# Newbie making poly INTERESTING!



## lukedeadfall (Sep 21, 2010)

Hey guys, I just started researching sublimation in the last week- and ive caught the "bug". I have always been into screen printing as a hobby, but could never find the time or space to get into it too seriously; needless to say sublimation is PERFECT for me.

I went out and got myself an epson c88, a TON of sub paper and enough ink to restock every octopus in the ocean..... and clearly a 15x15 heat press ( going bigger in the future)

After doing a ton of research BEFORE my first massacre of a press, I decided to go with some vapor shirts. I bought a ton of those as well just incase I neded to troubleshoot my process (it seemed a LOT of people didnt get how easy this process actually is.......

So, I took two days to manually distress 10 shirts, and tonight the printing began...

No paper lines, and YES the shirts are 100 PERCENT POLY) and they fit and feel amazing...

I dont know if youre going to dig my trials but please feel free to let me know!

thanks for contributing to a site that I could come to; and collectively research from stuff you guys have posted through time-- ultimately it saved you MORE time contributing, because you would have been reading 200 threads from me whining about how printing on cotton shirts doesnt work, paper lines, temperatures etc......

so keep it up, and I hope to be able to contribute things that I learn along the way as well, cause I AM A TOTAL ROOKIE HERE....

i guess ill post my first two trials......


----------



## lukedeadfall (Sep 21, 2010)




----------



## big frank sports (Aug 7, 2008)

Very nice!!!!!


----------



## lukedeadfall (Sep 21, 2010)

thanks frank I appreciate it! It is definately much more fun than I thought it would be- I can easily see myself getting far too carried away with this!


----------



## gtordave (May 27, 2010)

I would like to know how you pressed that first shirt with a 15x15 press.


----------



## lukedeadfall (Sep 21, 2010)

hahaha... Well, the "stitching" up the sides was 4 rows of x's in photoshop as wide as the letters, i cut the designs out of the paper and roughed the edges ( to avoid lnes)..... each side got 2 separate presses for the stiching, and the front and back of the shirts has a full frontal "distressing" pattern print- Just a tone darker than the shirt itself... ( that you cant see, cell phone picture) even before I printed the first graphic....

like I said I was researching a ton on the inetrnet, and as soon as i mastered the temp and time, I smooth the lines before any print gets taken off the press ( oven mitts).... so this shirt was probably pressed a total of 20 times before I got it looking proper....

I should have made a video- it was a LOT of work for one shirt lol.


----------



## lukedeadfall (Sep 21, 2010)

HERE IS THE BACK OF THE SHIRT.....


----------



## lukedeadfall (Sep 21, 2010)

HA! sorry man, I dont think my press is 15x 15 lol..... i dont have a measuring tape but that was a total typo.... looking at it now its about 25" x 15"


----------



## gtordave (May 27, 2010)

that would make it a little easier to do the long prints.


----------



## lukedeadfall (Sep 21, 2010)

Well not really, my paper is still only 8x11 so I have to get creative


----------



## FUNKBOX (Apr 11, 2010)

At Funkbox we customize vintage 100% poly tracksuits & sportswear. We use an Epson 1400 A3 printer & a 16"x20" heat press. We found an awesome supplier of %100 polyester sportswear.


----------



## FUNKBOX (Apr 11, 2010)

What I've personally discovered through sublimation is that the better quality the garment, the more photographic you can produce images. Sublimation has a great deal of potential.









Great shirts by the way.


----------



## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

Luke, the shirt is awesome! Congratulations!

When you say "I took two days to manually distress 10 shirts" - whet did you do? I can't tell looking at the picture how it was distressed?


----------



## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

Funkbox, that is a really cool idea - looks greate!


----------



## lukedeadfall (Sep 21, 2010)

@ d.ev0...... It's not so much the look of distressing that I was going for, but more of the "feel" of the garment. If you had the piece in person you could tell that it's not the typical vapor feel (not that there is anything wrong with the shirts/ I love the way they wear without work)... But I just wanted to put some experimenting into the process.... I did the whole "fine grit sand paper buffing".... And washed the shirts with 50/50 7up and water (heard it works??). And then prewashed the shirts before printing... The feel ofthe garment next to the box of vapor I have is completely different... Note: this shirt has been washed 3 times (not including the distress wash) Before I took the pic.

Some f this probably sounds idiotic, but I'm a form believer in trial and error! After all, if none of us experiment then we may not progress  

Thanks for the kind words, I'm sure they will get better in time!


----------



## FUNKBOX (Apr 11, 2010)

Personally I think sublimation hasn't even broke the surface in T-shirts yet. Sublimation rocks!


----------



## uncletee (Feb 25, 2007)

love my sublimation.


----------



## engraver68 (Aug 10, 2009)

Just getting started but I 2nd that


----------



## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

I've been doing it for a while and still loving it  Well, probably the more I do it, the more I learn, the more I enjoy it


----------



## DLetang (Aug 12, 2010)

great work luke! easily one of the nicest tees i've seen posted here as a first effort. keep it up!


----------



## Kim_t2_au (May 24, 2010)

lukedeadfall said:


> And washed the shirts with 50/50 7up and water (heard it works??).


Fantastic t-shirt. Love it. What is the 7up/water wash meant to do to the shirt?

Kim


----------



## GLC (Jun 3, 2007)

@lukedeadfall - Hey that is a really good first effort...looking at that you would think that you've been in the sub game for a while. Happy to have you as part of the club... Do think about making a video if your gonna go for another sub marathon because I'm sure there are many that would enjoy having a look see.

Well done once again 

Ezekiel

P.S

Where did you hear about the 50/50 wash that did have me lol...It would be interesting to feel the difference that you mentioned... I only wonder if that would mess with the moisture wicking abilities

Great Effort


----------



## GLC (Jun 3, 2007)

@FUNKBOX Can you share your supplier for your 100% poly garments

Ezekiel


----------



## cplouffe (Sep 30, 2010)

I would imagine the 7up makes the shirt softer based on it having a lower ph level?


----------



## euphoricgear (Sep 13, 2009)

looks great, but what does distressing mean or do? do you cut out the paper so that you dont feel it?
never tried this before.

thanks


----------



## FUNKBOX (Apr 11, 2010)

GLC said:


> @FUNKBOX Can you share your supplier for your 100% poly garments
> 
> Ezekiel


Polyester T-shirt from Hanes

That's where I get my 100% poly T-shirts from. The quality & service is 2nd to none. Crew neck sports wicking fabric. No minimum order!


----------



## manz (Jun 20, 2010)

Do these feel like normal Polyester, or softer?

Thanks


----------



## lukedeadfall (Sep 21, 2010)

The ones I use feel EXACTLY like cotton. Actually the sales guy at vapor made me' guess out of this shirt and 100 percent cotton shirt(which one was cotton) and I picked the vapor!!


----------



## manz (Jun 20, 2010)

lukedeadfall said:


> The ones I use feel EXACTLY like cotton. Actually the sales guy at vapor made me' guess out of this shirt and 100 percent cotton shirt(which one was cotton) and I picked the vapor!!


Vapor are very nice..
but see through!


----------



## FUNKBOX (Apr 11, 2010)

The lightwieght sports wicking T-shirts feel amazing compared to the other poly mix T-shirts available on the market. The main point for me is they are true 100% poly & not a blend. Images come out looking like a photograph & can't even be felt by hand. Add that to the fact they never fade as the sublimated image is locked 100% into the fibres. The T-shirts I produce don't try to be cotton feel or lookalike. My selling point is they dry in seconds, don't crease, breath & feel amazing. The possatives far outway the bad. If your buyers want cotton, let them buy cotton. There's plenty to choose from. I'd rarther produce something unique & promote the most versatile printing method available. Yes poly T-shirts need to be white or pale pastle colors & wont appeal to the death brigade. There's still plenty of active sporty living people who like the clean look.


----------



## manz (Jun 20, 2010)

FUNKBOX said:


> The lightwieght sports wicking T-shirts feel amazing compared to the other poly mix T-shirts available on the market. The main point for me is they are true 100% poly & not a blend. Images come out looking like a photograph & can't even be felt by hand. Add that to the fact they never fade as the sublimated image is locked 100% into the fibres. The T-shirts I produce don't try to be cotton feel or lookalike. My selling point is they dry in seconds, don't crease, breath & feel amazing. The possatives far outway the bad. If your buyers want cotton, let them buy cotton. There's plenty to choose from. I'd rarther produce something unique & promote the most versatile printing method available. Yes poly T-shirts need to be white or pale pastle colors & wont appeal to the death brigade. There's still plenty of active sporty living people who like the clean look.


Thats all great...
but I can see my nipples through them


----------



## FUNKBOX (Apr 11, 2010)

manz said:


> Thats all great...
> but I can see my nipples through them


That's strange to see nipples. Sold hundreds & never had a single complaint. Here's me son wearing one of the poly T's. I can't see no nipples.


----------



## FUNKBOX (Apr 11, 2010)

I've been sublimating whole tracksuits, T's, vests & caps.

All you need is a printer + sub inks + heat press!


----------



## deenastee (Mar 31, 2006)

@FUNKBOX. I see ur into graff, so am i. U even have a donde girl up there. nice


----------



## FUNKBOX (Apr 11, 2010)

deenastee said:


> @FUNKBOX. I see ur into graff, so am i. U even have a donde girl up there. nice


I've been a practicing Graffiti artist since 1984 & doing T-shirts since 1988. Sublimation is a Graffiti artists dream method of getting images on clothes. It's a shame it only works with polyester, but where there's a will there's a way. Thankfully a lot of B-Boys & Girls wear polyester sportswear.


----------



## deenastee (Mar 31, 2006)

FUNKBOX said:


> I've been a practicing Graffiti artist since 1984 & doing T-shirts since 1988. Sublimation is a Graffiti artists dream method of getting images on clothes. It's a shame it only works with polyester, but where there's a will there's a way. Thankfully a lot of B-Boys & Girls wear polyester sportswear.



nice, i used to get up alot back in days just little throw ups and burners. maybe we should collab on something


----------

