# Sublimation color problems



## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

Hello guys.

A week ago i decided i would start sublimating on mugs and t-shirts as it would be a nice addition to everytthing else i'm using. So i bought an epson WF7110 equppied with a CISS system filled with SubliNova Easy dye togother with the ICC profile and a convection oven. The problem i am having is when using downloaded photos they come out great, mugs and shirts look exactly as they should. But usually when i sublimate a photo someone sends me it has a weird redish color to it. Anyone knows whats wrong? I will post a picture of my corel draw print settings and a mug that came out redish. Thanks for your help.


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

I gave up printing customers photos. They are always crap and often required a lot of extra work by me.


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

webtrekker said:


> I gave up printing customers photos. They are always crap and often required a lot of extra work by me.


Damn that's a pretty discouraging answer.. but i totally get you. So lots of editing in photoshop?


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

bring the photo into gimp and try printing it from there

if it is always customer photos and not downloaded photos, with the exact same settings for all,
then trying a different program may yield different results

how do the customer supplied images look compared to downloaded photos on your computer screen?
can you post a downloaded photo that has worked perfectly and the photo used for the mug above (they don't have to be huge sizes, even 750px wide will suffice)?

also try printing one that has worked and one that has not on the same sheet of plain copy paper with a regular non-dyesub printer, like one above the other for comparison


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

into the T said:


> bring the photo into gimp and try printing it from there
> 
> if it is always customer photos and not downloaded photos, with the exact same settings for all,
> then trying a different program may yield different results
> ...


Ok the first thing i will do is try with the program, have allready downloaded it thanks. So here are 2 pictures from the sopranos came out perfect as you can see. But all the other customer photos came out redish.. and i got photos from different customers photographed with different phones or cameras.. and they all had that damn redish glow to them.
The last picture is printed with the HP deskjet on a regular copy paper.


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

the exif on the dog photo had the rendering intent as 'perceptual', try that

it is something the phones are doing in the datastream somewhere 
like that stupid propietary google webp file format, they have to be getting that size saving from somewhere
google needs to be broken up, they are a leviathan monopoly (rods of god may help)


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

into the T said:


> the exif on the dog photo had the rendering intent as 'perceptual', try that
> 
> it is something the phones are doing in the datastream somewhere
> like that stupid propietary google webp file format, they have to be getting that size saving from somewhere
> google needs to be broken up, they are a leviathan monopoly (rods of god may help)


Ok thanks. Currently i am waiting for my new batch off mugs to arrive and i will try it right away. Have also opened a photo in GIMP should i choose keep or convert profile? So instead of relative colometric in the print setup i choose perceptual? Where can you check that in a picture :O


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

online for exif data, you can go to fotoforensics

i would 'convert' in gimp to start with, and try perceptual (you can use your sub profile in gimp)

if you like playing around with gimp, be sure to add g'mic to it for a plethora of adjustments and filters


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

Lenko said:


> So here are 2 pictures from the sopranos came out perfect as you can see.


No they have not.
Look at the guy with the grey jacket... the jacket is brown in your print.
You have a color profile issue.


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

TABOB said:


> No they have not.
> Look at the guy with the grey jacket... the jacket is brown in your print.
> You cave a color profile issue.


Looks like you may have a banding problem too, looking at the printouts.


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

into the T said:


> online for exif data, you can go to fotoforensics
> 
> i would 'convert' in gimp to start with, and try perceptual (you can use your sub profile in gimp)
> 
> if you like playing around with gimp, be sure to add g'mic to it for a plethora of adjustments and filters


Ok thanks i will add it today. So i should use the same rendering intend as in the exif file?


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

TABOB said:


> No they have not.
> Look at the guy with the grey jacket... the jacket is brown in your print.
> You cave a color profile issue.


You are right.. i havent even payed much attention as long as they didnt come out redish  so whats your suggestion, using a different profile?


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

webtrekker said:


> Looks like you may have a banding problem too, looking at the printouts.


The printout was made on a different printer so it doesnt even matter so much


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

Lenko said:


> The printout was made on a different printer so it doesnt even matter so much


Ah, ok. It's a well-known fact though that pictures taken indoors, with possibly lower light levels, or illuminated by incandescent light, have a red-tinted overcast. You can remove the overcast in Photoshop, Lightroom, or other capable graphics software.


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

Lenko said:


> You are right.. i havent even payed much attention as long as they didnt come out redish  so whats your suggestion, using a different profile?


Color profiles is a complicated issue. 
The best option is to borrow or buy a color profiling kit.
If your ink manufacturer has an ICC profile for your printer, try that. It should get you close enough.


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

webtrekker said:


> Ah, ok. It's a well-known fact though that pictures taken indoors, with possibly lower light levels, or illuminated by incandescent light, have a red-tinted overcast. You can remove the overcast in Photoshop, Lightroom, or other capable graphics software.


Nice, thanks for the info didn't know that


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

TABOB said:


> Color profiles is a complicated issue.
> The best option is to borrow or buy a color profiling kit.
> If your ink manufacturer has an ICC profile for your printer, try that. It should get you close enough.


I am using the inktec color profile i got along with sublinova colors.. you know i got a bunch of papers with it and the ciss system but after i installed it i just left them laying there.. then you got me thinking there is a possibility i overlooked something that was written on in the papers.. and i actually did!  it just may be the thing i was doing wrong.. i hope it solves the problems.. if it doesn't i will just buy the kit. will get back to you after i get my mugs


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## swaggin.com/ (Jan 11, 2021)

Yes. You have banding issue. You need to flush the ink. - Also make sure the images are 300 DPI - and use photoshop or get a proper graphic designer to assit you


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## letterperfect (Jun 2, 2015)

I have found that different brands of paper print differently! I have one brand that does awesome on fabric and horrible on hard substrates. So many variables!


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## swaggin.com/ (Jan 11, 2021)

webtrekker said:
Ah, ok. It's a well-known fact though that pictures taken indoors, with possibly lower light levels, or illuminated by incandescent light, have a red-tinted overcast. You can remove the overcast in Photoshop, Lightroom, or other capable graphics software.

This is 100% right. Ignore what i said. If it was banding then there would be tiny lines running across the images which there are not. Photos are a pain in the ***. I would write up a document and make sure you clients ready it or have a FAQ page that explains all this. Otherwise your going to soend a **** ton of time in photoshop


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## MichaelDavies (Jan 20, 2010)

Lenko said:


> Hello guys.
> 
> A week ago i decided i would start sublimating on mugs and t-shirts as it would be a nice addition to everytthing else i'm using. So i bought an epson WF7110 equppied with a CISS system filled with SubliNova Easy dye togother with the ICC profile and a convection oven. The problem i am having is when using downloaded photos they come out great, mugs and shirts look exactly as they should. But usually when i sublimate a photo someone sends me it has a weird redish color to it. Anyone knows whats wrong? I will post a picture of my corel draw print settings and a mug that came out redish. Thanks for your help.
> 
> ...


We would you note buy a purpose built sublimation printer that is supplied with colour management. Sawgrass have two desktop models SG500 and SG1000 which are supplied with Sawgrass Print Manager. Amazing colour accuracy. If you would rather stick with Epson, they have recently released the F170 which is a purpose built sublimation printer. With either of these solutions you get warranty.


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

letterperfect said:


> I have found that different brands of paper print differently! I have one brand that does awesome on fabric and horrible on hard substrates. So many variables!


Yea i used 2 different brands off paper, first from sublinova and now i have truepix from sawgrass i think.. and it comes out perfect on fabric.. but mugs seem to be problematic


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

swaggin.com/ said:


> webtrekker said:
> Ah, ok. It's a well-known fact though that pictures taken indoors, with possibly lower light levels, or illuminated by incandescent light, have a red-tinted overcast. You can remove the overcast in Photoshop, Lightroom, or other capable graphics software.
> 
> This is 100% right. Ignore what i said. If it was banding then there would be tiny lines running across the images which there are not. Photos are a pain in the *. I would write up a document and make sure you clients ready it or have a FAQ page that explains all this. Otherwise your going to soend a ** ton of time in photoshop


Yea the printed picture was from a different printer so it may have banding issues but i think epson doesnt.. well i tried some things in GIMP and did manage to get a bit better results.. but it still isnt optimal.. i will install photoshop today and try some other options.. i actually managed to find someone that had the same problem and they managed to solve it.. it was just a matter of a few clicks, but he used photoshop.. so i will try that today and hope it works


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

MichaelDavies said:


> We would you note buy a purpose built sublimation printer that is supplied with colour management. Sawgrass have two desktop models SG500 and SG1000 which are supplied with Sawgrass Print Manager. Amazing colour accuracy. If you would rather stick with Epson, they have recently released the F170 which is a purpose built sublimation printer. With either of these solutions you get warranty.


Hm


MichaelDavies said:


> We would you note buy a purpose built sublimation printer that is supplied with colour management. Sawgrass have two desktop models SG500 and SG1000 which are supplied with Sawgrass Print Manager. Amazing colour accuracy. If you would rather stick with Epson, they have recently released the F170 which is a purpose built sublimation printer. With either of these solutions you get warranty.





MichaelDavies said:


> We would you note buy a purpose built sublimation printer that is supplied with colour management. Sawgrass have two desktop models SG500 and SG1000 which are supplied with Sawgrass Print Manager. Amazing colour accuracy. If you would rather stick with Epson, they have recently released the F170 which is a purpose built sublimation printer. With either of these solutions you get warranty.


Hm i will try to figure it out with my epson first, as i only have it for 2 weeks now.. we will ser where it goes


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

MichaelDavies said:


> We would you note buy a purpose built sublimation printer that is supplied with colour management. Sawgrass have two desktop models SG500 and SG1000 which are supplied with Sawgrass Print Manager. Amazing colour accuracy. If you would rather stick with Epson, they have recently released the F170 which is a purpose built sublimation printer. With either of these solutions you get warranty.


I have done at least 30 mugs since the last post. Figured out some settings that actually worked perfectly then i printed same pictures under the same settings and pictures came out different. So that actually got me thinking about buying an EPSON SC F100 as i can't get the F170 in Slovenia. Soon i will open a webpage with mugs and i just can't afford that much inconsistencies and material being thrown away.


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

> i printed same pictures under the same settings


What do you mean by 'same pictures?' Are you still talking about the one with the red cast?


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

webtrekker said:


> What do you mean by 'same pictures?' Are you still talking about the one with the red cast?


No. For example.. if i print 5 images on one piece of paper and then print them on another piece of paper they come out different.. with all the same settings


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

Lenko said:


> No. For example.. if i print 5 images on one piece of paper and then print them on another piece of paper they come out different.. with all the same settings


Ok. That's normal though. Once you've got the right settings for particular brands of ink and paper then stick to those brands.

It's often advantageous to have individual, custom-made ICC proiles for each product type: mugs, t-shirts, coasters, ... whatever. This will cost a small amount but is worth it in the long run.


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

webtrekker said:


> Ok. That's normal though. Once you've got the right settings for particular brands of ink and paper then stick to those brands.
> 
> It's often advantageous to have individual, custom-made ICC proiles for each product type: mugs, t-shirts, coasters, ... whatever. This will cost a small amount but is worth it in the long run.


Yeah i understand that, but we are talking about the same brand of paper. First paper comes out different than the next one.. i find that weird.. The profile things seems nice, where could i buy profiles just for mugs?


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

Lenko said:


> it comes out perfect on fabric.. but mugs seem to be problematic


That's not unusual as color profiles are substrate dependent. Even different brands of mugs may need different color profiles.
That's the professional way at least, and this is why many photo paper suppliers offer custom ICC profile service for each paper.
If you print on different substrates then it's cheaper and more convenient to buy the equipment and create your own profiles.


Lenko said:


> Then i printed same pictures under the same settings and pictures came out different.





Lenko said:


> For example.. if i print 5 images on one piece of paper and then print them on another piece of paper they come out different.. with all the same settings


Easy to miss something when fiddling around with random color settings.
That's all there is to it.


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## Lenko (Jan 31, 2021)

TABOB said:


> That's not unusual as color profiles are substrate dependent. Even different brands of mugs may need different color profiles.
> That's the professional way at least, and this is why many photo paper suppliers offer custom ICC profile service for each paper.
> If you print on different substrates then it's cheaper and more convenient to buy the equipment and create your own profiles.
> 
> ...


in that case the best thing would be having one printer just for mugs, and ideally having the same type of mugs, paper and ink all the time?


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## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

Lenko said:


> in that case the best thing would be having one printer just for mugs, and ideally having the same type of mugs, paper and ink all the time?


That's the low tech option...
Alternatively you could create your own ICC profiles and name them by combination (printer+ink+paper+item).
This way you can easily select the mug or t-shirt you are printing.


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

Lenko said:


> in that case the best thing would be having one printer just for mugs, and ideally having the same type of mugs, paper and ink all the time?


No. All you need are different ICC profiles loaded for each product and select the one you need when printing. Why make things more difficult and expensive?

As TABOB has already said, you may be better off buying your own profiling equipment if you need many different profiles.

@TABOB - Sorry, posts crossed!


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