[thingzforsale]

O.K. so here's the deal as most of us here know sublimation ink only successfully bonds to synthetic fibers i.e. "polyester". After making my first couple of shirts it was obvious after washing that the color was fading pretty bad. I was using 50/50 Hanes t-shirts as well as sublimation ink I bought on Ebay (yes the cheap stuff). As well as an Epson 1400 printer with a CISS system and a Sunie heat press (which is of a pretty decent quality considering the $400.00 dollar or so price tag)

So I started researching these sprays which pre treat the fabric so you can sublimate on them. After a couple of days of research I found this spray for $28.00 dollars a bottle and purchased it. I sprayed it on my shirt as instructed and pressed the shirt for 15-20 seconds at 375 degrees. I put the image on my Jet Pro Soft Stretch paper and pressed my white shirt for 30 seconds at 375 degrees. I then washed my shirt the next day and I must say I was impressed with the results. The wash out was minimal and I was very pleased.

I started thinking and I read that some one used White Rain Unscented hairspray to accomplish the same thing but I also saw there was mixed results. So I went to my local CVS and went to the hair care isle and started reading the back of all the hairsprays. After an hour or so of reading ingredients I settled on a can of RAVE 4 MEGA Unscented Hairspray for $3.25 . My decision was based upon the inclusion of these 2 chemicals Vinyl Neodecanote Copoloymer & Acrylates Copolymer. Coploymers bond to the cotton and make it take on permanent synthetic attributes under extreme heat.

So I went ahead and saturated the front of the shirt with this hairspray and repeated the same instructions given to me for the $28.00 dollar a bottle for 16OZ spray. I pressed my shirt just as above and waited 24 hours and washed it the next day. And all I have to say is WOW!! The colors stayed far better than the million dollar spray hands down!!! And after multiple washings it still look amazing!!

So there its is the secret to near perfect sublimation on 50/50 tees. Good luck and please post your comments on this process after you try it yourself, thanks for looking!!!

 

[skdave]

Please post the instruction of the $28.00 stuff. Describe how much you sprayed on the shirt.
I will try it tomorrow.

 

[thingzforsale]

The instruction are as follows...

1. Mist cloth until moist, make sure to cover area of transfer with an even mist.
2. Close heat press and cure for 15-20 seconds at 375 degrees.
3. Open press
4. Place image transfer over coated area on press for 30 seconds at 375 degrees. Remove paper immediately!!

Good Luck!! Thank you for your interest in this post.

 

[taricp35]

Got any pictures of this "WOW" shirt as I have tried several products that are designed to be used to sublimate on cotton and they all sucked so if you have a pic that would be great.

 

[thingzforsale]

I understand your skepticism I couldn't believe it either. I will make a new shirt from scratch and post the before and after pictures shortly.

 

[DAGuide]

I put the image on my Jet Pro Soft Stretch paper and pressed my white shirt for 30 seconds at 375 degrees.

Ray,

Are you using Jet Pro Soft Stretch paper and dye sub ink? JPSS is an inkjet transfer paper that will apply a polymer or adhesive to the garment that seals the ink to the garment.

With dye sublimation, we use a release paper that does not apply a polymer or adhesive. Have you tried the same process with a release paper that is made for dye sublimation?

Mark

 

[thingzforsale]

Please also realize I printed on 50/50 and not 100% cotton maybe I should try 100% cotton and post pictures of the results also. I think that would be a good idea!

 

[thingzforsale]

Yes, I am using Jet Pro Soft Stretch paper which I feel for the price is the best quality you can get. I'm sure many people here would agree...

 

[DAGuide]

Ray,

Maybe you are not understanding what I am asking. Let me rephrase it.

As far as I know, Jet Pro Soft Stretch is an inkjet transfer paper that comes with a glue on the top of the paper that is used to adhere ink that does not have binders in it. In sublimation, we don't use a paper that has glue on it because the ink will turn from a solid state to a gas and lock itself inside the polyester molecules. Thus, when you rub your hand over the top of the sublimated shirt... you will not be able to feel the difference between where the ink is and where it is not on the paper. Unless JPSS recently came out with a dye sub release paper that I am not aware of (which could be the case), you will be able to feel the polymer from the transfer paper - which is what people doing sublimation do not want to feel.

If you like the feel of JPSS, that is great and you should consider using an ink that is made to work with that paper. Sublimation ink is not made to work with that paper and is more expensive in most cases. If you want to do true sublimation work (i.e. can't feel anything), they you are probably going to want to use a different paper - a release paper.

Does that make sense? Again, the manufacturers of JPSS might have come out with a sublimation paper and that might be what you are using. If so, great - please let us know. But if you are using the standard JPSS paper, than you are using the wrong inks with that paper. Don't believe what I am saying... contact the company that you bought the JPSS from and ask them. They will tell you the same thing.

Hope this clarifies some things.

Mark

 

[sandollar]

DaGuide; are we talking only on lites not darks, where you would need to use opaque for solids? The more blogs I read the more confused I get.

 

[DAGuide]

DaGuide; are we talking only on lites not darks, where you would need to use opaque for solids? The more blogs I read the more confused I get.

The process of sublimation really only works on lights garments - not dark garments. There use to be a SubliDark paper that some of the manufacturers would sell (still might be), but it had a really thick and most people did not like it.

Mark