# Printed image is not transferring



## dans0y (Jan 6, 2021)

Guys, I'm new to sublimation and I'm trying to start a small business by selling custom phone cases. However, I can't seem to get the printed image to transfer on my blank phone case. I've done a fair bit of research and tried different ways but still won't work and I don't know where I went wrong. Can someone help me please? 

Im using: 
Epson Ecotank 2710 printer
FreeSub ST-2030 heat press
A4 dye sublimation paper
Dye ink for epson
3d sublimation blank phone cases























I've tried a bunch of time and temp settings on the heat press (180 C for 360s/ 420s, etc, 140 C for 360s/ 420s, etc...) but nothing works. The max temp on my heat press is only 180 C though. Maybe it needs to be hotter? Not sure.
I also tried printing on both sides of the transfer paper in case I printed on the wrong side...still nothing. Is it something wrong with my printer? I really don't know anyone.

HELP PLEASE 🥺 
would greatly appreciate it.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Your ink doesn't appear to be dye sublimation ink. If it doesn't say 'dye sublimation' on it, it is not. Dye ink is not the same as dye sublimation ink.


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## dans0y (Jan 6, 2021)

Omg. They are not the same? It must be the ink that's the problem then because I couldn't get any transfer at all not even a little. Now I have to suck out all the ink in my printer tank too. Hahaha. Oh well. Anyway, thank you very much for your help. I'll try changing the ink and see how it goes


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Yeah, confusing lingo. But it comes down to this. Normal everyday inkjet printers use either Pigment ink or Dye ink, and some use both at the same time (with black being of one type and the CMY being the other). That's how they come out of the box.

Dye Sublimation ink is an entirely different beast, and not something of any use at all to the average person (it does not look right printed on paper, rather weak, faded). "Sublimation" is the important word you want to look for when buying your ink.

Best bet is to find an ink supplier who also provides profiles so your colors will be right, or closer to right, with less bother.

When you get the right ink, you'll need to do some head cleanings to purge out the regular ink. Which happens to be what I'm doing tonight. Uhm, and that being an EcoTank, first you'll need to upend it over a sink to dump out the ink. Cobra Ink has a video on this.


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## dans0y (Jan 6, 2021)

The video that I saw on YouTube says to open the printer, disconnect the tube and then suck it out from there using a syringe. When empty, do I need to fill it out with the new ink or do I have to completely empty the old ink by printing a lot of pages? And when do I do the head cleaning? I'm a bit unsure of
the sequence in transitioning to using the new ink.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Yeah, sucking the ink out via the tubes is good. After that put the new ink in the tanks. Hmmm, I guess at that point you could initiate that initial setup thing one does with a new EcoTank where it primes the empty tubes with ink. That should flush out any remnants of the other ink, so shouldn't have to run head cleanings. There is no doubt a vid that shows end-to-end process.

The printer I was working on tonight is not an EcoTank, so the process is a bit different. Sorry for sort of mixing bits from both processes in my previous comment.


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

check out this vid on swapping inks on an ecotank


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## dans0y (Jan 6, 2021)

Yes this is exactly the video I watched. I'm gonna try this out maybe next week when I get the sublimation ink that I ordered. Thank you vey much for your help


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## DrivingZiggy (Apr 24, 2017)

Also, be sure that your phone cases are sublimation-ready.


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## Its just crafting (Oct 28, 2021)

splathead said:


> Your ink doesn't appear to be dye sublimation ink. If it doesn't say 'dye sublimation' on it, it is not. Dye ink is not the same as dye sublimation ink.


Hello I'm having issued with my images transferring to 100 polyester and my biddle actually says ep sublimation ink .. I have a brand new eco 2720 .. I just can't figure it out please help!


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Its just crafting said:


> Hello I'm having issued with my images transferring to 100 polyester and my biddle actually says ep sublimation ink .. I have a brand new eco 2720 .. I just can't figure it out please help!


Assuming you can see that the image is printing onto the paper to start with, then:

- What color is your polyester? Dye sublimation ink can only *dye* a substrate--that is, _darken_ it. All white/light in the image comes from the substrate.

- Your time and temp is 400F for 60 seconds? That may not be the _perfect_ time/temp for you garment, but it will absolutely work unless something else is wrong.

There are a limited number of things that can go wrong: Not sublimation ink, Not polyester, Not white/light polyester, Not the right time and temp.


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## mlueracollections (Nov 20, 2021)

i printed image on sublimation paper, using sublimation ink, pressed it on sublimation blank 400 degrees for 60 seconds, no image transferred. Any suggestions?


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

mlueracollections said:


> i printed image on sublimation paper, using sublimation ink, pressed it on sublimation blank 400 degrees for 60 seconds, no image transferred. Any suggestions?


As long as the ink colors you used are darker than your blank, then 99% of the time it's because you are not really using sublimation ink.

Give us details. Ink brand. New printer or one that had ink in it before? Printer model?


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