It's a dye not an ink so you can't print on darks.
Sawgrass always used to make the best inks in my day. There is a good forum at dyesub.org you may also want to check out conde.com.
help
hello everyone. i need help. I've been printing t-shirts for a short time using the old ways of silk screening. i want to learn all i can about sublimation. i was given an epson stylus 1400 for free with a continuous ink system. where do i go from here? here are my questions
-can i print to dark shirts and what paper is recommended?
-can i use white ink for prints onto dark? or does it matter?
-what is the best ink to use and where can i get it?
-is there a dummy book for me? ha ha
please help before i go crazy
-can i print to dark shirts and what paper is recommended?
-can i use white ink for prints onto dark? or does it matter?
-what is the best ink to use and where can i get it?
-is there a dummy book for me? ha ha
please help before i go crazy
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
Sawgrass always used to make the best inks in my day. There is a good forum at dyesub.org you may also want to check out conde.com.
Hi Brandon. Biggest restriction with sublimation is that you can only print onto polyester tees. Sadly sublimation ink will just wash clean out of cotton. The poly tees tend to be more expensive than cotton tees, with only about four pastel colours available.
To print white ink onto darks, you need to use textile ink as there is no white sublimation ink available. Textile ink has a tendency to clog though.
To print white ink onto darks, you need to use textile ink as there is no white sublimation ink available. Textile ink has a tendency to clog though.
thankyou. any recommendations. direct to garment machines are way to expensive. i've read from vendors that theres certain inks or dyes to use in general. but all this is confusing. getting tired of old school and searching for something new
If you want to print onto darks, you only have three choices. Dtg, screenprint, or inkjet transfers.
thankyou for the quick response. im seriously lost. one more question is what is dtg?
Dtg = Direct to garment. Basically a modified inkjet printing that prints direct onto fabric, via a sliding platen under the machine.
thanks again for the info
Here is what you need:hello everyone. i need help. I've been printing t-shirts for a short time using the old ways of silk screening. i want to learn all i can about sublimation. i was given an epson stylus 1400 for free with a continuous ink system. where do i go from here? here are my questions
-can i print to dark shirts and what paper is recommended?
-can i use white ink for prints onto dark? or does it matter?
-what is the best ink to use and where can i get it?
-is there a dummy book for me? ha ha
please help before i go crazy
If the printer and the bulk ink system have been used before (if they had ink in them) you need to either find out what kind and brand of ink where used and keep on using them or flush both completely with either cleaning solution or distilled water (don't use tap water).
On an Epson 1400 your only options for ink are either AR Tainium or Sublijet IQ, both are made by Sawgrass. Go to Sawgrass Technologies - Home and look up a local dealer or look in the suppliers section of this forum.
The ink supplier will probably also be a good source for dye sublimation paper. Keep in mind that there are 2 main types of paper on the market: hi release papers are best for pritning on fabric while bond papers such as truepix are best for hard substrates.
Once your printer is loaded with dye sublimation ink and dye sublimation paper you simply print your images as you would print them on a regular printer.
The final step is to position a polyester t shirt (100% is best however poly/cotton blends with at least 50% poly will work, Just keep in mind that the color only penetrates the poly fibres permanently) on the lower surface of your heat press with the printed paper on top. Press the shirt for 30 seconds at 400F.
A few extra pointers:
- if you get a double image (ghosting): either the fabric shrunk in the press or the paper shifted when opening or closing the press.
- Don't forget to "mirror" the images before you print
- Make sure your ink supplier gives you ICC profiles and instuctions on how to load them
- Black and darker colored shirts will not work... with dye sub you are "dying the fabric" not "coating or painting it" so the color will mix in with watever color in in the fabric to begin with rather than covering it
- never mind of the colors on the paper don't look good, they will change when you press
- in dye sub the color is generated in the heat press: even temperature and pressure are absolutelly a must for good and well developed color actross the image.
Have fun!
Milabix
thanks for the info. i will look into thisHere is what you need:
If the printer and the bulk ink system have been used before (if they had ink in them) you need to either find out what kind and brand of ink where used and keep on using them or flush both completely with either cleaning solution or distilled water (don't use tap water).
On an Epson 1400 your only options for ink are either AR Tainium or Sublijet IQ, both are made by Sawgrass. Go to Sawgrass Technologies - Home and look up a local dealer or look in the suppliers section of this forum.
The ink supplier will probably also be a good source for dye sublimation paper. Keep in mind that there are 2 main types of paper on the market: hi release papers are best for pritning on fabric while bond papers such as truepix are best for hard substrates.
Once your printer is loaded with dye sublimation ink and dye sublimation paper you simply print your images as you would print them on a regular printer.
The final step is to position a polyester t shirt (100% is best however poly/cotton blends with at least 50% poly will work, Just keep in mind that the color only penetrates the poly fibres permanently) on the lower surface of your heat press with the printed paper on top. Press the shirt for 30 seconds at 400F.
A few extra pointers:
There are a lot of other things that could happen, however these are the basics.
- if you get a double image (ghosting): either the fabric shrunk in the press or the paper shifted when opening or closing the press.
- Don't forget to "mirror" the images before you print
- Make sure your ink supplier gives you ICC profiles and instuctions on how to load them
- Black and darker colored shirts will not work... with dye sub you are "dying the fabric" not "coating or painting it" so the color will mix in with watever color in in the fabric to begin with rather than covering it
- never mind of the colors on the paper don't look good, they will change when you press
- in dye sub the color is generated in the heat press: even temperature and pressure are absolutelly a must for good and well developed color actross the image.
Have fun!
Milabix
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
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