[Julie Erskin]

Hi all!
I'm a newbie on here and I am so confused! I have been reading your posts for months now and still can't figure out the best route for me. However, your forum has provided me with much needed information! So glad I found this forum.

First off, I am new to the business. I have been working as a dropshipper of sublimated items for several years and finally decided to start making the items myself. So, while I'm not new to the concept, I am new to the production end.

I just bought a Hotronix Fusion press, (I was using a very cheap hobby model previously) and I am currently using Chromablast paper and ink on 50/50 t-shirts. The pink and white t-shirts I do come out fine but the gray t-shirts have a yellow-ish film where there was no ink. Can anyone tell why? And I have been reading about using Claria ink with the Chromablast paper, will this fix my problem with the gray shirts? Did I waste a lot of money on these 50/50 t-shirts?
Also I plan on buying the Epson 1400 soon ( I am using a Epson C88 right now) and want primarily to do sublimation.. so what ink and paper would be my best bet?

Cost isn't a HUGE issue, I just want to put out the best product that I can. I have some suppliers tell me that if sublimation is all I am interested in then I don't need to buy special inks, just use the ink that comes with the printer, is this right??

I want to produce t-shirts, aprons and other like fabrics. And I want to sell Unisub and Chromalux products. So can anyone tell me in a nutshell what exactly I need to buy in order to accomplish this? Thanks so much for any help!

 

[Nick Horvath]

Congrats on the Fusion press!!

The pink and white t-shirts I do come out fine but the gray t-shirts have a yellow-ish film where there was no ink. Can anyone tell why? And I have been reading about using Claria ink with the Chromablast paper, will this fix my problem with the gray shirts?
It sounds like the transfer paper is reacting to the dye or something in the Gray T-shirts.

I have some suppliers tell me that if sublimation is all I am interested in then I don't need to buy special inks, just use the ink that comes with the printer, is this right??
This is not correct. You need special ink to do sublimation as well as a printer that uses that type of ink.

I'm sorry, but I cannot help you with your other questions. Hopefully someone will.

Good luck.

 

[Julie Erskin]

Thanks Nick, I appreciate your help!

 

[EnMartian]

Chromablast is designed for 100% cotton. If the cotton content is less than 100%, the design will transfer less than 100% and may have other issues.
However, with that said, Chromablast is a transfer, using a transfer paper, which uses a transfer film for the ink. Whether it is noticeable or not, the extra film on the paper where there is no ink does indeed transfer to the pink and the white shirts, but due to the color of the shirts, is not as noticeable. I do know for a fact from experience with Chromablast that the gray shirts will allow the film to be much more visible than on white.
Perhaps this is what you are seeing, and there may well be an additional reaction occurring as suggested by Nick.

My recommendation for doing sublimation and Chromablast - 2 Ricoh GX7000 printers, one with sublimation ink, the other with Chromablast ink. It's the most headache free with the most capabilities, and while not the cheapest solution, is far from the most expensive, and gives you the most options. We'd be happy to talk with you further offline if you wish.

 

[Julie Erskin]

Hi Kristine,
Thanks for your response, I appreciate it. The Ricoh GX7000 looks like a great printer, I didn't even consider that one until now. I would love to talk more with you Kristine. I see you are from Traverse City, I live in Greenville, about 3 hours south of you. My e-mail is [email protected]
Thanks!

 

[EnMartian]

The 7000 is a terrific printer. We really like all the Ricoh printers. They've been working quite well for our customers.

Since you're so close to us, it would be possible to set up an appointment for a demonstration. I will e-mail you with more details.