# Forever Subli-Flex 202



## WGiant (Oct 15, 2015)

It seems Forever papers are stepping up their game a little bit, actually got a reply from a distributor today, which is new.

Has anyone had success getting a sample sheet or doing production with Forever Subliflex 202?

I'm not looking for miracles. They claim 50 washes which would be good enough for me.


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## WGiant (Oct 15, 2015)

Well, I was able to get my hands on some sample sheets and here are my frist impressions:

1. The colors do sublimate through the material pretty darned well. If I were just looking at it for print quality I'd be happy with the result.

2. The material and ink seem very durable. I'd have no worry about the ink coming off from abrasion the way DtG inks do. Haven't done a wash test yet.

3. The material is very thick. For those who work with vinyl it's a little thicker than the vinyl usually used for open mesh jerseys. For those who don't work with vinyl it's somewhere around the consistency of duck tape slapped on a shirt. I could see a lot of customers being put off by this.

4. The samples came with instruction for both a glossy and matte finish. I found the instructions to be very helpful and easy to follow. The glossy finish looks like a plastic bag and I can't imagine many customer going for it. The matte finish is actually not too bad. It takes on some of the texture from the shirt and helps to compensate for the vinyl thickness quite a bit.

5. The material is so thick I can't imagen color of the shirt is going to effect the color of these prints in the slightest. So, this really is a way have a sublimation image on a dark cotton shirt.

6. It stinks. Not sure if its the sublimation inks or the vinyl, but it smells like burnt plastic either way. Hope it washes out or goes away with time.

7. The material cost is quite high, but from my experiance it's on par with DtG inks and the maintenance for sublimation is of course a world better than DtG white ink.

*Overall*: I'd still like to get my hands on a few more sample sheets to be sure I can get consistent results on the printing and cutting side of things, but I'm pretty happy with the way it weeds, presses, and sublimates.


Here are some things I learned from the first round of testing:

1. The vinyl is very slick, you'll deffinately want sample sheets to be sure it will feed through your sublimation printer. Ours took a little fiddling to keep it from chewing on the sheet.

2. Images are printed in mirror, but you'll want your regiatration marks unmirrored.

3. The vinyl does not stick well to it's carrier sheet so don't plan for hi-detail or it's just going to fall right off the sheet and you'll be left with a sad pile of vinyl flakes. Text is going to have to be quite simple and large, or held together as a block.

4. The vinyl cuts quite easily, so you'll want to take your blade force down a couple notches, but there's also a fine line with it between not cutting the material and puncturing the carrier sheet, so be prepared to make a few test cuts to get it right.

5. Only works on 100% cotton.


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## Eighty4 (Nov 23, 2015)

WGiant said:


> Well, I was able to get my hands on some sample sheets and here are my frist impressions:
> 
> 1. The colors do sublimate through the material pretty darned well. If I were just looking at it for print quality I'd be happy with the result.
> 
> ...


I Just got my hands on a sample of SubliFlex, however after some test prints here are my observations
1- I was able to use it both on 100% cotton and poly blends. Although I have not tried to use it on 100% polyester, but the dealer is selling it as one fix all material (Which I doubt).
2- The colors are very nice, in particular if you have are using printing profiles.
3- My only gripe with this material is that I am unable to get the matt finish. I followed the instructions to the letter yet, all of the transfers I did were too shinny. I will not be able to use this material only because of this one downside, at least for me.
4- The price is a bit on the steeper side, if I can only use it for 100% cotton there are far more cheaper and better options available in the market. 

In my opinion this transfer paper can be a game changer only if its application is not limited to 100% cotton only, as lot of upstart businesses does not Eco solvent printers to print on vinyls.

I would welcome any suggestions on getting rid of the sheen after transfer.


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## Birdseye3 (Nov 20, 2017)

WGiant said:


> 3. The vinyl does not stick well to it's carrier sheet so don't plan for hi-detail or it's just going to fall right off the sheet and you'll be left with a sad pile of vinyl flakes. Text is going to have to be quite simple and large, or held together as a block.


Hi Folks. Running into this problem right now -with hats! Just a few letters want to fall off the carrier sheet. Can I use water to re-stick? or??
For the future, as the graphics come out stunning, how would you add the curved text above the logo (cotton hats) ?? Thanks for any ideas you may have.


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## Spaceair (Nov 28, 2020)

Not compatible whit Epson F570/500!!
The sheets are too thick 
The printer doesn't load them at all, but if you already manage to take it, it crushes it in the printer.
Did Contact the manufacturer. Not tested at all with this printer which is designed for sublimation original.
They have no idea at all..that is strange...


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