# Sublimation ink uses ???



## aristoteles88 (Oct 25, 2011)

Hi everyone !!!, Im new in this so I really hope u can help me out with some doubts I have, Im planning to start a t-shirt bussines, I already bought a heat press machine and the epson workforce 1100 to start, but now Im confuse cause I also bought Sublimation ink thinking it could work well with transfer paper but Ive read it wont be a great idea cause costs are gonna be higher than using pigment inks, also I found out sublimation inks just work on 100% polyester materials.
The reason why I bought sublimation ink is cause i dont want a bad quality in my designs, no bleedings when washing and no cracking passing the time.

Question 1: Will sublimation ink work well with transfer paper ?? even on 100% cotton Ts?? Which options I have if not ??
Question 2: What would be the better and cheaper solution ??
Question 3: Will Sublimation ink Work well for mugs and hats using sublimation paper??

Thanks in advanced and Greetings from Costa Rica !!!


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## avee2010 (Jun 7, 2011)

aristoteles88 said:


> Hi everyone !!!, Im new in this so I really hope u can help me out with some doubts I have, Im planning to start a t-shirt bussines, I already bought a heat press machine and the epson workforce 1100 to start, but now Im confuse cause I also bought Sublimation ink thinking it could work well with transfer paper but Ive read it wont be a great idea cause costs are gonna be higher than using pigment inks, also I found out sublimation inks just work on 100% polyester materials.
> The reason why I bought sublimation ink is cause i dont want a bad quality in my designs, no bleedings when washing and no cracking passing the time.
> 
> Question 1: Will sublimation ink work well with transfer paper ?? even on 100% cotton Ts?? Which options I have if not ??
> ...


hey there,

quick answer to your questions:

1: Sublimation ink is generally printed to transfer paper first, but only works on polyester fibers, or polymeric coatings (i.e. mugs, tiles, etc)
2. Costs depend on your transfer paper, but the paper usually runs about 10-15 cents per square foot, depending on what you're using.
3. Sub ink works well for mugs since they have a polymeric coating, but make sure those mugs are sub ink ready, regular mugs won't work. For mugs, if you don't have a mug press, you can use a mug 'wrap' which is a rubber wrap with metal fasteners that holds the transfer paper to the mug while it's in an oven (i think you put it in for about 15 minutes or so, not sure, check on that).

Overall dye sublimation works great, i use it extensively, but remember it only works on polyester or polyester mixes (at least 65% polyester to get a good result).

There is an ink that works on most fibers, it's called "M" Ink, from sawgrass, it's actually a mixture of several types of pigment inks, but they require pre-coated materials to print to (you have to print direct to material, it's not for transfer use). I've been thinking of adding another printer at my shop just for this use, but i'm not big on direct print so i'm still thinking about it.

For your setup with the epson 1100 + heat press, dye sub is definitely your way to go. It will give you lots of options, and there are many available products for dye sub and dye sub blanks.


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

Dye sublimation ink will work with proper dye-sublimation paper.

The quality of the print will be exceptional: it will not bleed, fade, wash off and because the print is dyed into the substrate - you can't feel it.

Dye-sublimation works on polyester / synthetic fabric. You can print on poly/cotton blends, but the print will not work on cotton % of the blend, so the print will look "vintage" and distresses. The more cotton - the more washed out print you will get.

With dye sublimation you can print on variety of products like mugs, tiles, mouspads, hats, ties, etc. However, these items should be either polymer coated for sublimation or made of polyester.

Good luck!


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## LB (Jul 25, 2009)

Use Chromoblast paper with sublimation ink on 50/50 shirts. The sublimation takes place on the polyester in the 50/50 shirt and polymer in the paper helps bond the ink to the cotton. There is a thread here now on that very subject. Do a search on sublimation ink with Chromoblast paper.


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