# beginner dye sub question - aluminum water bottles



## charlotteandmia (Oct 14, 2010)

hi there!

I just made my first dye sub printed aluminum water bottle (using an UltraWrap and my oven!) this afternoon and while I am thrilled that I figured out the mechanics of it, I'm not thrilled with the results.

my image came out very blurry (though on the transfer paper it looked great, nice and crisp) and I am not sure what contributed to this:

* was the oven too hot?
* was the wrap pulled too tightly?
* was it in for too long? (I had it in for 13 minutes)

I've added 2 photos of the bottle to illustrate what I'm talking about.



















I am trying to decide whether I want to really invest in dye sub materials so that I can produce these on my own, or whether I should find someone to whom I can outsource the production (those whom I've found so far are either too pricey, have poor customer service, take too long, charge too much for shipping, etc).

I'd love some feedback, thanks so much!


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

I just got done making 23 aluminum water bottles. Try making sure your wrap is very tight but not so tight that is crushes the bottle. I found out that if I tightened it until there was just enough room to slip a 7/16" wrench tip in between the two metal parts of the wrap it was just right. Then you want to make sure that your paper is taped down securely to the bottle and cover it with teflon or clean copy paper. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees farenheit and put them in the oven for 5 minutes. Mine came out perfect every time. The images were crisp and clear, not smudged.


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## jpkevin (Oct 22, 2007)

You had it in the oven too long. You can see that by how blurry the image got. After the perfect time, the dyes will continue to migrate around, and that gives you the blurry look. Like the last poster said, start around 5 minutes for those bottles.


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

For a 600ml white aluminum bottle, I suggest
8 minutes / 400 degrees.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

Conde_David said:


> For a 600ml white aluminum bottle, I suggest
> 8 minutes / 400 degrees.


The instructions on your website say 5 minutes. Mine came out perfect with 5 and I did both white and gray bottles.


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Thanks. Your right.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

Conde_David said:


> Thanks. Your right.


I don't have so many customers that I don't have to go back to your site every time and look up the printing instructions. I try to write them down each time so that I have a handy reference in the print room and I just did this last weekend. 

I've tried cooking aluminum and stainless steel bottles & mugs for 8 minutes and they scorched really badly. But the 5 minute time came out perfect.

Thanks again for having so much useful information on your website.. I spend a lot of time there.


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## chlab (Feb 8, 2010)

Can you please explain to me what the UltraWrap is and how you did these water bottles in the oven? Did you have to use a specific paper or printer? I have a heat press and do custom personalized preppy tee's and other gifts, but I would like to be able to do the aluminum bottles myself b/c the 3rd party I'm using is costing me too much money. I would love to know there is an easier and less expensive way to do the aluminum bottles.

Thank you!!


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

chlab said:


> Can you please explain to me what the UltraWrap is and how you did these water bottles in the oven? Did you have to use a specific paper or printer? I have a heat press and do custom personalized preppy tee's and other gifts, but I would like to be able to do the aluminum bottles myself b/c the 3rd party I'm using is costing me too much money. I would love to know there is an easier and less expensive way to do the aluminum bottles.
> 
> Thank you!!


The oven you see here is the small convection oven that I got a Walmart for less than $100. The wrap is the next picture. The next pic is of the wrap on an aluminum bottle and the last pic is the wrapped bottle in the oven.

In order to do this kind of printing you need: water bottles from Conde, an inkjet printer (I have an epson c88+), sublimation ink in that printer, sublimation paper, heat resistant tape, a wrap, and an oven. Oh and a wrench to close the wrap tightly and a pair of oven mitts or heat resistant gloves (I used ovegloves). You print the image on the sub paper in your sub printer with your sub ink and let it dry for about an hour. Then you place it print side against the bottle and tape it down, cover this with either plain copy paper or a teflon sheet tape that down, wrap your wrap around the bottle and tighten it down so that you cannot budge it on the bottle, but not so tight that you crush or bend the bottle, turn your oven on and preheat it to 400 F degrees, once hot, place wrapped bottle in oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, immediately remove the wrap (be careful it's very hot), drop it into a bowl of cold water to stop the printing process, remove the paper and there you go. 

It's easy, but it will cost you. The oven = $90; the printer = $90; the paper = $20; the sub ink = $310; the wrap = $45-75; the mitts = $19 each; tape = $4; the bottles = $4.69 each...

You cannot use your home oven because the dyes are turned into gasses and you don't want that stuff getting on your food.


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## Imaginations (Jul 10, 2010)

charlotteandmia said:


> hi there!
> 
> I just made my first dye sub printed aluminum water bottle (using an UltraWrap and my oven!) this afternoon and while I am thrilled that I figured out the mechanics of it, I'm not thrilled with the results.


I'm in a very similar position. Did it end up working out for you or did it end up making more sense to outsource it? Have you tried plates and bowls and such? I'm looking at that too.
Thanks! Any help would be appreciated!


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## Iconify (Nov 21, 2009)

Wow, I cant imagine going thru all that to sublimate water bottles and mugs.

I purchased a mug press off ebay for way less than that oven setup runs. It looks identical to the ones all the distributors sell but I could actually afford it.

Initially there wasn't enough adjustment to clamp tight enough around the bottles so I took it apart and added a second set of mounting holes - works perfect. 

I can pump out bottles one after the other without the use of one of them sleeves. Its a good idea to handle them with a mitt when taking them out of the press to cool.


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## mn shutterbug (Mar 19, 2009)

Iben, I noticed you suggested letting the ink dry for an hour before printing. When I print mugs, the print goes straight from the printer to the mug in less than 5 minutes with no problems.


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## jiarby (Feb 8, 2007)

Hey Loretta....

Did you sneak in and take that picture in my shop? I have that exact same setup!

I got lucky and picked up the oven on Craigslist, brand new in the box, for $30. They guy got it as a door prize at a golf tournament. I wish I could roast a chicken in it with the rotisserie thing!


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## Battlebrew (Feb 8, 2017)

I am wanting to order the heat sleeve for water bottles to experiment in my oven. What size and brand would you recommend?


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