# Equipment to start dye sub....?



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

I want in. First post here....Looking to get into dye sub T-shirts/promo products. Thinking about just having fun trying it out at first and then maybe jump into a business if the water is good.

I have done some homework on this and have come up with a list of things I want/need......

PC (already have)
Graphics software (GIMP/Inkscape to start maybe Corel or Adobe later)
Epson 1430 printer
ArTainium UV+ ink (carts to start)
Transfer paper
Press
Mug wraps
Assorted blanks
Scanner

Any basic advice.....tips? How far will that get me?

Thank you so much in advance......


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

Hello...? 107 views....

Anyone..?


----------



## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

you pretty much have what you need to do sublimation.


----------



## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

captainkbt said:


> I want in. First post here....Looking to get into dye sub T-shirts/promo products. Thinking about just having fun trying it out at first and then maybe jump into a business if the water is good.
> 
> I have done some homework on this and have come up with a list of things I want/need......
> 
> ...


I marked up in your questions above.


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

Excellent information.....thats what I was looking for.

Thank you very much.....


----------



## uncletee (Feb 25, 2007)

check out condes website and sign up. they have great videos of each of there products and how to sublimate them. think outside the box for sublimation, find a niche that no one else dose. we print lots of ceramic and unisub hardboard tiles for the gift industry. message me if you need futher help, good luck uncletee.


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

uncletee said:


> check out condes website and sign up. they have great videos of each of there products and how to sublimate them. think outside the box for sublimation, find a niche that no one else dose. we print lots of ceramic and unisub hardboard tiles for the gift industry. message me if you need futher help, good luck uncletee.


Thank you uncletee for your reply. 

Ive researched this stuff several years ago, but got sidetracked on a good job opportunity. Now thats drying up and Ive revisited the dye sub field. Ive researched every day for about a month now and Ive looked at Condes videos. With a few limitations it seems the sky is the limit pretty much on things to sublimate. Im also very interested in the ceramic fire on decals but that is another process and another can of worms. I would like to start with dye sub and move on to other processes to enhance an image printing business.


----------



## mmonk (Oct 23, 2011)

Save all that money...invest in quality USA made heat press, mug press and/or mug sleeves and buy your dye sub transfers for pennies on the dollar from a vender and save the headache of buying inks,supplies, upkeep of printer and costs associated with owning dye sub set up.


----------



## headfirst (Jun 29, 2011)

captainkbt said:


> Mug wraps


If you're using wraps you'll need an oven too.


----------



## mmonk (Oct 23, 2011)

headfirst said:


> If you're using wraps you'll need an oven too.


Touche'...


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

By the time I buy wraps and a convection toaster oven, I can probably buy a decent combo mug press for a little more.....


----------



## headfirst (Jun 29, 2011)

captainkbt said:


> By the time I buy wraps and a convection toaster oven, I can probably buy a decent combo mug press for a little more.....


Find out what you're going to be selling. A wrapped mug and a mug press mug are different. Few mug presses on the market can wrap an image from top to bottom without voids. 

Can you do it with a mug press? Sure, most of us do. Just don't get a cheap one, you'll end up regretting it.


----------



## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

Wraps and ovens provide better scaling. The mug presses are useful in on-demand settings like local fairs, because they're quicker. I'd stay away from the bargain mug presses. A $30 wrap (with $50 convection oven from Costco) can produce the same results as a $500 mug press.


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

Thanks for the response. What would you recommend? Wraps and or presses. I would like to do some travel/latte mugs too.


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

GordonM said:


> Wraps and ovens provide better scaling. The mug presses are useful in on-demand settings like local fairs, because they're quicker. I'd stay away from the bargain mug presses. A $30 wrap (with $50 convection oven from Costco) can produce the same results as a $500 mug press.


Thanks. Maybe I will just do the wrap and oven bit like I thought originally and save up for a good press when/if I get some demand.


----------



## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

captainkbt said:


> Thanks. Maybe I will just do the wrap and oven bit like I thought originally and save up for a good press when/if I get some demand.


If your oven is big enough you can do more than 1 at a time so the speed advantage of a press may not be there. For example 4 mugs at a time for 20 minutes = 5 min avg time per mug.

If you are doing live events or live retail and a lot of "one-offs" then a press is quicker. I have both wraps and 2 presses. If I am not working in "realtime" I prefer the wraps.


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

Thats great since it will fit right into my planned start up since I wont be doing live realtime events. I was thinking that the wrap and oven was just the hobbyist or poor mans way.

Great info.....I will put a couple more wraps and an oven on my list. Is there a different paper for oven vs mug press?


----------



## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

captainkbt said:


> Thats great since it will fit right into my planned start up since I wont be doing live realtime events. I was thinking that the wrap and oven was just the hobbyist or poor mans way.
> 
> Great info.....I will put a couple more wraps and an oven on my list. Is there a different paper for oven vs mug press?


 
Same paper, oven or press.


----------



## uncletee (Feb 25, 2007)

we do lots of ceramic sub tiles. good luck uncletee.


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> _Epson 1430 printer _
> _*Suggest the WF7010. You only need 4 colors for sublimation, more cost starting up with additional inks and more maintenance costs due to extra heads to clean and more probabilty for clogged nozzels with more printheads.*_
> 
> 
> ...


 

I ordered my WF 7510 today. Now the inks....

I am going to order my dye based inks from a particular non-OEM supplier that I understand we cant mention. And I was going to order the refillable ink carts (code 126 for this printer) from the same supplier but ran across some refillable code 127 carts on Amazon for cheaper. Supposedly the "code 127s" are a higher capacity. Does it really matter much or should I stay with the 126s from the same supplier?


----------



## pineimages (Apr 11, 2011)

I've had some good experiences with Conde, The support is very good and they have their own color profiles to use that does make a difference, you get the profiles for free if you buy a printer, although nothing is free you pay for it with the costs, I bought a Ricoh 7700 and am glad I did for the quality I see compared to some others, It was much less an investment than my Roland VS-300 printer was for sure.


----------



## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

captainkbt said:


> I ordered my WF 7510 today. Now the inks....
> 
> I am going to order my dye based inks from a particular non-OEM supplier that I understand we cant mention. And I was going to order the refillable ink carts (code 126 for this printer) from the same supplier but ran across some refillable code 127 carts on Amazon for cheaper. Supposedly the "code 127s" are a higher capacity. Does it really matter much or should I stay with the 126s from the same supplier?


Carts don't care about the inks.


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

I know Im probably asking some dumb questions. Im not familiar with the carts with "resettable chips", thought that might have something to do with ink manufacturer.....


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

I want to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. I have sublimated my first item and it went smooth and I think it came out great for a first sublimation. Didnt really have any problems at all. No doubt it would have been much more complicated without all the great input from this forum's knowledgable members.

For a first attempt, I thought I might do something easy and do a basic photo mug with the kids on it and give it to mom to get her on board this sublimation business. Ive seen a bit of eye rolling when I talk about it.


















I finally went with the EPSON 7510 printer, that "other" ink that we dont mention, purchased refillable carts, paper from Cobra, wraps and mugs from Conde, cheap convection oven from Walmart that is taller than most others at half the price.

I didnt install and use the ICC profile from my ink vendor. I thought it came out pretty good despite. Skin tones might be a slight bit washed out but hard to really tell.


----------



## captainkbt (Mar 3, 2013)

pineimages said:


> I've had some good experiences with Conde, The support is very good and they have their own color profiles to use that does make a difference, you get the profiles for free if you buy a printer, although nothing is free you pay for it with the costs, I bought a Ricoh 7700 and am glad I did for the quality I see compared to some others, It was much less an investment than my Roland VS-300 printer was for sure.


My first experience with Conde wasnt that great. One item I ordered was not in stock yet but I was still able to order it and pay for it. That resulted in a call from the salesperson at Conde to ask if I still wanted it. Gotta ask why I was able to order and pay for an item that was not available. This whole process delayed the process about a week. But the salesperson was nice and they promptly called to work out the situation and it was promptly shipped after. But I can see a problem if I happened to need a quick order for a business transaction.


----------



## Humerus (Nov 10, 2012)

Don't use gimp - I tried that for months until I realized the awful colors I was getting were due to GIMP and not a profile issue.


----------

