# How long and how hot to press Vapor Apparel?



## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

I have a DK20S and Vapor Apparel samples. How long and how hot should I be pressing?

I have one recommentdation for soft'link shirts of 400F at 35-40 seconds. Any thoughts on this?


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## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

Hi Binki!

I generally press Vapor Apparel at 200 Celsius for 50-60 sec light pressure. 
What styles did you get?
If you've got micro performance t-shirts make sure you don't press too hard/long - as they will "shine" a bit (in some cases I press micro-performance inside-out to avoid it). Red t-shirts tend to shine more than other colours.
When pressing polos and basic performance t-shirts I found that increasing ink dissentions by 30% (because of slightly ribbed texture) will increase "density", vibrancy of the print. In this case pressure should be slightly higher - to avoid bleeding - but pressing time could be less.
You'll just have to experiment


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

We got 2 sample packs that include 3 polos, 3 basic tees and 6 ringer tees. We are going to use them for promotional printing as 'show pieces'

I also wanted to wear one of these puppies for several days to see if it was comfortable as advertised. Wouldn't you know it turned cold here yesterdsay!


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## cbernat (May 17, 2005)

Vapor Apparel recomends 385-390 degrees and 45-55 seconds with light pressure!


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## tim3560 (Jan 7, 2007)

cbernat said:


> Vapor Apparel recomends 385-390 degrees and 45-55 seconds with light pressure!


I have an older Insta model 720 automatic that only registers 30 seconds on the dial. Can I just not use this press for sublimation?


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## diane143 (Nov 17, 2006)

tim3560 said:


> I have an older Insta model 720 automatic that only registers 30 seconds on the dial. Can I just not use this press for sublimation?


Can you override it manually? I did note it is an automatic. Mine is not and I normally use the stopwatch function of my watch which is sometimes easier than reprogramming a setting.


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## tim3560 (Jan 7, 2007)

Actually I have no idea if I can override it or not. I guess that would be a good thing to find out. lol


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## Fred (Jan 17, 2007)

binki said:


> We got 2 sample packs that include 3 polos, 3 basic tees and 6 ringer tees. We are going to use them for promotional printing as 'show pieces'
> 
> I also wanted to wear one of these puppies for several days to see if it was comfortable as advertised. Wouldn't you know it turned cold here yesterdsay!


Are you guys going to be offering any new products? Something like a color block shirt?


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## Moo Spot Prints (Jul 16, 2006)

binki said:


> I have a DK20S and Vapor Apparel samples. How long and how hot should I be pressing?
> 
> I have one recommentdation for soft'link shirts of 400F at 35-40 seconds. Any thoughts on this?


I talked to the owner of Vapor at the ISS show over the weekend and he had some recommendations:

1. 45s @ 385F
2. VERY light pressure
3. Use beaver paper
4. Use a pad underneath the garment. He recommended this stuff he uses. Teflon pillows help, but as he told me, (and I've independently confirmed in my own testing) they heat up and crinkle around the edges. The edges create press lines that don't iron out or go away. I am going to order a roll of the padding to see if it's really as good as he claims.
5. Hit the garment after you've sublimated it with a light, quick press and pop the fabric (stretch it slightly) to get rid of paper any paper marks.

The samples at the sublimation booth had NO lines or sheen to them whatsoever. 

Their new performance fabric is supposed to be a little heavier than the stuff out right now and should withstand the high temps a little better.


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## cbernat (May 17, 2005)

Fred said:


> Are you guys going to be offering any new products? Something like a color block shirt?


Vapor will have several new styles this season. Out of respect to the forum - we would prefer to provide comprehensive information over thephone or via personal email. 

Rodney was by the booth and we were honored that he stopped by. We showed him our new Vapor Phenom and also displayed our improved Vapor Microfiber at 5.0 ounces instead of 3.9 ounces. We also let him know about the new vapor foam kit which will dramatically help you eliminate press lines with a special heat resistant foam.

Good luck to all....


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

I stopped by the booth also and had an extensive talk with them about ghosting on folded shirts that didn't have the ghost after pressing. They gave me a sample of the foam to try out. I also told them that Sawgrass does not recommend the high release paper. I had all kinds of trouble with the sublijet IQ driver with TexPrint so I used the regular epson driver and had no problem. 

I still owe him samples of the ghosting but we were busy with orders this week.


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## Moo Spot Prints (Jul 16, 2006)

cbernat said:


> Vapor will have several new styles this season. Out of respect to the forum - we would prefer to provide comprehensive information over thephone or via personal email.
> 
> Rodney was by the booth and we were honored that he stopped by. We showed him our new Vapor Phenom and also displayed our improved Vapor Microfiber at 5.0 ounces instead of 3.9 ounces. We also let him know about the new vapor foam kit which will dramatically help you eliminate press lines with a special heat resistant foam.
> 
> Good luck to all....


Hey Chris, It's great you're on here! 

How do we get the foam? Go ahead and blab. We're just going to repeat what you say on here anyway.


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## RisingBlue7 (Oct 8, 2006)

Hey Chris,

I was with Rodney when we visited your booth at the ISS Show last week. I was fixated on that 100% polyester shirt you showed us which truly felt like soft ringspun cotton. I could not stop talking about it with Rodney. 

Great stuff! Is it available on the site? 





cbernat said:


> Vapor will have several new styles this season. Out of respect to the forum - we would prefer to provide comprehensive information over thephone or via personal email.
> 
> Rodney was by the booth and we were honored that he stopped by. We showed him our new Vapor Phenom and also displayed our improved Vapor Microfiber at 5.0 ounces instead of 3.9 ounces. We also let him know about the new vapor foam kit which will dramatically help you eliminate press lines with a special heat resistant foam.
> 
> Good luck to all....


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> How do we get the foam? Go ahead and blab.


I'd like to know how to buy the foam as well  It was great meeting you, Chris.



> Vapor will have several new styles this season. Out of respect to the forum - we would prefer to provide comprehensive information over the phone or via personal email.


I truly appreciate that  But feel free to respond to the post about your new stuff here if you like. Like Jose said, we'll probably be just repeating the info here once we hear it from you. Might as well get it from the source.


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## cbernat (May 17, 2005)

We are very happy to hear you guys were liking the gear. It really is crazy how much different polyester feels today vs even five years ago. We forget that digital technologies effect all products and fabric is no different.

The foam and our "basic t" ring spun performance shirt are available from our group of value added distributors. We had a number of distributors at the ISS show including:

Coast Graphic Supply
Conde Systems
Imprints USA
RPL Supplies
Advanced Color Solutions
The Paper Ranch
Lawson Screen & Digital

and others.

If you need help locating a distributor you can visit our web site or call the office at 843 747 4200 M-F 9-5 PM EST. You can try a bit later, there is usually someone there.

Look for a killer new Polo Performance Shirt that feels like a classic cotton lacoste in the next few weeks as well.

We are also working on a RASH Guard and we are considering BOARD SHORTS as well. And feedback on these ideas is welcome.

Cheers and happy Friday,


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## Moo Spot Prints (Jul 16, 2006)

Ok, got the roll of foam today and did some tests. Initial results are... well, disappointing.

I followed the directions and pressed on the vapor performance fabric. My results are nowhere near what I saw at the sublimation booth at the show. I'm not talking about color or ink penetration --- just fabric damage. I can definitely see the foam edge marks after the pressing (yes, I beveled the edges). The sheen is also clearly visible. Stretching the fabric caused it to pucker! These lines don't iron out!

Chris -- I can't see how you got the results you did on the same material. This fabric definitely undergoes some sort of thermal breakdown at these temperatures. Pressing without any paper consistently gives me the same results! I made sure that the press temp was dead on with a laser thermometer to boot.

I will do another round of tests tomorrow. I'm not giving up yet but I've spent quite a bit of money (not to mention hours and hours) trying to get this working. It might be time to cut my losses and move on to something else. Bummer. I was optimistic after the show. 

Note - this is on the performance fabric. I had good results on the ringer tees.


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## cbernat (May 17, 2005)

jose,

Hmmm....I am stumped. 

Please give me a call at the VAPOR OFFICE - 843 747 4200. Lets walk through everything on the phone and we can see what is amiss. I am confident we can fix it. Afterall, it works in my office all the time and we have sent many folks this way with success. Thanks for the feedback and I look forward to getting things fixed with you.


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## Moo Spot Prints (Jul 16, 2006)

I appreciate the help. I believe that you are able to get this stuff pressed. I saw the results myself and they look great! I know there's probably something simple that I'm missing but at this point I think a strategic retreat is in order. I've invested too much time and money and there's really no end in sight. Sublimation just isn't in the cards for me right now.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

binki said:


> I stopped by the booth also and had an extensive talk with them about ghosting on folded shirts that didn't have the ghost after pressing. They gave me a sample of the foam to try out. I also told them that Sawgrass does not recommend the high release paper. I had *all kinds of trouble with the sublijet IQ driver with TexPrint* so I used the regular epson driver and had no problem.
> 
> I still owe him samples of the ghosting but we were busy with orders this week.


Hi, I've been using Sublijet ink and the Power Driver XG-8 with TexPrint for about a year. What kinds of problems were you having. I've had a few glitches but tried to work through them. But I don't have anything else to compare it to. And I've never tried to use the Epson driver for sublimation. I don't even know how you could since they change all the colors around. At least in my R1800 with bulk ink system, it does. Just curious.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

rusty said:


> Hi, I've been using Sublijet ink and the Power Driver XG-8 with TexPrint for about a year. What kinds of problems were you having. I've had a few glitches but tried to work through them. But I don't have anything else to compare it to. And I've never tried to use the Epson driver for sublimation. I don't even know how you could since they change all the colors around. At least in my R1800 with bulk ink system, it does. Just curious.


The black bleeds all over.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

Yes, I've had problems with the black bleeding too. But how do you use the regular driver. Aren't the colors in different slots for the sublimation setup?


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

I turn off color management on the printer driver and turn it on in my graphics program.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

binki said:


> I turn off color management on the printer driver and turn it on in my graphics program.


Ok, I understand turning it off in the printer driver. Probably a dumb question, but how does a graphic application, such as PhotoShop, know which colors the Sawgrass sublimation setup uses, if you don't use their printer driver? I'm not very familiar with how color management works.

thanks


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

hmmm, i use corel and enable icc color management. i would guess adobe ps has the same thing in it. I have photoshop elements and i believe i can control color from it in the printer settings.


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## taigraphx (Nov 26, 2006)

Moo Spot Prints said:


> I talked to the owner of Vapor at the ISS show over the weekend and he had some recommendations:





Moo Spot Prints said:


> 1. 45s @ 385F
> 2. VERY light pressure
> 3. Use beaver paper
> 4. Use a pad underneath the garment. He recommended this stuff he uses. Teflon pillows help, but as he told me, (and I've independently confirmed in my own testing) they heat up and crinkle around the edges. The edges create press lines that don't iron out or go away. I am going to order a roll of the padding to see if it's really as good as he claims.
> ...




WOW, just did a press on a Vapor 4.4oz T, usd both TexprintXP and hmm, whatever that other one The Paper Ranch sells, ULTRA light pressure on a Teflon Pillow, 400deg F at 45s.

Minimal lines.

Covered the printed shirt with a teflon sheet and hit it again for 10sec at 400d, NO PAPER LINES!!!!

Awesome!

Tai


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