# Sublimation colour fade issue



## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Hi all,

I am having an issue with sublimation printing and I hope someone will be able to help 


I am using a Ricoh SG7100DN with sublimation inks and have had an ICC profile made for the inks and paper (TexPrint-R Sublimation Paper for Ricoh). 

I am using a white, 100% polyester tee. My sublimation process is as follows: press with medium pressure at 190 Degrees C for 50 seconds. The result I get is accurate color representation but the image is never vivid and the white of the tee pops more than the image. Anyone have any ideas as to what I am doing wrong?

Thanks in advance!


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

Temp is too low...I press at 380 - 400. Can you post a pic of the results?


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Viper Graphics said:


> Temp is too low...I press at 380 - 400. Can you post a pic of the results?


Hi Larry,

The tep i stated was in celsius (190) which is about 385 fahrenheit. Do you think it is worth trying 390, 395 and 400 increments?

Yes I can post a pic and I will do so after work.

Thanks for your help!


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

Nprice32 said:


> Hi Larry,
> 
> The tep i stated was in celsius (190) which is about 385 fahrenheit. Do you think it is worth trying 390, 395 and 400 increments?
> 
> ...


Might need more time...exactly what shirt (brand/style) are you printing on and what ink is it that your using?


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

I am printing on a Gildan Sublimation T-Shirt and the ink I use is unbranded but it is from a company that sublimates signs (they use the same printer) so I think the ink is not the issue. 

How much longer should I give the t-shirt? When I stop pressing after 50 seconds there’s quite a bit of color left on the paper and sometimes it loos like I have not pressed it at all (the paper i mean) – is that a sign of not enough time, heat or pressure?


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

mines 197 for 60 and I'm on Sawgrass ink. when I release the press I can see the image clearly through the Trupix paper and on the print side of the paper it looks like a faded sepia photo.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

Nprice32 said:


> I am printing on a Gildan Sublimation T-Shirt and the ink I use is unbranded but it is from a company that sublimates signs (they use the same printer) so I think the ink is not the issue.



This may be your problem...I'm assuming your calling the Gildan shirt a "sublimation t-shirt" because it is 100% poly? Would still like to know the style number, also you use an unbranded sublimation ink.....um....but yet you made a ICC profile for it....? Where do you get your ink from. In sublimation these unbranded and knockoff inks can be problematic. Is not the Ricoh printers made for the sawgrass inks? ( I don't use them, I use Epson) When you print do you make sure the color management in the printer is turned off? Hopefully others with Ricoh's can chime in and give some advice.


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## Signature Series (Jun 11, 2016)

The very first thing I would check is the actual temp of your press. Our press was off 20+ degrees from what was shown on the digital display. Geoknight has a good tool to check temps.

The other is you may have a profile/set up issue as your time and temp (if correct) is way more than adequate. We press at 390 for 35 seconds.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

This is the tee i am using: Gildan Sublimation Adult T-Shirt

I get my ink from a company that sublimates signs so I think the ink is not the issue. I am also ok at photoshop and am pretty sure that I am using the profile correctly. When I do press the colors do match the image but they simply do not pop at all and look rather lack luster.

Signature Series: I will check the temp of the press as I have never used it at this high temps before. I usually do vinyl prints.

How much can pressure effect the quality of the print?


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

I can’t post a link but if you type “Gildan Sublimation Adult T-Shirt” you should find the tee I am using.

The ink I am using is from a sign sublimation company so I do not think the ink is the issue. I am also ok with photoshop and believe I am using the profile correctly. When I press the tee the colors are accurate but do not pop and look rather lack lustre.

Signature Series: I will check the temps as I usually press with vinyl and have no reason to go that high in temps.

Can press pressure have a big in pact on the vibrancy of the colours (I am using medium pressure atm)


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Who's paper and ink are you using then SS to get it down so quick! I never ever go less than 60 seconds on sublimation.
I've tried dinosub and texprint papers in the past and they just didn't release like trupix, you could almost go again with them (should have tried it I suppose).
I use the 'powerdriver' because I'm using SG ink, in powerdriver I up the saturation to plus 5 for fabric and plus 10 for silver metal and hi-viz safety vests, but zero saturation for polyester solids like keyrings and kids beakers and white metal and unisub board stuff.


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## Signature Series (Jun 11, 2016)

Dekzion said:


> Who's paper and ink are you using then SS to get it down so quick! I never ever go less than 60 seconds on sublimation.
> I've tried dinosub and texprint papers in the past and they just didn't release like trupix, you could almost go again with them (should have tried it I suppose).
> I use the 'powerdriver' because I'm using SG ink, in powerdriver I up the saturation to plus 5 for fabric and plus 10 for silver metal and hi-viz safety vests, but zero saturation for polyester solids like keyrings and kids beakers and white metal and unisub board stuff.


We use J-Tek ink and to be honest paper brands have made virtually little difference to us press time. It took a good amount of time to get the right time, heat, and pressure so that colors would pop and not get blow through the fabric. For instance if we go to 45 seconds link starts to blow through the fabric.


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## Signature Series (Jun 11, 2016)

Nprice32 said:


> I can’t post a link but if you type “Gildan Sublimation Adult T-Shirt” you should find the tee I am using.
> 
> The ink I am using is from a sign sublimation company so I do not think the ink is the issue. I am also ok with photoshop and believe I am using the profile correctly. When I press the tee the colors are accurate but do not pop and look rather lack lustre.
> 
> ...


Ink and a profile for the specific ink is everything when it comes to color. In the vast amount of cases when people claim they get good colors without a specific profile they have nothing to compare with. If you are using generic ink with no profile the odds of ever getting great colors is highly reduced. Pressure for us does not really change the pop of the color unless it is way off.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

just a quick question: what neg effects can you expect if you use too high of a temp when sublimating a tee (not including scorching etc that will be obvious to any one)?


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Never had a problem with too long on fabric, ceramics are a different matter, your blacks for instance go brown. okay so I'm not Major league but that combination works for me.
Your cover paper will scorch before your fabric usually though.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Nprice32 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I am having an issue with sublimation printing and I hope someone will be able to help
> 
> ...


I suspect your profile and/or setup. Print without it using straight Adobe RGB 1998 (as a test) and see if the images "pop", they may not be accurate but what do you see?

Have you tried different Ricoh driver settings? The amount of ink laid down usually depends on the paper type selected as well.

Post your Photoshop screens that you have set for all color management and your Ricoh settings.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Hi Mike,

Attached are my settings.

Also when you press the image how much ink should remain on the paper?

Thanks


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Nprice32 said:


> Hi Mike,
> 
> Attached are my settings.
> 
> ...


The screen you are using for your printing profile looks to be for soft proofing with a profile.

Printing profiles (such as sublimation profiles) are applied thru the PS print menu. See my attached screens.

You are also not setting your workspace color management.

I have attached some screens for you, I consider that a generic setup. Yours may need some adjusting.

_Before you setup to my screens you need to set that softproofing screen to whatever was default._

The Ricoh settings are OK for now. I know how to get more ink output from your Ricoh menus, but your setting is good for starting out. It may be OK depending on how good your profile is. You are not setup correctly.

Sub ink on paper is supposed to look weak and there will still be ink left on the paper. We only used the dye in the ink, not the ink itself, hence it will remain.

Lets see how that does before any other changes.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Thank you for the screens! 

I have the same print setting as you do but forgot to take a screenshot when you asked - but doing the other stuff has definitely improved the print on the tee. I still feel even though the colors are more accurate they are not that powerful or rich in color. 

Do you have any other suggestions?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Nprice32 said:


> Thank you for the screens!
> 
> I have the same print setting as you do but forgot to take a screenshot when you asked - but doing the other stuff has definitely improved the print on the tee. I still feel even though the colors are more accurate they are not that powerful or rich in color.
> 
> Do you have any other suggestions?


Make sure you are printing using the correct side of your transfer paper, it should be the side that is the "whitest white" 

Typically it is the side of the paper that will stick easier if you wet your forefinger and thumb and place (hold) the paper in between the fingers. When you release the print side of the paper will stick to the finger.

Inkjet printers paper settings actually determine the ink volume applied. Plain papers don't need as much ink since they can easily saturate. So settings like matte papers apply more ink as the matte papers are thicker and hold more. So try a different paper setting (Print Mode) other than plain paper and see which gives you more ink.

I use this file here ...

http://www.gballard.net/dl/PDI_TargetFolderONLY.zip

It is a perfect photo and used for printer testing.

Also, suggest you go to either Walmart or JoAnne Fabrics and get some raw 100% polyester fabric. It is sold by the "yard" and is cheap. Otherwise you are going to consume a lot of substrates.

Let's see what can be improved this way then there are adjustments in Photoshop that can get you more pop as well, but those would be if this doesn't work.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Using the image you suggested I printed it 3 times with different paper settings. First, normal paper, second, ink jet paper and finally a gloss paper (I did not have an option for matt in the print preference) - overall I really cant see any difference.

Again the colors are accurate but lack vibrancy - it seems like Photoshop is taking all the colors and making the all lighter which may be the cause of the lack of pop as light colors on white do not mix. I do feel there is something else going on also as some deep blacks are a nice black and yet do not really standout.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Nprice32 said:


> Using the image you suggested I printed it 3 times with different paper settings. First, normal paper, second, ink jet paper and finally a gloss paper (I did not have an option for matt in the print preference) - overall I really cant see any difference.
> 
> Again the colors are accurate but lack vibrancy - it seems like Photoshop is taking all the colors and making the all lighter which may be the cause of the lack of pop as light colors on white do not mix. I do feel there is something else going on also as some deep blacks are a nice black and yet do not really standout.


Sounds like the profile is not very good. 

You can increase saturation and/or gamma some. If you are able to dial it in better in PS with image adjustments suggest to create an "action" so you can automate your "tweaks" with a couple of clicks.

I would go back to where you got the profile and complain.


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## sinGN (Oct 12, 2016)

Hi,
Try it at 400F temp.


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## jflores0002 (Jun 8, 2015)

Hello Nprice 32. reading your posts on faded subli prints. You mentioned you use Texprint R. Are you aware that you are using paper made specifically for Rico inks? I can tell you that I use Texprint Rx with cobra inks and their ink profile. I have prints that really pop and blacks that are true blacks. I have the Epson WF 7010 and the profile from cobra specifies I let photoshop manage printer. Also, people say that high heat won't hurt your prints? Not true. I use 370f for 50 secs. when I go 400 the prints start to look a bit faded and I start getting press marks. Use minimal pressure too. I can send you some pics of shirts I recently made with some really, really popping colors.
Cheers


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

jflores0002 said:


> Hello Nprice 32. reading your posts on faded subli prints. You mentioned you use Texprint R. Are you aware that you are using paper made specifically for Rico inks? I can tell you that I use Texprint Rx with cobra inks and their ink profile. I have prints that really pop and blacks that are true blacks. I have the Epson WF 7010 and the profile from cobra specifies I let photoshop manage printer. Also, people say that high heat won't hurt your prints? Not true. I use 370f for 50 secs. when I go 400 the prints start to look a bit faded and I start getting press marks. Use minimal pressure too. I can send you some pics of shirts I recently made with some really, really popping colors.
> Cheers


He has a Ricoh.


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## jflores0002 (Jun 8, 2015)

mgparrish said:


> He has a Ricoh.


I read the whole thread. He does NOT have Ricoh inks.

"I am printing on a Gildan Sublimation T-Shirt and the ink I use is unbranded but it is from a company that sublimates signs (they use the same printer) so I think the ink is not the issue. "

This is from his thread.....


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## jflores0002 (Jun 8, 2015)

Sorry meant to say I use "TexPrintXP-HR"
*
*


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Hi Juan,

When buying the paper I was told by the sales guy that the paper was for Ricoh printers because of the way the pint head worked - I take it this is false? But I guess this would explain the lack of pop if the ink and paper are not working together. 

Cheers for all the info guys!


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## jflores0002 (Jun 8, 2015)

Well you can do 2 things. Buy the Ricoh inks and test or buy the paper I mentioned. I know the Ricoh inks are pretty expensive. Paper does make a difference. There are papers that don't have high release so prints look washed out or faded. You can tell by how much ink is left on paper after pressing. Also if you set printer to print on glossy paper, the colors don't look right. My blacks tend to look on the green side.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Yep, I think I am going to have to try the paper and if that fails the Ricoh inks. 

Also the guy that made my profile says that changing the paper will make the profile wrong and I will need to have another profile created for things to looks right. Do you guys think this is the case - I am a little dubious because he has been trying to sell me random things since I got the profile.


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## jflores0002 (Jun 8, 2015)

Nprice32 said:


> Yep, I think I am going to have to try the paper and if that fails the Ricoh inks.
> 
> Also the guy that made my profile says that changing the paper will make the profile wrong and I will need to have another profile created for things to looks right. Do you guys think this is the case - I am a little dubious because he has been trying to sell me random things since I got the profile.


Well I can tell you that I use Dyetrans paper and colors don't pop. They look like the colors that I want to print, but not as vibrant. I use Dyetrans strictly for socks where people won't care as much putting something on their feet as wearing something across their chest. Like I said in my earlier reply, I use the ink from Cobra. The profile for their ink is spot on. I'm not plugging Cobra; I've read where few have had problems with customer service. I'm fine with them. I order receive and I print. I also have ink that is way past the supposed 6 month life. I can tell you that I have used black that is 1 year old and it hasn't changed nor my other 3 colors for that matter. Black still looks black, reds, blues, greens, yellows too. If you have to pay for ink profiles, I would shop elsewhere. You're paying for something that's already been created for someone else. It stops being custom when several people use the same profile. So good luck. Like someone earlier said, buy some cheap poly swatches and experiment. Heat, and time. Very minimal pressure required. I usually adjust pressure until my blacks start to have fade spots then I put back some pressure. Once you get the pressure right, it makes finding time and heat that much easier.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

jflores0002 said:


> I read the whole thread. He does NOT have Ricoh inks.
> 
> "I am printing on a Gildan Sublimation T-Shirt and the ink I use is unbranded but it is from a company that sublimates signs (they use the same printer) so I think the ink is not the issue. "
> 
> This is from his thread.....


Huh?

Let's be clear, he has stated he has a Ricoh printer and sublimation inks

Of course he is not using "Ricoh Inks" since they are pigment and won't sublimate. 

He has sublimation inks I would assume that were sold as being compatible with a Ricoh.


********************************************
You stated ...

"You mentioned you use Texprint R. Are you aware that you are using paper made specifically for Rico inks?"

My response
*Yes he has a Ricoh printer no he is not using Ricoh inks. * 

His original quote ...

"I am using a Ricoh SG7100DN with sublimation inks and have had an ICC profile made for the inks and paper (TexPrint-R Sublimation Paper for Ricoh). "

You were telling him his paper is wrong it's meant for a Ricoh.

I think you are meaning Rico inks = Sawgrass Sublijet-R inks but just not stating it that way?

"Well you can do 2 things. Buy the *Ricoh* inks and test or buy the paper I mentioned. I know the* Ricoh* inks are pretty expensive. Paper does make a difference. There are papers that don't have high release so prints look washed out or faded. You can tell by how much ink is left on paper after pressing. Also if you set printer to print on glossy paper, the colors don't look right. My blacks tend to look on the green side."

"You mentioned you use Texprint R. Are you aware that you are using paper made specifically for Rico inks?"

Sawgrass inks software is setup for using TexPrint R.

Had you stated "You mentioned you use Texprint R. Are you aware that you are using paper made specifically for Sawgrass Sublijet-R inks?" 

That would be more clear way to state it. TexPrint R is not made specifically for "Ricoh inks" as you have stated.


Just sayin ...


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Nprice32 said:


> Yep, I think I am going to have to try the paper and if that fails the Ricoh inks.
> 
> Also the guy that made my profile says that changing the paper will make the profile wrong and I will need to have another profile created for things to looks right. Do you guys think this is the case - I am a little dubious because he has been trying to sell me random things since I got the profile.


Can you print something and transfer it, and post the pics here along with a image of the source image, something that is bright and vibrant on screen and transfer it on some poly?

You can get 100% poly from Walmart cheap in roles.

If you are worried about paper you can can use regular Epson bright white ink paper or matte paper from Epson. These work and release enough ink to be useful in a test.


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## jflores0002 (Jun 8, 2015)

Let's just help the guy....I've learned a whole bunch from this site and discussions.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Attached is an image I pressed along with the original image (please note the camra makes the pressed image look a little better than it is)

I also contacted beaver paper about the TexPrint-R sub paper and they stated that the paper has only ever been tested and approved for Sublijet-R inks so I do think I am using the wrong paper. I have ordered some TexPrint XP HR - fingers crossed that will work .


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Well it def. lacks definition. unable to tell via a shot but your blacks look a bit green and your edges to the oranges etc aren't too sharp. saying that though you have chosen to use just about the worst poly in the business with that open weave, I hate the stuff and use the heavy duty wicking shirts tagged TandyRu from BMS when ever possible. very smooth, soft and very thick material.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

I plan to use the Subli Plus tee for pressing but I have pretty wasted all my other samples trying to get the color right haha - so i am reduced to using the roll of poly.


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

just out of sheer curiosity I'm afraid to say "I borrowed your PNG, Sorry"
any way. stretched it out on a page in Serif PagePlus, exported it as a JPG,
Printed two ways, plain paper on a Xerox 7500 phaser,
and Ricoh 3110dn using sawgrass ink, powerdriver set to polyester fabric, trupix paper +5 colour saturation mirrored. pressed for 70 sec's at 200 centigrade. didn't even bother with teflons or pillows just placed a piece of baking paper over to protect my press and there wasn't even anything inside the shirt to stop 'blowthrough' because I've never had that happen ever.
and photo'd the results.
the shot titles tell the story the double print on the page is the printed t plus the original jpg paper print from the xerox.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Hi Derek,

The image is not mine - I was just wanted to use it for personal use to test my printer (which I think makes it ok). 

Your pressed image looks a lot more accurate and sharp  Can I ask how you came to decided to press for 70 sec is that the suggested time for your particular tee or is that what you have fond to work best? I have tried to press from 40sec to 60sec so I might 70sec a try depending on your answer.


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Well I think we gave it a test ok!
In daylight with the naked eye 3 people have said that the Tee has more definition than the print and I do agree with them.
Timing is all down to personal testing and recording the results, we have a good ole filofax that has all of our temps for everything we have ever pressed (with lots of lines through and revised figures) what I didn't do yesterday was to use an A3 copy paper to cover the print which due to the extreme heat caused a bit of a light brown tinge from the parchment paper (but that washes out okay). all materials are different settings I've found, like the babies onesies are only 195c for 60 secs and the safety vests are 197 for 65 secs. There's been a lot of ruined test samples along the way, and until I discovered that the only way to get a pristine hard substrate like a slate, tile or glass was to heat through the object I was ripping my hair out. (the thick large glass block is 200c for 850 secs!)
I cheat really in many eyes because I use straight forward kit, Ricoh, sawgrass cartridges, Trupix paper, powerdriver, Serif PagePlus PhotoPlus DrawPlus etc. for design work because I just need to hit 'print' and get a 99% lovely job in front of my customers.
An important thing is to pick selected brands of shirts and materials and only work with them. no matter if there's a sale on and they are a bit dearer than most at the time, re-setting times and saturation's etc is just wasting effort and hard won dosh.
And there's no such thing as a cheaper ink when it is doubtful if it is going to work this time when you hit the magic button.
sorry for the bit of a lecture, but I don't like to make things technical for no reason, In and Out ASAP that's me.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Dekzion said:


> Well it def. lacks definition. unable to tell via a shot but your blacks look a bit green and your edges to the oranges etc aren't too sharp. saying that though you have chosen to use just about the worst poly in the business with that open weave, I hate the stuff and use the heavy duty wicking shirts tagged TandyRu from BMS when ever possible. very smooth, soft and very thick material.


When you describe the colors you see (blacks are greenish) keep this in mind ...

1. You are likely looking at a photo that was altered when it was uploaded to the server. Likely it was changed and reduced to minimize size stored on the server. _This usually means the colors are altered slightly in the process._

2. Web pages are only sRGB. If the source pic was in Adobe RGB 1998 
it's not the same colors exactly.

3. This is a pic of a transferred item, you are looking at a picture of a picture and it's unknown about the color management of the posted picture, you are not there "live" to see the true imaging.

4. Unless _you_ have a wide gamut IPS calibrated monitor all bets are off even if the "picture of a picture" was taken perfectly and color managed all the way up to the posting on this website and the forum didn't alter the photo. 

5. Lighting of the "picture of the picture" makes a huge difference.

The best you can do judging color is that you can see obvious errors in the color using a known photo like the PDI target file. For example the profile hasn't "taken" or some other gross setup error exists.

Bottom line, no one can see this accurately in terms of objective colors, your comment about the material used is legit though.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Nprice32 said:


> Attached is an image I pressed along with the original image (please note the camra makes the pressed image look a little better than it is)
> 
> I also contacted beaver paper about the TexPrint-R sub paper and they stated that the paper has only ever been tested and approved for Sublijet-R inks so I do think I am using the wrong paper. I have ordered some TexPrint XP HR - fingers crossed that will work .


Looks to me you need to avoid the Texprint "R" paper and also use a substrate that will pop better when you sublimate.

TexPrint XP HR should have the best release available for the desktop.
Substrates matter!

Suggest to get some cheap 100% poly from Walmart for your testing. It can sublimate well and has decent "pop"


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Viper Graphics said:


> This may be your problem...I'm assuming your calling the Gildan shirt a "sublimation t-shirt" because it is 100% poly? Would still like to know the style number, also you use an unbranded sublimation ink.....um....but yet you made a ICC profile for it....? Where do you get your ink from. In sublimation these unbranded and knockoff inks can be problematic. Is not the Ricoh printers made for the sawgrass inks? ( I don't use them, I use Epson) When you print do you make sure the color management in the printer is turned off? Hopefully others with Ricoh's can chime in and give some advice.


Ricoh's were not made for sublimation inks. This is misinformation typically propagated by some Sawgrass vendors. Ricoh's are office printers using pigment inks that Ricoh supplies. it just happens the Ricohs are piezo electric and can be used for sublimation. 

Sawgrass is a 3rd party ink, the use of the term "knockoff" inks and "unbranded" I have to disagree with. Other 3rd parties make inks now for Ricohs and sublimation. If they have their own formulation and don't copy Sawgrass formulation then they cannot be a "knockoff". 

To be clear here if the ink is purchased and no ICC or other color management is provided this can be problematic.

If you purchase sub inks from others and they provide an adequate color management solution or you have an ICC made then these should not be inherently problematic.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

mgparrish said:


> Ricoh's were not made for sublimation inks. This is misinformation typically propagated by some Sawgrass vendors. Ricoh's are office printers using pigment inks that Ricoh supplies. it just happens the Ricohs are piezo electric and can be used for sublimation.
> 
> Sawgrass is a 3rd party ink, the use of the term "knockoff" inks and "unbranded" I have to disagree with. Other 3rd parties make inks now for Ricohs and sublimation. If they have their own formulation and don't copy Sawgrass formulation then they cannot be a "knockoff".
> 
> ...


MG, what I meant by knock off and/or unbranded is all those sublimation inks and systems that you never heard of and you see on ebay and from china...
I went to a seminar just over a year ago at a local distributor I use for awards products pushing their new entrance into supplying sublimation products and blanks....it was Ricoh pushing sawgrass. In their words you can only use that ink with that printer, for it to work they also had a graphics package but you must have a subscription and it was all on the cloud. when asked it you could save your work to your own computer the answer was a clear NO...all work was saved in your cloud account....they also said the clip art in the package could only be sent to your ricoh printer because of the licensing they had ...?? It would not say send the graphic file from their program to say my epson....anyway, if I cannot have full control of my work and processes then I'm out...besides, they are much too expensive for me. Now I may have misunderstood but a few others left with the same understanding....


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Viper Graphics said:


> MG, what I meant by knock off and/or unbranded is all those sublimation inks and systems that you never heard of and you see on ebay and from china...
> I went to a seminar just over a year ago at a local distributor I use for awards products pushing their new entrance into supplying sublimation products and blanks....it was Ricoh pushing sawgrass. In their words you can only use that ink with that printer, for it to work they also had a graphics package but you must have a subscription and it was all on the cloud. when asked it you could save your work to your own computer the answer was a clear NO...all work was saved in your cloud account....they also said the clip art in the package could only be sent to your ricoh printer because of the licensing they had ...?? It would not say send the graphic file from their program to say my epson....anyway, if I cannot have full control of my work and processes then I'm out...besides, they are much too expensive for me. Now I may have misunderstood but a few others left with the same understanding....


Sawgrass most current printers SG400 and SG800 are private label Ricoh printers. 

The printer here in question from the 1st post in this thread is designated "Ricoh SG7100DN". The SG800 is a retrofit of the Ricoh SG7100DN.

Ricoh does not push Sawgrass, Sawgrass "pushes" a version of a Ricoh SG7100DN that has the Sawgrass logo, it's called "Virtuoso", it added some software, and some other changes, it's still a Ricoh with some value added stuff.

You can go to all the various authorized Sawgrass dealers and you can see for yourself there are no Ricoh logos on the "Virtuoso" brand of printer. In fact you won't see any mention of Ricoh in the Sawgrass supplied literature.

To your other point about the intellectual property in the cloud, being hostage to a single company is not my idea of business freedom and elevates unnecessary risk. All your eggs in one basket. I divorced Sawgrass a long time ago and never looked back.


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

mgparrish said:


> Sawgrass most current printers SG400 and SG800 are private label Ricoh printers.
> 
> The printer here in question from the 1st post in this thread is designated "Ricoh SG7100DN". The SG800 is a retrofit of the Ricoh SG7100DN.
> 
> ...


Mike, thanks for the clarification. I Kind of had it backwards...glad your divorce left you with a positive outlook As moody as Epsons are for sublimation I'm happy with mine and the inks that I use....


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## sinGN (Oct 12, 2016)

Hi,
I think this problem is because of low temp supplied while pressing.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

The TexPrint XP HR paper arrived today and I have played with the saturation in Photoshop a little and attached is the result. I think the paper has made a big difference - from the image do you feel I have a good image or do you think I can still do better? 

Cheers!


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Nprice32 said:


> The TexPrint XP HR paper arrived today and I have played with the saturation in Photoshop a little and attached is the result. I think the paper has made a big difference - from the image do you feel I have a good image or do you think I can still do better?
> 
> Cheers!


I think you nailed it.


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Mike has everything set up to be the best judge of this image portrayed on screen so if he says you've nailed it it must be so. IMHO it doesn't look like it can be improved on.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Dekzion said:


> Mike has everything set up to be the best judge of this image portrayed on screen so if he says you've nailed it it must be so. IMHO it doesn't look like it can be improved on.


Umm no I did not "judge of this image portrayed on screen" just by looking at on the pop-up of the webpage.

I actually took his photo and set into Photoshop to setup his white balance on the photo and based on that I formed my opinion. The photo lighting was slanted very "cool" so it needed white balance restored. Since I know his fabric material was white that made a good reference point for my white point . 

My only point from before was that you cannot tell if the black had a green tint to it just judging on screen.

We can still see the overal saturation and depth of color on his image, which was his complaint.

Could be some small tweaks to further optimize his setup which would require some additional dialog with the OP, but by and large he is in the ballpark.


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## ssmedia7 (Sep 26, 2013)

I know I'm late to the discussion here but if it helps... the only 100% Poly shirt Gildan makes is the 42000. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## tshirtsrus (Jun 6, 2007)

Hi all,

one thing I didn't see in this thread is if the OP was using GEL inks or just regular density sublimation inks, Gel inks have more density in dye particles than non gel inks if non gel ink was used then perhaps that's why saturation needed to be increased to compensate the density of the gel inks. Just a thought.


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## Nprice32 (Oct 18, 2016)

Thank you all for the help guys it is much appreciated!!! 

Mike: I can confirm the black is now black - I think the green tint was caused by me using the wrong paper (TexPrint-R). 

Michael C: The 4200 is a 100% Poly Performance tee which is 145gsm for white but Gildan also do a sublimation tee that is 169gsm. If you are interested let me know and I will find a way to post aa link.

Ruben: I am using OME regular density sublimation inks.

I am happy with the color now but if anyone has any suggestions to improve color please let me know. 

If anyone with a similar setup has any questions I can try to help but I am still a newbie at this


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## sinGN (Oct 12, 2016)

Hi,
sublimate 100% polyester tee at 400° F for 35-40 seconds.


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