# Sublimation Ink



## Powerboss (Jan 5, 2017)

INK question

I have decided to go with an epson1430 printer.


Do I use sublimation ink for 50 cotton / 50% polyester shirts?

Do I use the same sublimation Ink for 100% polyester (Dry-Fit) shirts?

If yes, what's the best sublimation ink?
What's the best transfer paper?
What's a good CISS module?


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## john221us (Nov 29, 2015)

Powerboss said:


> INK question
> 
> I have decided to go with an epson1430 printer.
> 
> ...


Sublimation requires almost 100% Polyester. You probably need at least 80% and even that would look a little degraded. Sublimation also needs white fabric or nearly white. I have sublimated black on a medium blue and it turned out OK, but any other colors are going to be changed by the background color.

I use Cobra Ink and have been happy with it.

I don't think the brand of transfer paper matters much for sublimation, but probably stay away from unknown stuff on eBay.

Cobra sells CISS kits. It just depends how much sublimation you will be doing. I use refillable cartridges.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

You will get a vintage/washed out look to your design on a 50/50. I would only use 50/50 for that purpose.

You're starting to see a lot of 65/35 or 70/30 poly/cotton blends. Dye sub holds up well on them.

Of course, where dye sub really shines is on a 100% poly garment.

There is only 1 type of sublimation ink so you would use it on all your poly content garments.

There's no 'best' sublimation ink. Many here use Cobra.

I like TexprintXP-HR. It is a high release paper so more of your ink gets to the shirt. It's a bit more expensive than other paper, but 1 test comparing it to normal paper and you'll be convinced.


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## Powerboss (Jan 5, 2017)

Thanks, So what ink do I use for 50/50 that will look good and last?

And what ink do you use for dark colored dry-fit 80 -100% polyester?


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## STPG Press (Jul 6, 2015)

Powerboss said:


> Thanks, So what ink do I use for 50/50 that will look good and last?
> 
> And what ink do you use for dark colored dry-fit 80 -100% polyester?


You won't use the dye sublimation process at all for dark colors. Dye.. "DYE" sublimating is a dyeing process, so the print takes on the colors of the substrate. There is no "white" in a dye sub print. Your shirt or garment would be the only potential "white".

If you're doing dark shirts, you're going to do screen printing, plastisol transfer, vinyl, or heat transfer paper designed for dark shirts.

The same goes for 50/50. Unless you want a washed out look (dye sub ink will only stick to the poly fibers, not the cotton ones). Otherwise, you're back to the list above.


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## Powerboss (Jan 5, 2017)

Damn....Now I'm confused. 

For an epson 1430

What ink do I want for 50/50? Can you point me to a brand / model?

What ink do I want for 100% Poly? Can you point me to a brand / model?

Thanks


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## STPG Press (Jul 6, 2015)

If you want to do dye-sublimation for 100% Poly, 80/20, all on white or light colored substrates, the Epson 1430 is fine. The Epson 7110 is also great, uses few color cartridges and therefore cheaper to operate with no real difference in color quality on apparel.

If you want to do heat-transfer on pretty much all garments, you can also use the Epson 1430 or the 7110...

*BUT...*

You have to have 2 separate printers. You cannot (should not) swap cartridges back and forth due to the contamination of the inks.

With Heat Transfer, you can switch between light shirt and dark/black shirt by changing which heat transfer paper you use.

I have an Epson 7110 that I just bought and also bought Cobra Inks.
I have an Espon 3620 that has the regular inks it came with that I use for heat transfer. 

Hope that clarifies.


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## Powerboss (Jan 5, 2017)

That's beginning to make sense now except this quote:

"If you want to do heat-transfer on pretty much all garments, you can also use the Epson 1430 or the 7110..."

Can you clarify if I do heat transfer on ALL garments no matter what makeup they are (100% cotton - 50/50 - 100% polyester with heat transfer as long as I use the proper ink? I thought I couldn't which is why I thought I had to do sublimation.


Anyhoo:
I was trying to avoid 2 different printers so It looks like for now it's going to be 50/50 T's for now and when I make some money, I'll buy a second printer.

SO..... In order to get the right setup for 50/50 T's. What ink do you recommend knowing I want the longest lasting prints as possible? 

Thanks again for the answers and clarification.


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## STPG Press (Jul 6, 2015)

Essentially, you are matching the inks to the transfer papers. There are quite a few different ones. 

Coastal Business offers sample packs that you can order a few sheets at a time that make experimentation work. I cannot speak for all papers. I use the Jet Pro Soft Stretch (JPSS) for my light colored garments and my Epson 3620 standard inks.

I really don't press on dark colors, but the best paper that I have found is the EasyJet Pro , also from Coastal Business. I will use it more when I get a contour cutter because that paper lays down a white base, thus anything not printed will be white.

Others will likely chime in. The success or fail of all of this is dependent on more though. Pressure, Time, and Heat are very important; as it the particular garments you use. Experimenting with your own equipment and the brands of garments you use will ultimately prove out your success.

EDIT: You can buy an Epson 3620 for around $100.00 so there probably isn't much of a reason not to still move forward with both. Unless of course, money is just that tight. Cheers.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Powerboss said:


> For an epson 1430
> 
> What ink do I want for 50/50? Can you point me to a brand / model?
> 
> ...


There is only 1 type of sublimation ink. It works on any light colored garment that has any polyester in it. The higher the percentage of polyester, the better print you'll get.

There is no white sublimation ink. Because the ink is transparent, your ink color must be darker than your garment. Otherwise the ink will not show on the garment. So any color will print on a white shirt. Theoretically, you can print on a darker shirt, for instance red, or royal, but only by using black or navy or some other very dark color. 

Most here buy from Cobra. Here are some links to your 1430: 

Printer with cartridges filled with ink: https://www.cobraink.com/store/#!/E...ink-set-2oz-btls/p/68505818/category=20214026

Cartridge sets filled with ink (sublimation dye): https://www.cobraink.com/store/#!/C...ation-pre-filled/p/71993399/category=20940123

Ink only: https://www.cobraink.com/store/#!/6-Color-Sublimation-Ink/c/20765053/offset=0&sort=normal

Is there a reason you want to stick with a 50/50?


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## Powerboss (Jan 5, 2017)

Thanks. I think I get it now. I think I'm just going to go with 50/50 T's for now with the Epson 1430 and then when I make some money get into the sublimation stuff.

One question though, What is the best / longest lasting / best quality ink for printing on 50/50 T's?

Thanks a lot for the answers!!!


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Powerboss said:


> Thanks. I think I get it now. I think I'm just going to go with 50/50 T's for now with the Epson 1430 and then when I make some money get into the sublimation stuff.
> 
> One question though, What is the best / longest lasting / best quality ink for printing on 50/50 T's?
> 
> Thanks a lot for the answers!!!


I'd like to put it another way.
Sublimation ink is only good for polyester shirts and materials, The more polyester content the better the image will be 100% = great image, 50% = washed out look. You cannot sublimate anything that is darker than light ash color because sublimating does not print the white base color. (Try writing with a felt tip on any coloured paper, you get the same effect).
'transfer paper' is a misleading term, you are not printing on paper, you are printing on a rubbery vinyl type of surface. Normal printing ink from a printer does not adhere to it for very long, the first wash will probably remove most of it. Pigment ink will last far longer but is still not future proof. likewise with laser. You need to send 'transfer papers' through a cutter (a great starter is the Cameo silhouette, no I don't know of a place to buy it in your area) ideally to cut out the 'printed decal design' then peel it off the backing paper to apply it to the shirt with a heat press.
There are two part transfer papers but that is something completely different and you are not ready for it yet.
DTG is what it says, printing Direct To Garment. yet again that is for your future, not today.
Start off nailing one method of printing garments, Dye subbing on 100% polyester with quality dye sub inks (I only use Sawgrass, others may be cheaper) using a good printer (I use a Ricoh 3110dn, Epsons are cheaper) on good paper (I use Trupix Classic, others are available).
With a dye sub set-up you can print on hard substrates too including mugs with the correct press.
Or getting a cutter and printing on transfer papers like 3g opaque or jpss for example with pigment inks (I use laser) and then applying the cut-out to garments with a heat press.
If you do buy a cutter you can then cut Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) and get good at layering different colours of vinyl to make up your design and also do decals etc for vehicles if you find a call for them.
Bottom line is to do research concerning one application at a time or else you can scramble you brain and get nowhere.


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## barravoxJB (Jan 7, 2017)

There is another option, but it requires the use of a vinyl cutter. You can get some heat-applied "T-shirt vinyl" that will go on blended garments. There are lots of options on the market. With these, you can print using standard ink or sublimation ink, then contour -cut the design or cut it out manually with scissors, if it's a simple one. Then heat press it to the shirt. 
It doesn't have as soft a 'hand' as sublimation. You'll feel the applique on the fabric. But it will give you an option for blended fabric and dark colors. 
Blue, black, pink, whatever.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

STPG Press said:


> If you want to do dye-sublimation for 100% Poly, 80/20, all on white or light colored substrates, the Epson 1430 is fine. The Epson 7110 is also great, uses few color cartridges and therefore cheaper to operate with no real difference in color quality on apparel.
> 
> If you want to do heat-transfer on pretty much all garments, you can also use the Epson 1430 or the 7110...
> 
> ...


I agree with your post except swapping carts and ink contamination. It's not necessary to have 2 printers. It might be better to have 2 printers though. But there are cases where having a single printer for both and swap carts is advantageous.

I have done it (swapped carts) hundreds of times over the years on Epson desktops, zero issues. The ones that have the carts that sit above and that travel with the printheads.

There are no ink lines to hold any inks and the minuscule amount of inks that stay in the printheads are completely flushed out many time over when the printers firmware detects a cart is changed. The printer will do a charge and/or head clean automatically which flushes out the old inks. 

Having said that, the conditions someone might consider cart swapping.

1. You are mostly doing pigment t-shirts and only _occasionally_ sublimate.

2. You are mostly doing sublimation and only _occasionally_ want to do a 50/50 or 100% cotton t-shirt with pigment inks.

3. You are able to "batch" process your sublimation. In this case you are not working in real time (live retail) and can "spool" your orders to process once you have a certain amount of quantity built up. This is how I have worked since I left live retail years ago. I have wholesale customers mostly and they resale my stuff with their art or photos. I typically sub every 3 days or so and space limited with my printers so I have only been using one printer for both.

I think for most people they should have 2 printers. But not because of of ink contamination, swapping carts might cost more if you are not using cheap inks, also it may be more convenient and time saving if you are doing enough of both types (and can't batch) to have 2 printers.

But for anyone that only occasionally does sublimation have a printer sitting around unused you are asking for trouble and you just end up wasting a lot of ink and time if you are only printing every few days only to just keep the sub inks fresh in the print heads. 

But with the newer Epson's now the 3rd party carts reset can cause you to waste a print now when the inks shows "low", it won't let you pick up where you left off in the print if it low ink condition occurs in the middle of a print. So swapping carts you will see this more often.

I'm changing this up a bit now since I have found a HP pigment printer that I like better to print pigments, it's the Officejet 7612, 

My WF7110 is at the end of it's life so I have a WF7610 to replace it.

My plan is to keep regular Cobra dye (non sublimation) inks in it when I am not sublimating on the WF7610 since I do a lot of regular paper printing as well. I also think that dye inks don't clog so easy and I now have a 2 printer setup and don't need the Epson for pigments any more, but I plan on still cart swapping on the Epson.


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## SubCreate (Aug 30, 2016)

Sublimation is typically 100% poly. Sometimes minor blends but not overly crazy as you may have fading and issues with bonding to material.


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## DeanLFregoso (May 28, 2017)

This is a great informative thread. 100% polyester white shirts for dye-sublimation and a dedicated printer with CIS tanks.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

DeanLFregoso said:


> This is a great informative thread. 100% polyester white shirts for dye-sublimation and a dedicated printer with CIS tanks.



Dean, make sure you do more research on the CIS tanks before you buy. A lot of pro and con on this issue but do your research so you have no regrets and lost money. I tried miserably with 2 separate CIS systems to no avail...finally bought the refillable cartridges and never looked back. much easier to maintain and control. But again...research first.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Viper Graphics said:


> DeanLFregoso said:
> 
> 
> > This is a great informative thread. 100% polyester white shirts for dye-sublimation and a dedicated printer with CIS tanks.
> ...


 Great advice.


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