outcome on a helpless child.
And let me add point #3. Poly garments do not absorb sweat. So after wearing the tee for a year and running 25 miles a week, it does not smell like a lost sock in the locker room. Cotton will absorb and retain odor and as soon as the heat RH increases, you know you are wearing a stinky shirt.
WE all have different expectations. For you Faux Poly may be perfectly acceptable and honestly, I hope that it does and you can start providing product in which you can take pride. After all, infants are not going to put the garment to much of a test.
polyester is not cheaper than cotton, you can get a cotton shirt for 1-2 Euros while Polyester shirts are usually more expensive. I however love the tri blends. Cotton alone is not really nice because it soaks itself with sweat and can not dry fast enough. Also it wrinkles after washing. Polyester have also downsides such as the light gloss which man dont like and it feels not soft. Thats why i like the Cotton/Poly/Reyon fabrics. They are more expensive but feels much better, super fast dry times, no wrinkles after washing, no shrinking, very soft because of the reyon. Overall nice to wear in summer time. In winter time cotton has not much benefits at all, its not really keeps you warm but many people buy it because they dont know better. I use blends or even wool stuff in winter which is great against oddor and bacteria, keeps you warm ,breathability etc.. Many people have wrong imaginations about cotton and some even claim only thick cotton fabric is expensive and quality which is another BS argument. THe thickness of the fabric dosnt say its more quality.
To your Easy subli light question. I dont like it, i currently testing the product and its very hard to get constant results with it, often small parts are not transfered correctly. When its on it feels not bad, more like thick and sticky plastisol. I also tested the powder method which had better results but the print wasnt as nice, if you watch closely you can see thousands of white dots in the print, i guess the powder coat is to thin for an even coating.
The forever subli light is very bad to work with because you have to hurry up like hell after printing and both methods have the problem that your rollers in your printer will leave smear lines.
To your Easy subli light question. I dont like it, i currently testing the product and its very hard to get constant results with it, often small parts are not transfered correctly. When its on it feels not bad, more like thick and sticky plastisol. I also tested the powder method which had better results but the print wasnt as nice, if you watch closely you can see thousands of white dots in the print, i guess the powder coat is to thin for an even coating.
The forever subli light is very bad to work with because you have to hurry up like hell after printing and both methods have the problem that your rollers in your printer will leave smear lines.
Yes i kind of like the feel of it as i mentioned, feels not bad. The problem of the forever paper is that it ofen just dont work properly, like i said the prints are almost good but only to 95%. There is always a part missing here and there. At least from my experience with this paper. The Polyamid powder method works a bit better but its not perfect as well. Same smearing problems of course. The smearing comes from the tiny rolls pushing the paper down when paper leaves the printer, i have no idea how to block or remove them, im not sure i will try it.
In most tutorials about this forever paper you have to press the shirt within a minute, so there is little time when it comes out the printer.
I tested it with 170 Celsius, maybe i should try it at 180 Celsius to see if the 5% missing parts gets transfered as well but the paper is still very special because it only accepts full tones, so all in all its a very inconvenient method. The powder method is easier. I will see which method has the better washability.
In most tutorials about this forever paper you have to press the shirt within a minute, so there is little time when it comes out the printer.
I tested it with 170 Celsius, maybe i should try it at 180 Celsius to see if the 5% missing parts gets transfered as well but the paper is still very special because it only accepts full tones, so all in all its a very inconvenient method. The powder method is easier. I will see which method has the better washability.
Quick update after the first wash, its a mess! The print totally crapped out at one 30 degree celsius washing cycle, the surface looks awful now and the printed image is totally blurry now. I can not recommend the forever subli light no cut paper at all. The polyamid powder method worked still lookong good and of course the HTV on the same test shirt. Easy subli slightly changed in color slightly but the foil itself is sticking well after first washing cycle, what i expected from such HTV. I will repaet the test every day
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