DYE SUBLIMATION
The dye sublimation process is actually a versatile way of printing. It can be used on a wide variety of printing media, such as paper, fabrics, plastics and cardboard. This process of printing is known for yielding smooth, high quality and photographic printouts.The Dye Sublimation Printing Process
The dye sublimation printing process works almost like the way thermal printing does. The dye ink used in this printing process is initially in a solid state, contained on a cellophane ribbon. Heat is an important component in this printing process; it is used to "melt" the dye off the ribbon. Unlike in thermal printing, where the ink is actually melted to a liquid state before it is allowed to bind with the printing medium, the dye ink sublimates and completely bypasses the liquid state when heat generated by the thermal printer head is applied to it. From its solid state, it transforms to gas and disperses on the printing medium. Printing using dye sublimation is done in layers of color. The primary colors cyan, magenta and yellow are spread upon the printing medium one layer after another. The gas inks then dry and solidify upon the medium. Once these layers of color are put on the medium, a layer of laminate is coated upon the printout. What this layer of laminate does is to protect the integrity of the printout, as well as to shield it from discoloration caused by the air and by ultraviolet exposure. Dye Sublimation as Compared with Inkjet Printing The dye sublimation process holds certain advantages over inkjet printing, which is another common printing technology used with wide-format printers. Dye sublimation works great with photographic printing because it creates natural-looking images, which inkjet printing is sometimes unable to produce. Dye sublimation is also a much cleaner printing process than inkjet printing. Because the dye does not enter the liquid state, there is less likelihood of the printer head getting clogged with dried printer ink. On the other hand, inkjet printing can produce sharper and clearer images. Even with the protective coating, images created with sublimated dye can appear blurry compared to those made with inkjet printing. The gaseous state by which the dye needs to be in order to bind with the medium makes it difficult for dye sublimation to work with uncoated paper. It is clear that dye sublimation printing with wide-format printers have their advantages and disadvantages. Whatever these are, this printing technology nonetheless provides a nice alternative in creating printouts.
© Copyright
Picture Perfect Products 2010
Picture Perfect Products 2010
HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR INK?
The type of ink that you use is more important than the PRINTER
You did read that right ! The type of ink that you use is more important than any brand of printer that is used. Think about this: many printers use a type of ink that is very water soluble and allows it to wash out very easily. Because of this fact, we strongly suggest that you read this page very closely.
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Inkjet Printers and Inks
All printers used for heat transfers are standard, off-the-shelf printers. There is nothing special about any of them. Most printers (despite any manufacture claim) print just as good as any other printer, for heat transfer printing.
Four General Ink Types
* Regular, OEM inks that are included with new printers
* Heat Transfer Inks, especially made for heat transfer work
* Archival Inks, some of which are also good for heat transfers
* Sublimation Inks
________________________________________________________
Facts About The Four Ink Types
Regular, OEM Inks – The regular inks made for some of the printers are actually decent (the Epson C88, R230 and the Epson 1290 are quite good. Some are not very good at all, because they wash out so easily (unfortunately, this includes a great number of HP and Cannon printers). What’s important to remember is that OEM inks are not made to print heat transfers. They are specifically made for printing regular paper.
If you own an inkjet printer, and want to use it, then the only smart thing to do is to test the ink that is in your printer. Print a transfer with it, heat transfer it to a shirt and wash it. If the results don’t please you, they certainly won’t please your customers.
Heat Transfer Inks – These are inks specifically formulated for vibrant color, able to withstand the high temperatures of heat transferring and with excellent resistance to water. They are nearly always cheaper, than regular OEM inks in cartridges. They are especially cheaper, when used in a CIS (Continuous Ink System).There are many inks on the market. We offer our own excellent brand of heat transfer inks: *PERFECT INK* . There are others (some with really wild claims). If you are not sure about the company, ask for a printed sample. Any company worthy of your business should be willing to provide some kind of small sample (we do). If they won’t send one, why should you take a chance?
Archival Inks – These inks were actually developed to produce much longer lasting photographic prints (regular inks fade relatively quickly), but some use them for heat transfer work. We confess to not knowing a lot about the different types of archival inks but mention them in the interests of balanced and complete information.
It is quite odd that we have noticed the fact that so many that use archival color inks; say they use regular black ink. It seems that, for whatever reason, regular black inks wash better than many archival black inks. We don’t know why. As always, before you make any investments in an unknown, we suggest that you get a small printed sample.
Sublimation Inks – These highly specialized inks are normally used to transfer directly into the polymer coating of specialized sublimation items and directly into the fibers of polyester. These inks do work with our Picture Perfect Lightwear commercial grade heat transfer papers because the inks can bind with the polymer film that is transfered to the shirt. Please note that sublimation inks do NOT work well when used with Qpaque transfer paper for the dark garments.
Pure sublimation is an entirely different type of decorating process than heat transfers and is mostly used for products other than shirts. We don’t suggest this ink for just shirt heat transfers (mainly because of costs) but, because of very high resistance to water, it is excellent for sublimators, who just need to knock out a few cotton shirts.
________________________________________________________
Practical Ideas
The best printer and ink to use is what fits your needs and your budget. There is no best way. There is only the way which is best for you.
If your budget is really tight, don’t spend your last dollar on equipment (you will need some money to buy shirts too). Instead, start smaller and get an inexpensive printer, like the Epson C88 or R230, which use decent regular inks, a pack of our Picture Perfect heat transfer paper, the best heat press that you can afford and you will have a good start.
Work hard and smart and save part of your profits to get “bigger and better”, when you can afford it.
Although, we all want the very best, we wouldn’t be a good supplier or friend, if we encouraged you to be equipment rich and cash poor. You need to be practical.
On the other hand, if your budget allows you to start off on a more professional level then definitely consider our Perfect Ink and CIS delivery system .You will quickly recoup your initial investment costs and be producing shirts with a superior image.
We mentioned archival inks above, but you will have to learn about that on your own. We have no opinion, either way, except that we obviously chose to offer a top-quality heat transfer ink, rather than archival inks.
Sublimation inks, as we suggested, should really be considered primarily for its specialized decorating uses and then used for the occasional cotton shirt, if needed.
____________________________________________________
The facts about regular inks
Because we work a lot with the Epson C-88, R230 and 1290, we don't know about all the other printers because there are just too many for us to test every one. However, we can give this advice-
* Be very careful about selecting “all-in-one” printers or printers that have all of the colors in one cartridge. One color always seems to run out faster than the others, requiring replacement of the entire cartridge. This will get expensive real fast.
* An "ink status monitor” should pop up on your screen, just before you start to print. It supposedly shows the current ink levels in your cartridges. This information is only a guide, not the whole truth. Printers use a pre-deturmined page count and can not see the ink level, so, Always keep spare cartridges on hand.
The last tips are about " nozzle checks" and " head cleanings". Information about both is in every inkjet owner's manual. Learn what it is, how to do it and when you should do it. It’s important! Our best advise is doing fewer head cleanings is best.
_______________________________________________________
Inkjet Printers and Inks
All printers used for heat transfers are standard, off-the-shelf printers. There is nothing special about any of them. Most printers (despite any manufacture claim) print just as good as any other printer, for heat transfer printing.
Four General Ink Types
* Regular, OEM inks that are included with new printers
* Heat Transfer Inks, especially made for heat transfer work
* Archival Inks, some of which are also good for heat transfers
* Sublimation Inks
________________________________________________________
Facts About The Four Ink Types
Regular, OEM Inks – The regular inks made for some of the printers are actually decent (the Epson C88, R230 and the Epson 1290 are quite good. Some are not very good at all, because they wash out so easily (unfortunately, this includes a great number of HP and Cannon printers). What’s important to remember is that OEM inks are not made to print heat transfers. They are specifically made for printing regular paper.
If you own an inkjet printer, and want to use it, then the only smart thing to do is to test the ink that is in your printer. Print a transfer with it, heat transfer it to a shirt and wash it. If the results don’t please you, they certainly won’t please your customers.
Heat Transfer Inks – These are inks specifically formulated for vibrant color, able to withstand the high temperatures of heat transferring and with excellent resistance to water. They are nearly always cheaper, than regular OEM inks in cartridges. They are especially cheaper, when used in a CIS (Continuous Ink System).There are many inks on the market. We offer our own excellent brand of heat transfer inks: *PERFECT INK* . There are others (some with really wild claims). If you are not sure about the company, ask for a printed sample. Any company worthy of your business should be willing to provide some kind of small sample (we do). If they won’t send one, why should you take a chance?
Archival Inks – These inks were actually developed to produce much longer lasting photographic prints (regular inks fade relatively quickly), but some use them for heat transfer work. We confess to not knowing a lot about the different types of archival inks but mention them in the interests of balanced and complete information.
It is quite odd that we have noticed the fact that so many that use archival color inks; say they use regular black ink. It seems that, for whatever reason, regular black inks wash better than many archival black inks. We don’t know why. As always, before you make any investments in an unknown, we suggest that you get a small printed sample.
Sublimation Inks – These highly specialized inks are normally used to transfer directly into the polymer coating of specialized sublimation items and directly into the fibers of polyester. These inks do work with our Picture Perfect Lightwear commercial grade heat transfer papers because the inks can bind with the polymer film that is transfered to the shirt. Please note that sublimation inks do NOT work well when used with Qpaque transfer paper for the dark garments.
Pure sublimation is an entirely different type of decorating process than heat transfers and is mostly used for products other than shirts. We don’t suggest this ink for just shirt heat transfers (mainly because of costs) but, because of very high resistance to water, it is excellent for sublimators, who just need to knock out a few cotton shirts.
________________________________________________________
Practical Ideas
The best printer and ink to use is what fits your needs and your budget. There is no best way. There is only the way which is best for you.
If your budget is really tight, don’t spend your last dollar on equipment (you will need some money to buy shirts too). Instead, start smaller and get an inexpensive printer, like the Epson C88 or R230, which use decent regular inks, a pack of our Picture Perfect heat transfer paper, the best heat press that you can afford and you will have a good start.
Work hard and smart and save part of your profits to get “bigger and better”, when you can afford it.
Although, we all want the very best, we wouldn’t be a good supplier or friend, if we encouraged you to be equipment rich and cash poor. You need to be practical.
On the other hand, if your budget allows you to start off on a more professional level then definitely consider our Perfect Ink and CIS delivery system .You will quickly recoup your initial investment costs and be producing shirts with a superior image.
We mentioned archival inks above, but you will have to learn about that on your own. We have no opinion, either way, except that we obviously chose to offer a top-quality heat transfer ink, rather than archival inks.
Sublimation inks, as we suggested, should really be considered primarily for its specialized decorating uses and then used for the occasional cotton shirt, if needed.
____________________________________________________
The facts about regular inks
Because we work a lot with the Epson C-88, R230 and 1290, we don't know about all the other printers because there are just too many for us to test every one. However, we can give this advice-
* Be very careful about selecting “all-in-one” printers or printers that have all of the colors in one cartridge. One color always seems to run out faster than the others, requiring replacement of the entire cartridge. This will get expensive real fast.
* An "ink status monitor” should pop up on your screen, just before you start to print. It supposedly shows the current ink levels in your cartridges. This information is only a guide, not the whole truth. Printers use a pre-deturmined page count and can not see the ink level, so, Always keep spare cartridges on hand.
The last tips are about " nozzle checks" and " head cleanings". Information about both is in every inkjet owner's manual. Learn what it is, how to do it and when you should do it. It’s important! Our best advise is doing fewer head cleanings is best.
BUSINESS PACKAGES
HEAT TRANSFER PRESSES
HEAT TRANSFER PRINTERS
HEAT TRANSFER INKS
HEAT TRANSFER PAPERS
SUBLIMATION PRESSES
SUBLIMATION PRINTERS
SUBLIMATION INKS
SUBLIMATION PAPERS
SUBLIMATION BLANKS
SUBLIMATION MUGS
SUBLIMATION CERAMICS
BLANK PRODUCTS
BLANK COTTON T-SHIRTS
HOW TO VIDEOS
PHOTO GIFT SAMPLES
DEMO MODELS
FINANCE INFORMATION
HEAT TRANSFER PRESSES
HEAT TRANSFER PRINTERS
HEAT TRANSFER INKS
HEAT TRANSFER PAPERS
SUBLIMATION PRESSES
SUBLIMATION PRINTERS
SUBLIMATION INKS
SUBLIMATION PAPERS
SUBLIMATION BLANKS
SUBLIMATION MUGS
SUBLIMATION CERAMICS
BLANK PRODUCTS
BLANK COTTON T-SHIRTS
HOW TO VIDEOS
PHOTO GIFT SAMPLES
DEMO MODELS
FINANCE INFORMATION
