# Sublislate Photos



## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Does anyone here do the sublislate products? I was wondering how sales were with these. Do you sell many? Price range?

Thanks,

dan


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## helix-2000 (Nov 6, 2007)

I've seen the demo and boy takes 9 mins to press. I have asked around to people I sell to and so far no one wants to order until they see a sample print.


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## BRC (Mar 27, 2007)

I sold 2 of them yesterday. They should be popular at Bike Week in Daytona. I price them about twice as much as regular ceramic tiles.


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## helix-2000 (Nov 6, 2007)

Terry

What size slate are you selling? Did you have to press for 9 mins to get the trasnfer to take? Thanks.


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## bboch7 (Aug 10, 2011)

We have sold probavly 50 of them in the last 2 months. Yes they take a long to press but they come out really nice. One thing to remember with these is always get a couple extra with them being hand chipped on the edges every once in awhile you will have one that wont work with the photo you are using meaning something important will end up cut off


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

bboch7 said:


> We have sold probavly 50 of them in the last 2 months. Yes they take a long to press but they come out really nice. One thing to remember with these is always get a couple extra with them being hand chipped on the edges every once in awhile you will have one that wont work with the photo you are using meaning something important will end up cut off


 
Thank you for the reply. Are you selling in a store setting? What size(s) do you sell?

I'm a photographer and looking for something to add to my license plates.


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## bboch7 (Aug 10, 2011)

Yes we are a store setting. I have done just about every size and shape on the Conde site. I think the only one I havent done is the clock


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## BRC (Mar 27, 2007)

If you are doing these on demand like I do remember that they take longer to press and ALSO take longer to cool off. People have become so used to "instant" everthing that they will not wait. The most asked question for me after 'How much?" is "How long?" so I warn them ahead of time on all my tiles especially the slate.


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## SaB (May 15, 2007)

slate need about 6min to roast. but need to warm the slate before attaching transfer to it. you also need to warm the silicon sheet. less chance to ruin blank 
here is sample of couple that I did:









and...


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Nice work, Paul. I am definitely considering doing these.

dan


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

Paul, or anyone else for that matter, do you use ICC profiles, and if you do, which one? I got three each of the right contour, tablet, and 5x7 rectangle, along with the 1/8" thick silicone sheet. 

I can't afford to mess up many (read - ANY) of these blanks, so I'd like to get as much of the settings right as I possibly can.

Thanks,

dan


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

Did you say you sell in a store front or go to shows?


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

selanac said:


> Did you say you sell in a store front or go to shows?


I work out of my home, but I always carry my camera and some samples whenever I go out. 

dan


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

I guess some good area's would be tourist attractions.


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

selanac said:


> I guess some good area's would be tourist attractions.


 
I was asking about ICC profiles, and I should have mentioned, I use Photoshop CS5.


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## SaB (May 15, 2007)

DaytonaDan said:


> Paul, or anyone else for that matter, do you use ICC profiles, and if you do, which one? I got three each of the right contour, tablet, and 5x7 rectangle, along with the 1/8" thick silicone sheet.
> 
> I can't afford to mess up many (read - ANY) of these blanks, so I'd like to get as much of the settings right as I possibly can.
> 
> ...


Hi! yes I do use ICC. I actualy created one JUST for the slates as with my standard ICC I had to much yellow showing on my slates. you can notice it on the first photo i posted.


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

The first two I did were really, really, bad. I contacted Conde and with some helpful information, they got better. 

Here's a shot of the next three I did. The slate on the right was still not good enough to sell, but it was the last I did the original way.










On the Pekingese slate, you can see the mottled effect in the black area of his face. BTW - the suggestion I got, and followed, was to print the slate face-down (from the back) and it works great for me and my heat press.

dan


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

Nice Dan. 

Obviously, the slate doesn't come Sublimation Ready from the company that cuts it. What do they add to it to make it Sublimatible? 

Is there a spray or something we could buy to make our non-sublimation products into Sublimated products if that makes any sense?


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

selanac said:


> Nice Dan.
> 
> Obviously, the slate doesn't come Sublimation Ready from the company that cuts it. What do they add to it to make it Sublimatible?
> 
> Is there a spray or something we could buy to make our non-sublimation products into Sublimated products if that makes any sense?


 
There is a coating I found on the net, but it is a clear coat. I guess it could be used on white objects, but I don't know what you would mix with it to get the white background necessary for photos.

Sublimation coating, sublimation polymer coating, coating sublimation

dan


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

Thanks I check it out.

Can use on cheap mugs to save on shipping cost.


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## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

They have coatings you can buy to coat mugs etc, but I have not heard anyone that has had good results so it seems like it is better to buy them from a reputable company and charge more to cover the shipping cost involved, I would rather buy a product that is coated properly than to try and save a few pennies to do it myself and have an unhappy customer, just me.


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## SaB (May 15, 2007)

well... its not about saving few pennys i think. is more about coathing the items that you can not find with your supplier.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

DaytonaDan said:


> The first two I did were really, really, bad. I contacted Conde and with some helpful information, they got better.
> 
> Here's a shot of the next three I did. The slate on the right was still not good enough to sell, but it was the last I did the original way.
> 
> ...


Dan,

How much extra dwell time do you have to add when doing face down? Those are fairly thick. thx


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

DaytonaDan said:


> Thank you for the reply. Are you selling in a store setting? What size(s) do you sell?
> 
> I'm a photographer and looking for something to add to my license plates.


I haven't started offering the slates yet so I don't have a good handle on what my prices are going to be. 

But one thing to keep in mind for your pricing if you are taking the picture you can charge more than what some others that are just taking a customer supplied digital file and imprinting. So if someone is offering cheaper than you think you can, then take into account if they are actually offering photographic services or not.

I have a feeling that these type items are not going to show up for sale at traditional photofinishing places that offer mugs, mousepads, tshirts etc due to the complexity to produce ... so pricing may have wider ranges everywhere and the public at large may not even be aware of those, unlike mugs etc.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

BRC said:


> If you are doing these on demand like I do remember that they take longer to press and ALSO take longer to cool off. People have become so used to "instant" everthing that they will not wait. The most asked question for me after 'How much?" is "How long?" so I warn them ahead of time on all my tiles especially the slate.


You bring up a good point, tiles take a while and these are going to take longer.

It's a bit pricey but this is what I use, unless I'm doing an event I'm not doing live retail but it works very well. I still use it even if I am not "live", mostly for tiles, hardboard, glass and metals.

Dye Sublimation Products, Blank Imprintables and Accessories - Paramount Services


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## martinwoods (Jul 20, 2006)

SaB said:


> well... its not about saving few pennys i think. is more about coathing the items that you can not find with your supplier.


That is true, I am just saying I have not heard anyone say they have gotten good results on their own but I could be wrong. Maybe someone will chime in that has had a good success with one of the coatings. If you find a good one let us know because I am sure there are many that would like to do some of their own things as well.

Have a great New Year


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

mgparrish said:


> Dan,
> 
> How much extra dwell time do you have to add when doing face down? Those are fairly thick. thx


 
I did the 2 upside-down at 9 mins., 400deg. I think 8-8 1/2 mins would be fine. These came out just a little bit dark. 

dan


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## DaytonaDan (Jul 12, 2011)

mgparrish said:


> You bring up a good point, tiles take a while and these are going to take longer.
> 
> It's a bit pricey but this is what I use, unless I'm doing an event I'm not doing live retail but it works very well. I still use it even if I am not "live", mostly for tiles, hardboard, glass and metals.


 
You bring up a good point about time, however, my target audience is people who want a photo taken at a particular location, of a particular subject, and this takes even more time. I know this is the hard way to do this, but I'm selling my photographic skills as much as the slate or plates. 

My goal is to have people come to me because I'm the best at it in the area. This may not happen, but it is my goal anyway. I spend time on every photo in Lightroom and Photoshop to bring out the very best I can in each photo. Again, more time, but I think in the long run, it'll be worth it. One shot of a dog brought me four more jobs in one neighborhood, just because he showed them his license plate. 

I'm operating on the smallest budget you can imagine, (I'm trying to get off unemployment.) so it's taking a bit of time building my inventory and customers, but with a little PMA, hard work, and some plain ol' luck, hopefully, I'll get this going.

dan


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

what pad are you all using to do these sublislates ? Conde site says 1/8 green pad but paper with it said use 1/2 white felt.
So many damn pads !


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## bboch7 (Aug 10, 2011)

We use the green pad works great


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

Thanks. How are you laying it all out to be pressed. i have the instructions but I know sometimes people find different ways to do things and some work better.

Thanks


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## bboch7 (Aug 10, 2011)

Teflon slate transfer blank piece of paper and green pad works good for us. Now I will say this I was having problems with paper sticking we were using paper from Johnson Plastics which has always worked great for us until we started doing slates. Called Conde and they told me to try the TextPrint paper not only did it not stick but was even a better image


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