# Clothing Sublimation Problems - STAINS



## MSHDZ (Sep 2, 2011)

Hello,
We are new to clothing sublimation and are currently having some problems. We have a Muthoh RJ900 Digital CMYK Printer for which we are using both sublimation inks and paper recommended by the printer provider. We are sublimating the paper to the garnments in a 36" by 56" heat press at 178°C for 45 seconds. The pieces come out looking good but in some we get *huge stains* in Cyan or Green (depending on design), we have cleaned the press and are very carefull when manipulating the paper but the problem keeps returning.
Have any of you faced this problem? How did you solve it?


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Welcome to the forum. We also use an RJ900 without issue. To better assist you there is really more information needed. The best thing to do is post a picture. Although the RJ900 has crudy paper handling it provides us bullet proof printing everyday. You can also email me at mark@riderzready.com


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

A few things to consider 
Your printer profiles, The paper you are using, The kraft paper you are using to assist with outgasing. 
Please PM me for a few more ideas.


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Pre press the garment for 30 seconds and
See if the stains appear.

Can you see them on the transfer paper
after transfer?


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## MSHDZ (Sep 2, 2011)

Thanks for all your posts! We were able to figure out the solution, as mentioned the kraft paper we were using did not provide us enough stability, we have now switched to a thicker type of paper and the problem dissapeared! Thanks!


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Not sure if you are doing premade shirts or cut and sew but I still get amazed of all the post reporting the different layers of butcher/craft paper, teflon etc. For cut and sew we use nothing really on the top or bottom. We simply have a couple sheets of fabric on the down side to protect the metal but that is it. We use Beaver tacky paper and it is virtually impossible for ink to migrate onto the top of the press. Also is great as if by chance you get ink on the back side it will not migrate onto your substrate. To actually change paper on the bottom and top of a press in a production environment would be a near death experience. On the flip side if you are doing premade apparel blow through is an issue and we typically put a buffer between the front and back of the shirt. Beaver tacky is not the least expensive paper to buy but overall it is the cheapest as it eliminates all of these ink migration issues with no effort.


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## conde tech (Nov 15, 2007)

Can you see anything on the transfer? Lint roll the shirt and press with nothing but plain paper on the shirt. Do the stains still appear after that?


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## RUSSOCOLI (Nov 7, 2008)

Hi there. Thanks for the helpful people in this forum. I also have stain problem using my newly bought Mutoh RJ 900. The stains are scattered all over with no specific shape. Wr suspect it to be finger stains during handling or smudge during layering of paper. The ink recommended seems to remain wet or powdery even after 3 days of natural drying, which makes stain on paper unavoidable. We tried blowing with air to dry not effective and ray-like stains even appeared around letters. We use 190°C for 60 secs. Hope anyone can share his solution. Thank you.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

Still wet after three days?!?! Something's not right there.

Irregular brownish splotches may be sweat. When the salts in sweat get heated they turn brown. Most of the time they'll wash out, though you might have to pre-treat them to be sure. The best way is to avoid it. I have to wear a headband when I work.


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## RUSSOCOLI (Nov 7, 2008)

Yes. After 3 days, you can still get color stain when you rub the print with cloth or with your finger. We did not experience this with our epson that uses other sub ink brand but same paper. So i suspect the ink to be the problem but we are not allowed to use non-Mutoh ink. We tried reducing ino density but drying is still a problem even if we use hair blower. We encounter this problem when we print cut and sew panels with white background graphics. We also noticed that the ink smudge when printing on parchment paper, which is ok to print using our other brand of ink.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

I am assuming you are not located in the USA. Never ever heard of anyone using parchment paper for dye sub. Second, at least here in the states, Mutoh branded dye sub ink used to be Sawgrass ink relabled. Here in the states Mutoh no longer sells dye sub ink under their own name. 

Regardless ink should not be wet coming off the printr. Maybe slightly for colors like black but even that should be minimum.


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## uncletee (Feb 25, 2007)

all great info, thanks, learn something everyday. uncletee.


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