# Haven't done this before. In need of help.



## alabamaheather (Jan 9, 2013)

I currently own an online home decor business. Last year I made and sold about 1000 items. I make pillows with French and Holiday images on them. I currently use iron on transfers which I don't like. I want to use dye sublimation. Because shipping is so expensive for large items I plan to make pillow covers and make larger sizes than I currently make. I believe dye sublimation is the way to go but I need a really nice home decor fabric that is 100% polyester. I have sent away for some samples of polyester linen that I hope will work. 

Here are some questions I have:

What would you recommend for a heat press 16x20?
What dye sub printer would you recommend that will print larger than 8.5x11?
What graphics software would you recommend for a beginner?
I would love to have a duck cloth in a natural/cream/ivory color. Have you seen this?

I currently buy my images online in jpg format and open them in paint to resize. To initially begin selling the new product will I be able to easily download these files and resize until I really learn to use the graphics software?

Do you think dye sublimation is the way to go for this product? I am wanting to sell a higher end product than I currently sell with the iron on transfers.

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated! I would love to get this started.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

A polyester velour makes for a good pillow, but maybe not for sleeping. Polyester doesn't "breath" like cotton does, and doesn't wick up slobber and other moisture. Various cottons and linens are good here, but as you found, you need to use a coated transfer, like JPSS, for these.

Bear in mind that a polyester linen is nothing like linen, except for common weaves used in making linen cloth. It has no linen content, and shares few of the traits of linen. The same applies to cotton duck vs polyester duck, etc. You're just getting a texture, not a behavior.

The biggest sheet you can do with an affordable desktop printer is 13x19, and that actually makes for a small pillow. You might be better off farming out the printing to someone (skdave is a member here that does this type of work), and then press it yourself, or have it pressed onto fabric of your specification. While that may sound more expensive, it actually isn't unless you're going to get into fairly high volumes. You can use the sales to test sublimated products, and bootstrap the finance of your own equipment, which you can get as you need.

To answer some specifics:

Hix makes a nice manually operated 16x20 press for about $850. Solid build and reliable.

A good yet inexpensive desktop printer is the Epson 7010.

Adobe PhotoPhop Elements has features you need to do a good job. This isn't the full PhotoShop program, but it has all the basic editing functions, and it allows for custom printer profiles, something you'll need for sublimation. Get it at Amazon for about $70.

Conde sells poly duck in white for a not-bad price. Once you do a lot you can find a wholesaler, but for a few yards at a time the price is reasonable.


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## alabamaheather (Jan 9, 2013)

Thank you for responding. The pillows I make are strictly for decoration. Some may use them to decorate a couch. I want to make covers in 16"x16" and 12"x16" which are standard decorator size pillows. The fabric just needs to look pretty.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

You won't be able to do 16x16 with any of the desktop printers out there, unless you do it in pieces. The 12x16s you'll be able to do with a wide format printer like the 7010. Look up member skdave here for his sub print biz. I think he charges a whole buck for a printed sheet up to 16x20 (image size, the paper is larger). I don't know what his minimums are, and of course there's shipping on top of that.

Do you sell through Etsy or locally? Both?

For decorator pillows a low-nap velour (fleece) looks pretty good, depending on the design. For a stiffer material the Conde duck I mentioned is good. I've used both for pillows. I've not been able to find the duck locally, but 100% poly velour is a common find at Joann's and other fabric outlets. Of course you know to only buy it with a 50% off coupon!


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## alabamaheather (Jan 9, 2013)

I sell through Etsy and another similar site. I would use the duck but I can't find it in and ivory color which is what my customers like. I did find a company who makes a polyester linen, muslin and another fabric that might work. I have sent for samples but they are very slow. The company is Dazian.com. 

I probably wouldn't do an all over 16x16 print on a pillow. The pillow itself would be that size but the image may only be 10 inches centered in the middle of the pillow. 

my etsy site is parismarketplace.etsy.com if you would like to see what I am talking about. 

I get so many requests for larger pillows. Right now the largest I make is 12x12. Sublimation would be so much quicker than ironing on the transfers which don't always stick. Making covers will cut down on shipping costs and I wouldn't have to have stacks of boxes in my house-I would ship in envelopes. It seems like the way to go but I have a lot to learn. I wonder if I should go with a better heat transfer method with a heat press. Maybe Chromablast is better so I could use cotton fabric? But then would I have to wash the pillow cover once made and then iron before shipping?


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

One thing you have to deal with when sublimating is paper lines caused when pressing. So though you may only need to press an isolated design into the fabric, if the paper is smaller than the fabric, you'll get permanent creases at the edge of the paper. This is due to the relative hardness of the paper, and the nature of polyester -- after all, it's the fabric of the permanent press crease.

You'd want to get some pre-printed samples to see how things work, but generally there are two ways around it: use paper larger than the piece of fabric, or cut out foam pieces larger than the image you're pressing, and smaller than the paper. That way, the paper edges dangle off the surface of the fabric. You need a lighter pressure to keep from over-compressing the foam.

It can be hard to find non-white polyester fabrics designed for sublimation, as most folks want the white as that's the best "blank canvas" for taking up any color. You might need to go to a specialty wholesaler if you want off-color polyesters. That's not my line of work so I'll let others suggest names.

Another option is to pre-dye white, then press on your designs. You might be able to do this at home, or have it done for you. Obviously it would add to the cost.

Your Etsy shop looks good. For fabric transfers I think you're getting great results. What heat transfer paper are you using now? From the photos it looks fine.


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## alabamaheather (Jan 9, 2013)

I am just using Avery transfers with a good old fashioned iron. I do not get complaints about the transfers. I complain about the transfers because I have to do a lot if work to make them stick. I am wondering if I should just go with a larger printer with the larger and better transfer paper. A heat press would really make this process faster. I really like the idea of sublimation versus the "hand" the transfers have.


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## SweetExpression (Apr 22, 2009)

I agree with Gordon to get a heat press and outsource the printing for dye sub. You may be able to print large enough with a desktop set up, but what if a customer wants a design with full bleed? You'll need a 24" wide printer to print a 16" by 16" full bleed and then at least a 20" by 25" heat press to press the design to the fabric. As Gordon suggests, get in touch with skdave and he should be able to help you.

I would stay away from Avery transfer paper and go with something like JPSS(Jet-Pro Soft Stretch). You may be able to get by using pigment inks, JPSS, and a quality heat press.

Hope this helps, 
Mike


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

For a 16" x 16" full bleed, a 17" wide printer will do the job, which for Epson means a Stylus Pro 4000 series - if you can find a used and fully working 4400 then it would be perfect, especially if it's set up with refill carts, and is already running sublimation inks.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

SweetExpression said:


> I agree with Gordon to get a heat press and outsource the printing for dye sub. You may be able to print large enough with a desktop set up, but what if a customer wants a design with full bleed? You'll need a 24" wide printer to print a 16" by 16" full bleed and then at least a 20" by 25" heat press to press the design to the fabric. As Gordon suggests, get in touch with skdave and he should be able to help you.
> 
> I would stay away from Avery transfer paper and go with something like JPSS(Jet-Pro Soft Stretch). You may be able to get by using pigment inks, JPSS, and a quality heat press.
> 
> ...


Ditto to all. Best to outsource those larger transfers till business volume could dictate the larger printer feasabilty.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

Look up spoonflower. They print alot of fabrics. You design, send it to them and the print it. You then do what you have to do to make your product. If I recall right they use big roll or drum printer so you could get whatever you need printed.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

freebird1963 said:


> Look up spoonflower. They print alot of fabrics. You design, send it to them and the print it. You then do what you have to do to make your product. If I recall right they use big roll or drum printer so you could get whatever you need printed.


If I understand this correctly they are direct printing on fabric? That would save the cost of the heat press.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

mgparrish said:


> If I understand this correctly they are direct printing on fabric? That would save the cost of the heat press.


Yep.
Spoonflower: Print custom fabric, wallpaper and wall decals on-demand
Create your own fabric.

Mark


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

freebird1963 said:


> Yep.
> Spoonflower: Print custom fabric, wallpaper and wall decals on-demand
> Create your own fabric.
> 
> Mark


Excellent suggestion for the OP's situation.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

Yes, Spoonflower is great for all-over drum-printed designs. But the OP is looking for spot art centered on the pillow, which means calculating the repeat in order to make pieces of the correct size. I've done this before, and it can be fairly wasteful, because you have to allow for the maximum size to ensure the right spacing. At $20+ per yard for the poplin, you might only get four designs per yard (two up, and two across; the width of the yardage with selvage is 42"). The OP sells her pillows for $20, meaning $5 per side, or $10 in fabric alone. Doesn't leave much for profit and labor. (The other side could be different fabric, but it can be hard to match their weight and thread count.)

Personally, I'd go with farming it out for subbing, which if that works can then be brought in-house, with no change in product. It's not practical to bring fabric drum printing in-house, so if you go with this process, you pretty much have to stay with it, or suddenly start offering a whole different product to your customer.

Spoonflower is great for making custom quilt fabric, where most quilters insist on cottons. They turn up their nose at polyester.


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## alabamaheather (Jan 9, 2013)

Right now I don't plan on making pillows with an all over print. I would just stick to a simple image centered in the middle of the pillow with several inches of fabric around it. Pillow covers would be priced in the $30-$35 range. 

I have been getting private message from someone offering to print the image and ship to me. Is this a better solution rather than investing in the printer and ink?

I keep going back and forth between sublimation and ink jet transfers. I have been reading that the better ink jet transfers don't have much of a hand to them and I am sure they are better than what I am using. 

Fabric is really a huge issue. If I were to do an all over print on say polyester muslin that would look nice but a non dyed fabric needs to look really nice because so much of it will be seen. And women don't like cheap fabric in home decor. If I do the better transfers I have so much choice in fabrics. I just love the idea of dying the fabric versus having something sitting on the top of the fabric.

What to do....


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## paintersspouse (Jul 26, 2012)

I have been researching pillows for a few months now. I will be doing them with my husbands wildlife art on them.

I have my own small format set-up but will be ordering from a member here because I want full coverage prints. I would recommend having someone here print a couple of samples for you, so you can actually see the quality of the print and the material. 

The right material will make this a really great product. The other option I see is cut and sew to sew the image into the middle of other materials. I have been researching the numbers and possibilities but have not done pillows before so I am not in production yet.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

alabamaheather said:


> Right now I don't plan on making pillows with an all over print. I would just stick to a simple image centered in the middle of the pillow with several inches of fabric around it. Pillow covers would be priced in the $30-$35 range.
> 
> I have been getting private message from someone offering to print the image and ship to me. Is this a better solution rather than investing in the printer and ink?
> 
> ...


For the inkjet transfers, JPSS and "Iron-all" papers the hand is very minimal, but the material should be washed once if you want to lose the hand.

You can buy small qntys or sample packs from most vendors for testing purposes.

Dyeing is always better, but the limitation is you need to use poly for sublimation.

This topic is interesting, my wife is twisting my arm to get her a sewing/embroidery machine ... and the light bulb just went off in my head. 

Would be great if you can post some follow-up on this later, I think you have a few more options now.


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## DataMike (Dec 20, 2012)

Sub or farm out anything new until you know both the process and the customer well enough to take the risk of buying equipment. Ideally, make friends with someone nearby doing similar prints/products and hang out with them for a while to learn.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

I am guessing your in Alabama.
In April is the Orlando ISS show. Here you can talk to alot of vendors. Dye sub, inkjet/laster transfer and embroidery etc. See,feel even bring some artwork on a usb stick and have them print and press to get a visual and get your hands on the feel of the product. You can get free floor exhibit passes to all the vendors and exhibitors. And if you want to buy tickets to some of the conferences and discussions to get more info and education on all this you can do that too.

Search google for ISS ORLANDO 2013. Or PM me your email and I will forward you the email to register.

Also Conde which can dye sub for you or sell the equipment is in Mobile Alabama. David Gross is on this list so might PM him and see about making a appointment to visit them and see the equipment involved, the process involved and see their ability to produce the prints for you. 

Subbing out can be good and it can be a headache and nightmare also. I have done it. Biggest PRO for subbing is not having to buy equipment and learning the process and not wasting money screwing up product as you learn. Also you control everything in the process of producing the product. You don't like a print you redo it right then and now. Your not waiting for UPS and then if not right calling, emailing to get it right. 

The CONS are your quality is gonna depend on who you use. If not local communication can be a nightmare and headache. Your hostage to their time frame. You need it tomorrow and they can't get it till next week. And it happens no matter what any of them say. If not local also shipping could kill your profits. Tho everyone will say thats part of your cost and add for it, it could put your pricing out of range that some people are willing to pay. Then there
s the color matching too. You want Candy Apple Red and they produce what they call candy apple red but its not what you like or want so you go back and forth till its what you want. 
Subbing can be the answer but don't let anyone say its really that easy and works better than a hot knife through butter. It can but at some point it will go off the track. If your gonna sub out try to find someone local even if a hour or two away. Face to face especially until you get it all figured out and worked out will be a life saver and keep ya from drinking too much 

Good luck


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Alabama Heather - you are on the cusp of something really special. You have found a niche, have a customer base and ready to go to the next level.

To me dye sub is the high end of the market. Anytime you take a simple image and dye sub it in the middle of a t-shirt or pillow you are lowering yourself down to the level of a vinyl crusher and leaving a lot of profit on the table. 

The way to maximize your profits is simple - cut and sew full coverage. By offering this as an option you eliminate 95% of your competition and maximize your profits. Example - you can purchase 14 x 14" dye sub pillow case blanks for around $4.00 shipped. Add a couple dollars for ink and paper and you are at the most around $7.00. You will not be able to do full coverage due to voids but will be able to offer a higher quality case than a vinyl crushed case.

Now take the same scenario as above but create the case from scratch (cut and sew). Your total cost will be approx $1.00 more for a full coverage cut and sew case. That one single dollar in cost should double your margins even if you outsourced the entire process.

The best part is you do not need to stop what you are doing but instead expand your line to a higher end product(s).

In our little world we tried selling premade pillow cases first and had very little success at $15.00. When we went to the full cut and sew we have had great success at $25-30 depending on qty.


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

We cut and sew for cushion covers, this means we have full control of the fabric of the cover - front and back can be different, and we can buy big rolls of fabric from wholesale textile suppliers, rather than smaller sublimation blanks only suppliers. We can then also design the make up of the cover itself - how it opens, how it fastens, etc etc. 
Using a pre-made blank is not high end enough for our needs, and from the sounds of it, not yours either.
We have all the equipment in house to do the printing side, but farm out the cutting and sewing as our time is better spent not doing that, but we can do it in-house for smaller runs, samples etc.
But the equipment wasn't bought only for cushions as we design, and print to a lot of different products.


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## alabamaheather (Jan 9, 2013)

The biggest issue I have is finding a high quality fabric for sublimation. There just isn't much out there that is polyester and pretty. I like a medium weight so that the cover will hold it's shape. There are unlimited amounts of cotton to choose from. 

Just when I think I have decided to go with a high end inkjet transfer with a heat press I go back to thinking sublimation is the way to go. The fabric is the issue. 

And yes I really would like to have the equipment in house so I can do whatever I want whenever I want.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

alabamaheather said:


> The biggest issue I have is finding a high quality fabric for sublimation. There just isn't much out there that is polyester and pretty. I like a medium weight so that the cover will hold it's shape. There are unlimited amounts of cotton to choose from.
> 
> Just when I think I have decided to go with a high end inkjet transfer with a heat press I go back to thinking sublimation is the way to go. The fabric is the issue.
> 
> And yes I really would like to have the equipment in house so I can do whatever I want whenever I want.


There is a huge selection of poly/dye sub material out there. Do not let that get in your way as it is not an obstacle.

If I was in your shoes I would keep everything you have and are doing now and expand into dye sub. I would find a fulfillment center to literally do everything for you while you experiment and learn dye sub.

If you formed a partnership with someone that has a fullfilment tool like Deconetwork or Inksoft you could have a full functioning web site and the ability to have your customers design their own cases on-line.

We use Deconetwork - if you visit our site and select "Custom Individual Jerseys" you can get an idea on how you can have a wide range of designs that people can add their own images and words. Now you not only separated yourself from the vinyl crushers but now can upcharge for a fully custom case.

Best part about these tools is that once you find someone to act as a fullfilment center you are set - there is zero cost for you to have a web site/on-line store.


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## Tangy (Feb 11, 2013)

Hix press and Photoshop.


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## EyeJustCut1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Riderz Ready said:


> Alabama Heather - you are on the cusp of something really special. You have found a niche, have a customer base and ready to go to the next level.
> 
> To me dye sub is the high end of the market. Anytime you take a simple image and dye sub it in the middle of a t-shirt or pillow you are lowering yourself down to the level of a vinyl crusher and leaving a lot of profit on the table.
> 
> ...


Hi, I realize this post is a year old, but would you be willing to share your source/product info for the fabric used in your pillowcases? I would truly appreciate it.


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## uncletee (Feb 25, 2007)

we do lot's of pillows.., conde has poly duck and satin in throw pillow size. sublimation is awesome on them we put a foam insert in the pillow sham to keep the press lines away. good luck uncletee.


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## noblehaus (Feb 21, 2011)

we make 20 x 20 pillow as a standard product

we use Canvas, Satin, Lyrca and other fabrics, we could also print Fabric is your interested


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## ATKOgirl (Mar 28, 2015)

Hi Uncletee,

Are you able to accomplish all-over (full bleed) designs on the Conde pillows using your method?

Thanks!


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