| Section
1B : What
Is Dye Sublimation Transfer? |
What Is Sublimation
Sublimation transfer is a process by which you can use an image
that has been created digitally either by scanning a photograph
or downloading a picture taken with your digital camera or an image
created in a piece of imaging software like Photoshop or Corel and
then printing this image with an Epson desktop printer using special
inks called sublimation inks onto paper. Once the image is on the
paper you place it under a heat transfer press on top of your substrate
and heat the paper until the inks turns to a gas and transfer the
image onto the item you are trying to make.
What Type Of Images Can I Use
Any image that you can get into your computer you can use (subject
to copyright) You can scan it with a regular desktop scanner, you
can create it using many of the available image editing software
type programs such as Corel or Photoshop or you can download the
image from your digital camera.
What Type Of Printer Do I Need
Because of the type of ink that is used you are limited in the type
of printer you can print with. Without getting too technical only
certain types of printheads allow for the sublimation ink to pass
through them so you can only use Epson printers. These are the current
models you can use Epson 900/980, Epson
3000, Eson 7600, Epson 4000, Epson 1280, Epson C84/86, Epson R1800.
You cannot use HP, Cannon or Lexmark Printers they won't work.
What Type Of Ink Do I Use
The ink used in the process is special. It is a mixture of water
and heat reactive dyes our ink is called ArTainium UV + it is only
available for certain printers namely the ones listed above.
What Paper Can I Use
With the wrong kind of paper you will have serous problems getting
the correct colour management. We have tested many different papers
and offer only paper that have been thoroughly tested with our ArTainium
UV + Inks and exhibit excellent performance when used so our advice
is stick to what's being tested after all its more or less the same
price as other papers. We guarantee that our Heavybond Rapid Dry
Paper - Series 1401 will give you the best colour correction and
offer the highest quality at a very competitive price.
What Type Of Heat Transfer
Press Can I Use
There are a multitude of different heatpresses from different suppliers
all have different characteristics it depends on what products you
are going to try and make. Heat presses range from a few 100 dollars
for a small press for doing T-shirts and namebadges to the mid range
presses about 750-1500 dollars which are more robust and allow for
bigger products to be made, to the high end presses which are air
operated and range in size from 15 inches up to a massive 8x4 foot
!! These presses range from a couple of thousand dollars up to a
staggering 50k plus. There are presses for making mugs there are
presses for making plates there are presses for t shirts and murals
there are even rotary heat presses for making huge fabric banners.
Before deciding on which press you need we suggest reading our guide
"Which Heat Press Do I Need" from the main page.
What Types Of Products Can I
Make
First here are the things you cannot
transfer sublimation images too. Anything that is not white or anything
that is not made of polyester or has a polyester coating on it.
Again without getting too complicated the way sublimation works
is that the inks when they turn to a gas will bond to anything that
is polyester so for instance, if you take a 100% white (or another
very light light colour like ash) polyester T Shirt you can transfer
a beautiful image onto it If you take a 100% cotton T Shirt and
try to put the same image onto it the image will rub of as the inks
will not bond to cotton another example is if you take the same
image and try to put it onto a black polyester T Shirt you will
not see the image as the inks are dyes and will only work against
a white background. Now this might seem pretty limiting but believe
me its not, there is a whole range of products out there that have
been designed for the sublimation market 100s and 100s of them many
of which we stock that allow you to put superb high color photographic
transfers onto and customize them for your customer. From small
dog tags and luggage tags to mouse pads to T Shirts to huge 20 square
foot ceramic tile murals it all depends on what your budget is and
what you want to make but there's one thing for sure You will never
be short of ideas in this wonderful sublimation world.
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