# World papers 100% cotton dye sublimation paper



## jestjoking69 (Apr 23, 2016)

Does anybody know anything about "world of papers" yellow line for dye sublimation to 100% cotton t-shirts? Their Ebay listing shows for the both whites and darks hundred percent cotton. Has anybody ever tried it?


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Post the link.


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## Sacman (Jan 20, 2014)

Reading from different sources, I have seen people have a lot more success with this than with Reveal S.


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## ZO6 KLR (Jan 8, 2013)

It is not true sublimation. Yet another attempt to sublimate on cotton.


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## Sacman (Jan 20, 2014)

ZO6 KLR said:


> It is not true sublimation. Yet another attempt to sublimate on cotton.


Arguably it is as much sublimation as almost anything we do. Sublimation as we consider it by paraphrased definition is the bonding of the ink to the polyester substrate under high heat and pressure. I know that is short and sweet but it makes my point for me. 

If you go to Walmart and buy a mug, can you sublimate it? Nope.

If you go to your local metal supplier and buy a nice sheet of aluminum and have it powder coated a nice shiny white, can you sublimate it? Nope.

If you buy anything that is not polyester, can you sublimate it? Nope.

So the effort to sublimate to cotton currently takes two forms. One is the Reveal S method which coats a piece of plastic with a ... wait for it ... polyester emulsion which is released where it is in contact with sublimation ink under what? High heat and pressure. The other method essentially does the same thing but with a polyester powder being applied after the print and before the press. 

My point is that everything we sublimate to aside from actual polyester fabric requires some sort of treatment this is absolutely no different except that the treatment is being done during the process instead of before.

I get that this is the T-shirt forums but not everyone on here only does t-shirts. Many do solid surfaces and this is a great source of information for all things sublimation so don't discount those that do. 

Not trying to be rude Mark, you offer a lot of valuable insight on these forums but that one was not well thought out.


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## ZO6 KLR (Jan 8, 2013)

Wade, I understand what you are saying and I made a knee jerk reaction. Let me be more informative.

For people to come on to the t shirt forums and see this topic it can be very misleading. I guess if we were splitting hairs, then yes, it is sublimation to a carrier, film or substrate of sorts. What I was referring to was the true characteristics of sublimation to synthetic fabrics and the qualities one looks for with the sublimation process. No hand, virtually unlimited color gamut and longevity compared to films, powders or whatever voodoo is being peddled as "sublimation".

I would say that this is more of a transfer process using sublimation inks to a cotton fabric and still not the true definition of what we know as sublimation. We all know cotton cannot be sublimated. Well, you can, just not with the desired results. But you CAN sublimate a film that is applied to the cotton. This really isn't any different than your basic transfer method using blue or red grid transfer paper. 

I don't want people being misled and misinformed when it comes to dyesub onto fabrics. These two comparisons are totally different from each other.


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## Sacman (Jan 20, 2014)

Absolutely fair assessment and I get your point.


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## jestjoking69 (Apr 23, 2016)

Thank you Mark and Wade, I'm pretty new to the sublimation game and I've read posts from both of you and I know that you both know a lot more than I do and I want to thank you for what I've learned from you and your posts.
Yes I get your point about true sublimation. And I do agree that yours is the most accurate. And here's the link to what I found on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/321385110580
I was just trying to be helpful because everybody seems to think that Conde is the only one that has a workaround for cotton t-shirts. And I was wondering if anybody else had tried this if so how well did it work?
I also ordered a sample pack from dye press. Because I'm looking to sublimate on some items that nobody around here is offering.
There was also this item offered on eBay called polleyfog. http://www.ebay.com/itm/231913931141
Has anybody here tried it?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

jestjoking69 said:


> Thank you Mark and Wade, I'm pretty new to the sublimation game and I've read posts from both of you and I know that you both know a lot more than I do and I want to thank you for what I've learned from you and your posts.
> Yes I get your point about true sublimation. And I do agree that yours is the most accurate. And here's the link to what I found on eBay Sublimation Printing on Cotton T Shirts Light Fabric Heat Press 11x17 25 Sheets | eBay
> I was just trying to be helpful because everybody seems to think that Conde is the only one that has a workaround for cotton t-shirts. And I was wondering if anybody else had tried this if so how well did it work?
> I also ordered a sample pack from dye press. Because I'm looking to sublimate on some items that nobody around here is offering.
> ...


But the Conde product you are talking about is not the same as other "solutions" out there.

The "workaround" for "sublimating to cotton" has always been out there. This even goes back to the late 80's.

You will either coat the cotton t-shirt with a polymer chemical, typically a liguid, then let it dry, or you will transfer a clear polymer "sticker" transfer. 

These "stickers" can even be conventional t-shirt transfers that are just printed with either sub ink or sub toner. The most common term for this is called "prepping". 

Now having said all that, what Conde is offering is different. When one is doing conventional "prepping" as I described above you lose the real advantages of sublimation, no hand and no outline "box". The prep material leaves it's artifacts behind, some more so than others.

What Conde is offering is claimed to be weedfree, that means there is hand only in the design area and no "box" in the un-printed areas.

I'm not commenting on what Conde is offering as I haven't tried it, but the conventional "prepping" only gives you the same thing a regular inkjet or laser transfer does using standard inks/toners. A transfer with a box effect and hand. On white using some transfer papers like JPSS or "Ironall for lights" you won't see the box or feel the transfer on a white t-shirt after the first wash. 

So with these 2 conventional papers sublimation "prepping" makes no sense to me unless it is "weedfree" and you use it on non-white t-shirts. 

Either "prepping" or using a conventional inkjet/laser transfer you are going to see the "box" on a light color other than white.

Currently the only good weed-free paper that is wash durable enough is ImageClip for laser light. Conde's new Reveal paper _might_ be a good competitor to the product, just need to watch how it evolves.


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## jestjoking69 (Apr 23, 2016)

Thank you that makes a lot of sense


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

The ebay listing is just another ruse, I like how they say it's okay with a hand iron and then that it must be used with a heatpress!
It's only for lights anyway and dearer than subli-cotton which uses the very process that mike says is true, applying a polyester powder after printing, and the key factor is ? Light Only.
They are advertising the sublimation on dark not with their own super brand of new paper, but 3G opaque, so no change there.
One day,, one day,, we are going to have a polyester based White toner that can go through any laser printer that can be printed over an image of dye-sub ink! this is going to completely be a game changer. Now where did I put my chemistry set.


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## jestjoking69 (Apr 23, 2016)

You can borrow my chemistry set haven't used it since I was 5 LOL there's some things in it that they don't sell anymore


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## EmulateGlobal (Jan 9, 2018)

Does anyone know if the 100% cotton dye sub paper is available in rolls for large format dye sub printers? 
Does this paper work similar to the traditional dye sub transfer paper or what is the "technology" behind this to allow it to work? 

I look forward to any feedback.


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## STPG Press (Jul 6, 2015)

EmulateGlobal said:


> Does anyone know if the 100% cotton dye sub paper is available in rolls for large format dye sub printers?
> Does this paper work similar to the traditional dye sub transfer paper or what is the "technology" behind this to allow it to work?
> 
> I look forward to any feedback.


Dye Sublimation onto cotton fabric... (I'm going to say this slow)... does. not. exist.

If you have to add a poly film to the top of a cotton garment and you press onto that poly film an image with sublimation inks, what you have done is press a poly transfer on top of a cotton garment; just as if you had used any kind of transfer paper.


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