# First Attempt at Dyesub



## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Here are a couple of license plates I just did. It took a few mistakes, (forgot to flip, and bad colors) but I think I'm on the right track.


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## veedub3 (Mar 29, 2007)

nice job. Love the image of the birdie


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## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

It's a very good start Dan!


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Thank you both for the replies. These are going to be for display and I hope to be ready for Biketoberfest here in Daytona Beach.

dan


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

DaytonaDan said:


> Thank you both for the replies. These are going to be for display and I hope to be ready for Biketoberfest here in Daytona Beach.
> 
> dan


Nice work.


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## Boomerbabe (Sep 5, 2009)

I'm about to get into dye sub myself. What tips to you have from one newbie to another?


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Boomerbabe said:


> I'm about to get into dye sub myself. What tips to you have from one newbie to another?


I can only answer from my situation, but this is what I've found out so far. Unemployment sucks! I'm doing this so I can turn my love of photography into food and other necessities of life. I'm starting on a shoestring which means I have to buy the best I can afford and not the best out there. That said, this is what I've learned so far.

I have the Epson WF 1100 and bought prefilled, refillable carts from Cobraink. Very good deal on the ink and with his ICC profiles and a little tweeking, my photos come out pretty close to what I see on the monitor. I wish I could afford a better printer for the photos. If this works, I'll get another Epson (I think it's the 2880) for better photo quality.

Practice makes perfect. I hate to use up materials, but rarely does anything work right the very first time. So far, most of my mistakes have been in the printing so I'm only out ink and paper, not too bad. 

Read and study! I'm sure you already know this forum is a wealth of information. I came here because I'm doing t-shirts also, but there are many facets of the business covered here.

Daytona is an event city. Everyone charges an arm and a leg for set-up space. I found a guy who will let me set up in his parking lot for free. The idea is, if people stop to look at my products, they may go into his store, too. It's not in downtown Daytona, but on a main drag with plenty of exposure.

So, after all the rambling, it sums up to research, practice, and get the best equipment you can afford. 

dan


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## Boomerbabe (Sep 5, 2009)

And from one Floridian to another, yes unemployment sucks!!! Thank you for the info. I hope you do spectacularly well.


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## dim116 (Nov 27, 2006)

You should be able to set your printer to always be on mirror image (in case you forget)
I have mine set up this way. When you select your printer, under properties go under page layout
and there should be a mirror image box there. Check this box & it should automatically print it in mirror.
I don't use the WF1100 but I'm assuming it would be the same.


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

dim116 said:


> You should be able to set your printer to always be on mirror image (in case you forget)
> I have mine set up this way. When you select your printer, under properties go under page layout
> and there should be a mirror image box there. Check this box & it should automatically print it in mirror.
> I don't use the WF1100 but I'm assuming it would be the same.


 
By Jove, you're right! Thank you. I never saw it. 

dan


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Boomerbabe said:


> And from one Floridian to another, yes unemployment sucks!!! Thank you for the info. I hope you do spectacularly well.


Thank you. Boomerbabe - does that refer to your generation? I was born in '54 so I know it well. lol

dan


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

We have a WF1100, but I reverse the image from Photoshop. 

Either way should work.


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

selanac said:


> We have a WF1100, but I reverse the image from Photoshop.
> 
> Either way should work.


 
I also use Photoshop, but since this printer will, at least for now, be my dyesub printer, all the images will be reversed. It makes sense to let the printer do the flip. One less thing a fifty-seven year-old has to remember. lol Also, I won't have to re-flip when I make changes. Cool!

dan


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Nice job regardless if this was your first project. To me a professional photographer has some advantages just starting out. Instead of creating the old run of the mill t-shirt, mouse pad, etc you can really do some unique things most of us cannot. Once you get comfortable with consider moving to tiles and other types of dye sub that does not have the competition low margins shirts, etc have these days.

Continued success


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## Boomerbabe (Sep 5, 2009)

DaytonaDan said:


> Thank you. Boomerbabe - does that refer to your generation? I was born in '54 so I know it well. lol
> 
> dan


Yes, yes it does LOL.


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Riderz Ready said:


> Nice job regardless if this was your first project. To me a professional photographer has some advantages just starting out. Instead of creating the old run of the mill t-shirt, mouse pad, etc you can really do some unique things most of us cannot. Once you get comfortable with consider moving to tiles and other types of dye sub that does not have the competition low margins shirts, etc have these days.
> 
> Continued success


 
Thank you very much. I'm going to get a mug press, hopefully by next week. Plus I have seen some great media on Conde's site. These are for demos, but I'm going to do custom, one-of-a-kind photos for people. Like this:


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Boomerbabe said:


> Yes, yes it does LOL.


 
Like fine wine . . .


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

Awesome Start Keep it up.


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

skdave said:


> Awesome Start Keep it up.


Thank you very much. From the responses here, I'm on the right track and I'd like to thank everyone here because even though I haven't posted much, I have read extensively. It's been with the help of the people here, that I got my start. 

Shirts, inks, printers, business and advertising ideas. A lot of information needed by someone just starting out and a lot of answers, all from the great people here. 

Type a question in the search box, and you're sure to find an answer. If not, just ask, and it'll be answered. How cool is that? Like going to school without the tuition.

dan


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## dim116 (Nov 27, 2006)

We have been doing sublimation for around 12 years now & there are lots of nice items to do. We currently sell approx 40 different items. We also do a lot of license plates but surprisingly one of our biggest sellers is quilt squares. We buy the white polyester material from Walmart or a fabric store by the roll & print photos on different size squares for people to sew into quilts or wall hangings.

Larry


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

Dim116, how did you get into doing that?

I didn't know they did that.


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## dim116 (Nov 27, 2006)

selanac said:


> Dim116, how did you get into doing that?
> 
> I didn't know they did that.


We set up in craft shows/flea markets at times. So we made a small wall hanging as one of our samples. When people saw the quality of the photos on the white polyester material they were amazed. Ever since then we have built up a following & the word gets spread around by word of mouth. We don't actually make a wall hanging or quilt for them we just provide whatever size square they want for their project.
We press at 400deg - 45-50 secs - light pressure.


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

dim116 said:


> We have been doing sublimation for around 12 years now & there are lots of nice items to do. We currently sell approx 40 different items. We also do a lot of license plates but surprisingly one of our biggest sellers is quilt squares. We buy the white polyester material from Walmart or a fabric store by the roll & print photos on different size squares for people to sew into quilts or wall hangings.
> 
> Larry


 
Can you tell me more about the material you buy? Name, brand, what I should look for?

dan


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## dim116 (Nov 27, 2006)

DaytonaDan said:


> Can you tell me more about the material you buy? Name, brand, what I should look for?
> 
> dan


The material I use is white & is called polyester Poplin.
I used to buy it at Walmart but they no longer carry it in my area so I get it from a fabric store a few hours away now.
Maybe they still carry it in your area though.
Any polyester material will be good to use.

Larry


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

dim116 said:


> The material I use is white & is called polyester Poplin.
> I used to buy it at Walmart but they no longer carry it in my area so I get it from a fabric store a few hours away now.
> Maybe they still carry it in your area though.
> Any polyester material will be good to use.
> ...


Thank you. I'll check it out.

dan


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## tchase65 (Sep 23, 2009)

Hi Larry,

I am just curious. Do you have to do anything special when cutting the fabric to avoid fraying on the edges? Do you have to leave extra space around the printed photo to allow for this?

Thanks!
Tina


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## jkern24251 (Aug 9, 2011)

Tina, 
I don't know about the polyester for certain, but most fabrics may begin to ravel slightly. These squares are sewn together to form a quilt 'top'. Most people sewing these will use one-half to three-quarters of an inch of material on all sides of the piece. When something else is on the 'square', there is usually a border around it. How much will depend on the size of the square. I hope this gives some idea of an answer.
Best wishes,
Johnny


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

I checked Jo-ann's. They ranged from $4.99 to $9.99 per yard.

Is that high?

We could also use regular transfers to cut cost


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Be sure and test the poly fabric for dye migration before you use and sell it. Some fabrics from craft stores have chemical treatments which can cause migration over time. To be safe you should purchase from places that sell poly in rolls specifically for sublimation if you don't want to wait an extended period of time required to test for migration, could be many weeks before the migration is obvious.


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## jkern24251 (Aug 9, 2011)

I think that would depend on how you would want to cut, print, and price the squares. If you make squares 12" square, then you would have 9 sqares per square yard of material. If printing cost you another $1 each and you priced each square at $5.00, you stand to make approximately $25 if you paid $9.99/yd. Nine inch squares would make you 16 squares/yd, 6" squares would make you 36 squares. Of course the more squares you have, the more your printing will cost. I think you get the idea.


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## dim116 (Nov 27, 2006)

mgparrish said:


> Be sure and test the poly fabric for dye migration before you use and sell it. Some fabrics from craft stores have chemical treatments which can cause migration over time. To be safe you should purchase from places that sell poly in rolls specifically for sublimation if you don't want to wait an extended period of time required to test for migration, could be many weeks before the migration is obvious.


I have not found any dye migration with the Poplin material we use. I have a wall hanging that I printed 5 or 6 years ago which still looks the same. I have not tried any other type so I can't say it won't happen on those.
Regarding frayed edges. Yes, it does fray on the edges when cutting but we always leave a couple of inches so the customer can hem it in before sewing into their quilt material.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

dim116 said:


> I have not found any dye migration with the Poplin material we use. I have a wall hanging that I printed 5 or 6 years ago which still looks the same. I have not tried any other type so I can't say it won't happen on those.
> Regarding frayed edges. Yes, it does fray on the edges when cutting but we always leave a couple of inches so the customer can hem it in before sewing into their quilt material.


I use poly from the Walmart and craft stores for color matching testing and such. I've noticed over the years from scraps laying around that I had tested some photos and such on some was blurring very badly. In my case it doesn't matter as these are tests. I usually get the rolls at Walmart but sometimes from craft and fabric stores.

I guess the key here is to try and find a brand that works and stick with it. Walmart is always changing vendors on stuff they sell.


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## tchase65 (Sep 23, 2009)

Thanks for all the info on cutting/fraying and border space - very helpful!

I just saw that Conde has a special on this month for Hanes Softlink Material (polyester front, cotton back) for $3.60 a yard. 

When I searched the forums, someone mentioned liking this fabric for doing dye sub quilt squares. I am thinking about getting a few yards to test out. Their yard is actually 60" x 36", so pretty fair price (and you can get 15 squares per yard if doing the 12" x 12" size). 

Of course, to some, this might not be worth it with added shipping costs unless you are planning to order other items....


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## mamrayz (Jun 14, 2011)

those look great


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Thank you, Angie.


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

tchase65 said:


> Thanks for all the info on cutting/fraying and border space - very helpful!
> 
> I just saw that Conde has a special on this month for Hanes Softlink Material (polyester front, cotton back) for $3.60 a yard.
> 
> ...


 
Softlink was developed for the clothing market, so what is the reason you want to use it for quilting squares?


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

skdave said:


> Softlink was developed for the clothing market, so what is the reason you want to use it for quilting squares?


It is perfect for quilting - we print some squares for a friend that quilts for a hobby. It is heavy and prints well.


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

Thanks Mark.
I looked at the Conde site and could not find it. Please direct.


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