# Sublimation time on Car sun shade



## MrsShoe (Oct 5, 2012)

Hi,

I'm pretty new to sublimation. I purchased some blank sublimation suitable car sun-shade visor. The type you use on the side windows if you have a child.
Can anyone advise what I'm doing wrong !
I'm printing using a Richo SH3110 printer, paper is sublimation Trupix paper. Print / image is very clear so I assume everything is ok so far.
The supplier (visors) advised me to heat press at 180 degrees for 80 seconds at tight pressure.
I converted 180 to 350 Fahrenheit and pressed for 80 seconds.
Yes the image appears on the sun visor but not as solid / sharp as on the paper that I printed. Also the image is still on the paper a too. Should the entire image not transfer on to the visor and the sublimation paper appear blank ?
Any advice will be appreciated. It is better to take advice from the pros rather than waste product and ink .


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

The image on your paper should be dull looking before printing. Let it dry for a few hours before pressing it onto your fabric. My first guess is that you are printing on the wrong side of the paper. Even after printing you will have an image on the paper left over, it doesn't all transfer over. Second problem might be that your visor isn't really all that suitable for sublimation. You need polyester or a polymer coating if a hard surface. Lastly, the issue might be seams causing too big a gap between the layers of your press. If you can't raise the print area above any seams you will need a teflon pillow or some vapor foam from Conde which will fix that issue.


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## MrsShoe (Oct 5, 2012)

Thank you for your extremely fast reply.

Ok, I only waited 20 mins between printing and heat press stage, so I need to look at your advice and leave for a few hours.
The sublimation paper supplier told me to print on the sharp white side of the paper ( the other side is dull). No instructions on the actual box of paper. 
I checked the sun visor and it says 100% polyester. I bought from a very reputable supplier here in the Uk. So I assumed they were good quality.
I will take you advice re the possible gaps between heat press etc. I thought about using an old mouse matt underneath. 
Do you agree with the the temperature and length of time ?
Thanks again for your advice.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

Polyester should be able to handle 400°F for about a minute but I don't want to see you ruin any more blanks. A mouse pad will work bringing up the area, just make sure you re-adjust your pressure to accommodate the higher area. What you can do, now that you have a ruined blank is to reprint on that with different parameters. Maybe make some small samples to print and press them one at a time until you find the sweet spot setting.

Also, put the mousepad down first, then the material, then the sublimation paper with the image facing down and then a plain sheet of copy paper on top of that. You can also prepress for about 10 seconds to make sure there isn't any moisture interfering with the transfer.


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## rimcountrygraphi (Sep 20, 2012)

You said that you are using sublimination paper and a Ricoh printer, are you using Sublimination ink?


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## MrsShoe (Oct 5, 2012)

Thank you for your tips. 
Yes I'm using sublimation ink (expensive). Sawgrass brand. 
When you say, "wait a few hours between print and heat press", would 6 hours be sufficient time ? 
I'm away now to search for my old mouse matt.... Keep the advice coming folks...


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

1 or 2 hours is fine. Make sure the humidity isn't high and keep your paper out of sunlight and other UV lights when not in use. When you put the mouse matt down make sure to put paper under the mouse matt and put the image side downward, otherwise the picture on the pad could end up on your shade.


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## LEO (Oct 10, 2006)

Are these the ones that come all folded up with small suction cups?

I found it tedious to tape to paper and then flip over... so this last time I laid the transfer down on press FACE UP and positioned the sunshade where I wanted it.

Covered with several sheets of butcher paper.
400*
60 secs
HEAVY PRESSURE.
=========
I considered elevating with a teflon pillow.;.but isn't necessary.
Just HEAVY PRESSURE.

LEO


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

Trupix is a general purpose paper. I'd use TexPrint, which is made for fabrics. It has a medium-high release, so more of the dye is transferred.

I don't wait between printing and pressing for sublimation, and have good results. But this might be a humidity thing -- I live in SoCal where it's not usually that humid. I wait long enough for the ink to dry, which is about a minute, then go for it.

On Trupix the brighter side is the printing side. But you can always double-check by wetting your forefinger and thumb, and grabbing a corner of the paper. The side the sticks the most is the printing side.

Okay, all this said, dye sub inks are NOT ultraviolet safe. They will fade in sunlight over time. I've never understood sublimating sunscreen shades or similar products that are made for use on a car in full sunlight. (Tee shirts worn outside are okay, but these shades are designed to be out in the sun all day.) It's a customer complaint waiting to happen. 

If you want to print on sunscreen shades, you ought to use UV-stabilized pigment inks, and do a regular heat transfer. Most pigment inks are UV-stabilized, though even they will exhibit some fading after a while. Or better yet, get a small cutter and make these out of heat press vinyl and UV-safe fabrics.


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## MrsShoe (Oct 5, 2012)

An update:
I have managed to perfect the personalized car sunshades.
380 for 80 seconds, using an old mouse matt under the sun shade. Perfect every time. 
At the moment I'm not too worried about fading as I'm based in Europe, wet weather most of the year and little direct sunshine. 
Thank you to all replied to my post and helped me along the way.


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