# Sublimating iPhone, Blacks are Faded. HELP!



## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

Good Morning,

I have recently started sublimating on iPhone cases. My current setup is as follows:

Workforce 30 CISS Printer, with Gercutter Dye Sub Ink.
Royal Sublimation Paper
Heat press at 400 Degrees, 37 Seconds.

My problem is that my blacks are not coming out vivid or strong. They are brownish at times. Sometimes the images come out faded as well. 

Please advise. Also I am considering purchasing a workforce 1100 with CISS. Which ink should i use? Pigment or dye sublimation ink?


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## T Industry (Mar 22, 2010)

Ive the same problem, its probably the china metal sheets...doesnt matter what ink you use...


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

Is it possible to fix this by spraying a polyester coating over the metal insert? Like digicoat?


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## T Industry (Mar 22, 2010)

I dont know. My feeling says no cozz you always put it in pockets etc. Thats why it is fading i think! But ive read Conde has quality sheets...


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

Well my issue is also when i print on my sub paper, the blackd are brown. When i transfer whatever the colors are on my paper it will be the same on the insert. Ive tried pressing with the film on the insert and without. I get diff results, with the film it appears glossy without it leaves fibers/residue from the paper. I get ok results with light colors but they could be more vivid.


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

T Industry said:


> I dont know. My feeling says no cozz you always put it in pockets etc. Thats why it is fading i think! But ive read Conde has quality sheets...
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using TShirtForums app



Have you tried the conde inserts? What are your experiences?


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## T Industry (Mar 22, 2010)

No just Chinese...


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## Scooooter (Mar 17, 2007)

I use the conde inserts & have no problems.


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## Albie1 (Sep 2, 2009)

Same here I use Conde inserts no problems...


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

Scooooter said:


> I use the conde inserts & have no problems.


Do you also have the WF30 Printer and ger cutter ink? Any advice you can give me as my blacks turn brown when printed on sublimation paper and also when transfered. Thank you


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## Scooooter (Mar 17, 2007)

jigstafari said:


> Do you also have the WF30 Printer and ger cutter ink? Any advice you can give me as my blacks turn brown when printed on sublimation paper and also when transfered. Thank you


I have an epson 4800 and use their regular transfer paper. You've done a nozzle check and everything's fine? Other items are printing fine?


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

Scooooter said:


> I have an epson 4800 and use their regular transfer paper. You've done a nozzle check and everything's fine? Other items are printing fine?


Nozzle Check is fine. 

Here is an example of my latest printed image. As you can see the black is faded, but light colors do well.

Image

http://i.imgur.com/ZoXNZ.jpg


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## Scooooter (Mar 17, 2007)

This is one I just did. Coloring came out great. Looks blurry because I took a low res pic of it - it's nice & crisp.


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## Scooooter (Mar 17, 2007)

You are using Conde's inserts?


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

Scooooter said:


> This is one I just did. Coloring came out great. Looks blurry because I took a low res pic of it - it's nice & crisp.


How does your printed image on the sublimation paper come out? Do they come out different on paper and vivid/crisp on the aluminum sheet?


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

Scooooter said:


> You are using Conde's inserts?



I am using, a chinese insert. Maybe that's the problem.


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## Scooooter (Mar 17, 2007)

Yes....they are much more vivid on the metal than on the sheet. On the sheet the colors are pretty dulled down. 

I wish I could help you more. Sorry you're having these issues, I know how frustrating it can be believe me!


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## Scooooter (Mar 17, 2007)

jigstafari said:


> I am using, a chinese insert. Maybe that's the problem.


I bet that's your problem. Call Conde - ask for Derek Domagala if you don't have a sales rep there. Been ordering from him for years - stand up guy.


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## headfirst (Jun 29, 2011)

What is the makeup of your black? 100%CMY+0%K will appear as black on the screen but print as a muddy greyish brown.

Check your levels, eye dropper some of the black in your image and see what the makeup is. 

It sounds like a prepress issue.


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

headfirst said:


> What is the makeup of your black? 100%CMY+0%K will appear as black on the screen but print as a muddy greyish brown.
> 
> Check your levels, eye dropper some of the black in your image and see what the makeup is.
> 
> It sounds like a prepress issue.


Ok I used the eye dropper tool and here is the current config on a test image.

C: 75%
M: 68%
Y: 67%
K: 90%

Should i change the black to 100%?


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

headfirst said:


> What is the makeup of your black? 100%CMY+0%K will appear as black on the screen but print as a muddy greyish brown.
> 
> Check your levels, eye dropper some of the black in your image and see what the makeup is.
> 
> It sounds like a prepress issue.



Ok So here is a comparisson. 

The image on the right is darker in terms of black. I changed the cmyk settings of that to 100% on K. C was at 90%. The image on the right was a stock image and was printed on regular settings. It's still not deep black or vivid. Please advise. Also if you notice, the black is blotchy.


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## Albie1 (Sep 2, 2009)

Are you printing on the correct side of the paper I printed some mini basketball rims and printed on the non bright side of the paper and my black was brown and the image was blotchy like yours....


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

Albie1 said:


> Are you printing on the correct side of the paper I printed some mini basketball rims and printed on the non bright side of the paper and my black was brown and the image was blotchy like yours....


Yes, I believe so. Also according to my paper supplier, if i printed the image on the incorrect side, the difference is only 5% in color.


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## Albie1 (Sep 2, 2009)

When I print on the wrong side it's night and day diff..


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## Scooooter (Mar 17, 2007)

Albie1 said:


> When I print on the wrong side it's night and day diff..


Mine as well and those blotches are what I get when I print on the wrong side. Make sure you are printing on the side that is a bright white. (what kind of paper are you using?) Sometimes I have to kind of gently fold my paper over so I can compare the two sides & figure out which one is the side I should be transferring on. 

Again, I'd also get away from those china inserts. I know Conde waited longer than other suppliers to bring them in because they did not want the china inserts. If you do business with them, they have a fantastic tech support department. Vicky & Andy are great & will help you thru this too.


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## jemmyell (Jan 26, 2010)

Hi,

If you are using a desktop class printer and inks you REALLY need to be designing in RGB. ALL desktop printers that run on windows are RGB devices even if they use CMYK ink sets.

A REALLY dark black will be R(0) G(0) B(0)

-James


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## jigstafari (May 1, 2012)

Scooooter said:


> Mine as well and those blotches are what I get when I print on the wrong side. Make sure you are printing on the side that is a bright white. (what kind of paper are you using?) Sometimes I have to kind of gently fold my paper over so I can compare the two sides & figure out which one is the side I should be transferring on.
> 
> Again, I'd also get away from those china inserts. I know Conde waited longer than other suppliers to bring them in because they did not want the china inserts. If you do business with them, they have a fantastic tech support department. Vicky & Andy are great & will help you thru this too.



The paper i use came from eBay. Royal sublimation brand? I ordered some inserts from conde, want to try them out and maybe get some paper from best blanks.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Lets see - you are using CMYK color values instead of RGB. Getting paper from eBay. Inserts from China.

You would save money by sending me $250 and scraping the entire idea. 

Dye sub is something you typically cannot do professionally gluing together the least expensive components together. You need to find a single source vendor where that is able to provide you the ink, paper, inserts, ICC profile, etc to get professional results. With as little ink and paper one uses in making an iPhone case what do you really save trying to glue together all these cheap supplies?


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## Artsplace-CBR (Feb 22, 2007)

I have no problem, I use the Ricoh GX3300N printer & the Iphones form RPL. They turn out great.
Oh yes and the TexPrint-R paper made for Ricoh.


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