# Dye Sub coating formula DIY



## MastersCopy

Has anyone had experience with a product made by Dye Press?
DyePress Home Page 

They claim to have a sprayable/Brushable 2 part poly coat that will allow sublimation printing on, glass. ceramic. wood. metal, cotton. etc.
This is the first I have heard of this particular company and want to know if anyone has had experience with them, good, bad, ???
I am printing 15oz mugs made in USA, and will continue with USA products but the pre-coated price is killing my profit margin.
Yeah, you get what you pay for.... USUALLY! 
Any constructive input will be appreciated.
Ralph


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## charles95405

I started sublimation in 1997. I have tried almost all of the DIY coating... My advice save your $$$. I found that spraying or rolling or brushing left streaks or uneven coating unnoticed until pressing. It is not nearly as smooth as commercial products. So I price accordingly. After all a mug with shipping and ink is no more than $2.50 total cost. Plenty room for profit


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## Coastalrich

This is the first that I have heard of this company but I'm always leery about working with a company that does not list any contact information on their web site.

Back in the day when I was at Tropical Graphics, we had a coating line (Armor Coatings) to coat tiles, etc. To get a proper coating is a lot of work and you have to use nasty chemistry in order to have good and consistent results. If you want to give this stuff a try then I do not suggest trying coffee mugs because that need to be dishwasher safe and the consumer will be putting their lips on the mugs. Make sure the company can provide you with a MSDS sheet to make sure it is safe. If you do give it a try then start with some ceramic tiles.

I agree with Charles there is plenty of profit in the ready to transfer substrates and that instead of trying to recreate an available product - focus your attention on your customer's needs by giving them the highest perceived value of your products.


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## allerta

I never used this, but I agree. I made quite a mess with other coatings and had to use my oven outdoors to bake the coating because of the fumes. Ended up with bubbles everytime. 

HOWEVER, this has a way around the bubbles and isn't there always something to sublimate that you just can't find to buy anywhere. What about ceramic door knobs, and wood products? I've searched over and over.

Things to compliment the items that you already sublimate.

I'd sure like to hear about the results and the process if known.


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## headfirst

I've never tried it, but seeing as how you only make posts here about this website, I'm guessing that it's your site.

I'm in Michigan as well, why don't you bring some by and we can test it out and I'll post a proper review.


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## charles95405

I agree that the web site has no phone number and appears to be an eBay operation...I would not touch this with a ten foot pole.


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## MastersCopy

Hi all,
Thanks for your varied responses to my inquiry.
The product (DYE PRESS poly) that I asked about is Not my own product, it is one I came across while zooming the web.
I am trying to cut the overhead in my mug production, I do not know where I can purchase quality coated 15oz mugs that are made completely in the USA for less than 4.50 ea, (shipped) which after transfer sheets, sub-ink and defects really cuts into profit.

As is easy to figure, this type of product would put me into the black-IF it is a good quality product.
That is why I wanted to know if anyone had tried it before.
I am in the process of acquiring a flat-press.
When I do I will buy some of this and test it on tiles, I will re-post results with test info at that time.
Thank you all for your replies, and hard learned information/opinions,
Ralph.


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## jemmyell

Hi,

I have tried their spray coating for cotton - 50/50 shirts. The results were very poor.

-James


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## MastersCopy

Thank you James, that was most helpful.


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## uncletee

we did bar stools years ago, couple of coats of poly I got at the hardware store. turned out great. so I think there is a market. good luck uncletee


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## MastersCopy

Any particular type of poly work best for for Dye Sub???


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## SUGARCREEK

I have developed a way of sublimating a complete plate without any machinery, and as far as i can see this is a wide open area. Everyone always has a opinion about a product based on their use of it, and what i have found out is that most failures of a product are due to the user. I ordered some of the clear poly today, and will work with it until it works. This way i am not tied down to just the regular items, and can sublimate just about anything, at least that is the way i am thinking now, will let all know. I sublimate cup handles along with the cup, it is a seperate process then that of the cups


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## MastersCopy

Keep me informed!
I also excel when working outside the box!
R


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## MastersCopy

Hey Skip,
Can you give me particulars on type of poly and $$ or is it a trade secret?
R


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## SUGARCREEK

It is DYEPRESS POLYGLOSS dyepress.com email rachel@dyepress.com. their phone is screwed up right now, You can tell a good person, she emailed me, told me i could save 15 dollars by ordering a differnt sized bottle, she credited my paypal account within a hour, that is a good sign for me. Never used the stuff, but willing to try, and will make it work. We own a shelter for cats up on the canadian border, i make all the items for the gift shop, lookin to make something original, instead of the reular, will do, will keep all informed SKIP see ya


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## uncletee

keep us posted, out of the box is always good. we have been buying poly material at the fabric store, subing cool pic's and making lots, lots of pillows, I can even sew now! good luck uncletee.


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## mr300s

So no follow up by anyone??


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## MastersCopy

Hey Bill,
Been busy designing my t-shirt entry, then traveled just south of you, and played around with tropical storm Debbie, (see link). Think I will now have some time to pursue the inquiry's that I have made on the subject of acquiring commercial grade poly-coat.
I will post back with any significant results, good or bad!
Thanks to all for your input and interest,
Ralph 
P.S No, that is NOT me surfing, I was filming!

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E4SDvdesRo&feature=channel&list=UL[/media]


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## SUGARCREEK

Contacted, DYEPRESS got a gallon of poly, full instructions, got a email address, as posted before, wanted to sublimate unusual shape items, antique, something others do not process, up here in LUBEC MAINE. Have not tried the application process yet, i am sure there might be a few problems at first, but am sure it will work. It would be ideal if i could afford A VACUM OVEN, but can not justify the price right now,THUS HAVE ANOTHER process for sublimation of unusual shaped objects, no machine involved, will post results of the complete process, once i test , and everything works, i hope


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## SUGARCREEK

FORGOT to ask, looking for used vacuum oven, let me know THANKS


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## mr300s

I bought some stuff from China and the poly on the metal is very thin and it does not sublimate like the US ones.


So I ordered some and will try to re coat theirs and see if it will then work...

Its cheap enough and worth a try , thanks for the response...


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## Jenn2010

We are new to the forums and am so thankful to have found this website. We're seriously thinking of getting two of the Epson 7520's from Cobra, one for dye sub and one for pigment. We also would like to be able to do a lot of different items with the sub. Hoping you guys have completed your experiments and can share more of what your findings are. Thanks for any input you have to offer.


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## rossdv8

I am sitting here wearing a 100% cotton shirt I treated and transfered using dyepress poly tw and sublimation paper and ink. We had a long discussion going on another thread about sublimating 100% cotton and the (correct) information was that you cannot, repeat, can not, sublimate cotton.

You can however sublimate polymer.

So, logically, if you saturate the cotton with a polymer, right into the fibres, then dry it, then sublimate it, you can achieve a sublimation effect.

However, it will not be bright. It will look rather distressed, pastel.

What you do get however, is a shirt that after a couple of washes has absolutely NO hand at all, and doesn't seem to fade appreciably. I posted a pic of this shirt when it was first printed. After washing about every second day for almost 2 months now, so say 30 or more washes it has changed very little.

Not a saleable item unless your customers want that faded pastel look, and the colours could never be called vibrant. But I like wearing it and people ask me about it more often than they ask about my sublimated poly or heat transfer shirts.

The original was taken at late sunset and doesn't have vibrant colours anyway.

So that's one response to the dyepress tw question . Yes you can - but...

Cheers,

RossD.


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## GordonM

I found the spray okay on 50/50, but A-B tests showed the color density after washing was nearly identical with and without the spray. So considering the cost of the spray and the time of the process I figured I'd just keep using 50/50 for faded or vintage looking shirts. I found some 60/40 shirts in the wholesale district of LA, and they should hold their colors a little bit better.

I still use the spray on 100% cotton or linen products I do that are not intended to be washed, and it works quite well. These are meant to look vintage anyway, and the texture of the fabric is important. There's a lot of stuff out there beyond shirts.


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## susanlou

I ordered a sample pack from dyepress and it works very well. New Dyepress Dye Sublimation Coating Ink Combo Pack | eBay


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## SUGARCREEK

I also bought rolls of poly material, large sub pictures, made pillows, problem is I hate to sew


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## rossdv8

If you don't like sewing you could do what I do and buy polyester pillows  They are really cheap and an A3 print doesn;t look particularly good until you put a pillow inside. Once you do that though, it takes the shape and the print doesn't lok so lost.


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## Lynns Creations

SUGARCREEK said:


> Contacted, DYEPRESS got a gallon of poly, full instructions, got a email address, as posted before, wanted to sublimate unusual shape items, antique, something others do not process, up here in LUBEC MAINE. Have not tried the application process yet, i am sure there might be a few problems at first, but am sure it will work. It would be ideal if i could afford A VACUM OVEN, but can not justify the price right now,THUS HAVE ANOTHER process for sublimation of unusual shaped objects, no machine involved, will post results of the complete process, once i test , and everything works, i hope


How did everything turn out?


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