# Microfiber Dye Sublimation



## eruffini (May 5, 2018)

Hello all,

Recently I have started a company focusing on selling microfiber towels, and they've been a huge hit with the community. However, as I've increased the number of sales, I've run into two problems:

1. Lead time for proofs and printing of towels is 7 to 10 days (not bad, but weekends bump that up to 12 - 14 days sometimes).
2. Printing requires an order of 50 minimum pieces, and I am getting smaller orders that require batching or creative purchasing to get done. 

So I've been looking at getting the equipment to do it myself and I have everything picked out that I want after doing tons of research. The only problem is that I don't know what the exact process is for the particular fabric.

Each microfiber towel is 75/25 Polyester and Polyamide blend, with one side being plush (360gsm) and the other side with no pile. Logos and designs are printed on the flat side. I can't seem to come up with a consensus on the heat transfer process...

* Do I use paper larger than the towel (16" x 24" and 16" x 16" towels) to avoid paper marks?
* What temperature have people found success with for 75/25 microfiber?
* Timing?
* Any other tips and tricks? I did read that people used lint rollers to restore the piles (if printed on pile).

Appreciate everyone's time and advice, thanks!


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## customprinted (May 26, 2014)

Ive done my share.of printing and the baseline for me.is.

Use a bigger paper size, you are.correct on the fact that if you use a smaller paper size you will leave a.mark.

If your towel is thick, start with 60 seconds at 200 degrees celcius, then do variations in time more.than in temperature. There is no standard but that is a good starting point. Good Luck

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## customprinted (May 26, 2014)

In regard to the lint rollers, use them they will help you avoid transfer problems regarding loose fabric, it takes one small thread to ruin your investment

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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

customprinted said:


> start with 60 seconds at 200 degrees celcius


Interesting someone from San Diego is quoting celcius.  200 is 390 in the Farenheit world. 

The lint roller is mainly used before you press to remove lint and fuzz. You can do it after the press too but i don't imagine it will help much. A lint roller is no match for 400 degrees under high pressure. 

If you can afford a heat press and printer printing larger than 24 inches, go for it. We can't so instead we try to hide the press lines by creating a solid block of ink the size of our paper and using a different color ink for our design. 

Not sure if polymide is sublimatable. If it's not, know your image will fade a bit when washed.

We use this towel from Sanmar. https://www.sanmar.com/p/6243_White Relatively inexpensive and sublimation holds well at 85% polyester.


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## eruffini (May 5, 2018)

splathead said:


> Interesting someone from San Diego is quoting celcius. 200 is 390 in the Farenheit world.
> 
> The lint roller is mainly used before you press to remove lint and fuzz. You can do it after the press too but i don't imagine it will help much. A lint roller is no match for 400 degrees under high pressure.
> 
> ...


I believe "Polyamide" is actually the same (or close to) Nylon. My understanding that Nylon is just a brand name of certain Polyamide materials.

Had my eyes on a 15" x 15" press but can only print 13" x 19" or 11" x 17" depending on the printer. Since the area of print is a lot smaller than the size of the towel, I might try folding them to fit the paper - though that may make it uneven (with enough pressure maybe it's not a concern?).

I guess I will just have to experiment with the results and see what happens with the paper being smaller than the towels!


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## customprinted (May 26, 2014)

I use celcius instead of F because my metalnox heat press is in celcius and my ****ty chinese roller is also in C. 

I have succesfully sublimated the TW59 and the tw540 towel from sanmar and yes the polymide edges do sublimate with J teck inks on both towels. Make sure you use tacky paper it will help evade ghosting

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## eruffini (May 5, 2018)

customprinted said:


> I use celcius instead of F because my metalnox heat press is in celcius and my ****ty chinese roller is also in C.
> 
> I have succesfully sublimated the TW59 and the tw540 towel from sanmar and yes the polymide edges do sublimate with J teck inks on both towels. Make sure you use tacky paper it will help evade ghosting
> 
> Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk


Recommendations on tacky paper?


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## customprinted (May 26, 2014)

For those I did use leftover Beaver paper i had, altho it is really expensive if you do high production, if you dont yo will probably be fine, I do have.another paper from Sweeden or switzerland that I bought from axiom america but dont remember the exact name, look them up and have them send you samples of the paper they are less expensive and work about the same.

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## JYA (Jun 2, 2008)

eruffini said:


> Recommendations on tacky paper?


SIHL via Coastal, ask for Darci. Best paper you'll use!


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

For me it's not worth double the cost to get sticky paper. The rougher the polyester, the less likely you'll get ghosting if the paper shifts on press opening. Never had an issue with towels. or jersey polyester for that matter.

Also, don't let your auto-open open on its own. Hold it down when the timer hits 0 and lift it slowly by hand.


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## JYA (Jun 2, 2008)

splathead said:


> For me it's not worth double the cost to get sticky paper. The rougher the polyester, the less likely you'll get ghosting if the paper shifts on press opening. Never had an issue with towels. or jersey polyester for that matter.
> 
> Also, don't let your auto-open open on its own. Hold it down when the timer hits 0 and lift it slowly by hand.


Joe, if you're paying double the cost for tacky paper, you're buying from the wrong place!


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

JYA said:


> Joe, if you're paying double the cost for tacky paper, you're buying from the wrong place!


You say you use Coastal. Their 13X19 tacky paper is 54 cents each. Non-tacky is 30 cents.


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## customprinted (May 26, 2014)

splathead said:


> You say you use Coastal. Their 13X19 tacky paper is 54 cents each. Non-tacky is 30 cents.


A linear yard of 62" tacky paper has to.cost around $1.20 at the most if your printing daily. So 13x19" @54 cents is highway robbery

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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

customprinted said:


> A linear yard of 62" tacky paper has to.cost around $1.20 at the most if your printing daily. So 13x19" @54 cents is highway robbery


All sublimation paper is highway robbery., includng your $1.20 one.


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## customprinted (May 26, 2014)

Thats what I used to pay, no more.


splathead said:


> All sublimation paper is highway robbery., includng your $1.20 one.


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## JYA (Jun 2, 2008)

splathead said:


> You say you use Coastal. Their 13X19 tacky paper is 54 cents each. Non-tacky is 30 cents.


And there's the difference between me paying $.063/sf for tacky paper on a 64" wide roll and you buying it in sheet form.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

eruffini said:


> Any other tips and tricks? I did read that people used lint rollers to restore the piles (if printed on pile)





splathead said:


> The lint roller is mainly used before you press to remove lint and fuzz. You can do it after the press too but i don't imagine it will help much. A lint roller is no match for 400 degrees under high pressure.


Boy was I wrong. I am sorry I kinda mocked you Cesar.

Doing a towel order today. Just for the heck of it, decided to try this harebrained lint roller idea.

Dang if it didn't work. Eliminated about 99% of the towel compression. 

Who woulda thunk?


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## JYA (Jun 2, 2008)

splathead said:


> Boy was I wrong. I am sorry I kinda mocked you Cesar.
> 
> Doing a towel order today. Just for the heck of it, decided to try this harebrained lint roller idea.
> 
> ...


Hey Joe, don't tell anyone, but we also do it on fleece!


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## eruffini (May 5, 2018)

Just a quick update:

Got the heat press and dye sublimation printer (WF-7210 from Cobra Ink) this week. Initially had some issues with the towels - the material does not like high heat, and would leave the heat marks where the platen was.

Couldn't get a good outcome with lower heat, so I tested the towels by pre-pressing them - the towels are bigger than the press so I had to do it a few times per towel. Once pre-pressed, I then pressed the artwork onto the towel and it came out uniform.

I've purchased the Stahl's application pad, and some teflon cover sheets to see if I can get away with not pre-pressing the towels. If all goes well perhaps I'll get a larger press to do the standard sizes I have. Didn't think it would be a problem to use a smaller press.

Lessons learned!


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## DrivingZiggy (Apr 24, 2017)

eruffini said:


> to see if I can get away with not pre-pressing the towels.


You should give them a pre-press anyhow to eliminate moisture.


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## mrsgegesimon (Dec 28, 2017)

Hi, I picked up some to try out from Dollar Tree and they subbed really well. I was using A-sub paper from Amazon. Always the 13" x 19" size. It's about 42.99 for 100 sheets. Is there a better paper for a better deal other than Hammermill copy paper that only presses to fabric? Thanks in advance.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

mrsgegesimon said:


> Hi, I picked up some to try out from Dollar Tree and they subbed really well. I was using A-sub paper from Amazon. Always the 13" x 19" size. It's about 42.99 for 100 sheets. Is there a better paper for a better deal other than Hammermill copy paper that only presses to fabric? Thanks in advance.


Texprint XP HR costs about the same and it leaves the least amount of ink on the paper after pressing that I've found so far.


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## and3008 (Apr 16, 2012)

Splathead, what do you mean you use a block of ink the size of your paper and then a different color for the logo? Sorry, don't mean to be so dense.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

and3008 said:


> Splathead, what do you mean you use a block of ink the size of your paper and then a different color for the logo? Sorry, don't mean to be so dense.


For example, in your design software draw a box the size of your paper and fill it with black. Then place red text inside the box.

You can do this full bleed, or after printing trim your border. Once printed and pressed, the edge of your paper will be hidden by the black box.


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## and3008 (Apr 16, 2012)

Ok, I understand - going to try that! Thanks so much.


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## socceronly (Jul 22, 2012)

Out of curiosity, do both sides of the towel get printed? Is that even possible?


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

socceronly said:


> Out of curiosity, do both sides of the towel get printed? Is that even possible?


You can, yes.


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## socceronly (Jul 22, 2012)

splathead said:


> You can, yes.


Do you do them at the same time? Or print one side, then the other...


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

socceronly said:


> Do you do them at the same time? Or print one side, then the other...


The only thing I do both sides at the same time is aluminum. 

I've never tried to do towels or shirts that way.


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## Signature Series (Jun 11, 2016)

splathead said:


> The only thing I do both sides at the same time is aluminum.
> 
> I've never tried to do towels or shirts that way.


If you are using tacky paper it is way easier to do both sides together. The paper creates a seal thus you have no lining up on the second side - we press normal time side one and 30 seconds side two.


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