# well.. here goes



## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

printer arrived.. T shirts arrived.. inks arrived.. paper arrived, just gonna load up the CISS and probably launch the lot through the window 

i really wasn't this nervous when my kids were being born .. gulp


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## jimc (Jan 31, 2007)

Where did you buy the Sublinova 100 ml. bottles from? I thought that ink was only available in 1 litre bottles for large format.


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

jimc said:


> Where did you buy the Sublinova 100 ml. bottles from? I thought that ink was only available in 1 litre bottles for large format.


oh right, well i hope im not getting anyone in bother 

can i put a link up ? as i dont want to break the rules mr c


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

first print out.. no profile, no tweeking, im not complaining ... yet


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

well.. first T shirt ever with sublimation, i really thought this was gonna be a horror story from the onset, but i just need to tweek the heat and pressure, but at least its not brown 

and no more bloody trimming .. horahhh 

praise de lord


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## jimc (Jan 31, 2007)

Tabz said:


> oh right, well i hope im not getting anyone in bother
> 
> can i put a link up ? as i dont want to break the rules mr c


There's still an amount of confusion on whether the Sawgrass patent is still in force re inks for desktop printers.
Heard good things about Sublinova, would be interested in trying it.


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

jimc said:


> There's still an amount of confusion on whether the Sawgrass patent is still in force re inks for desktop printers.
> Heard good things about Sublinova, would be interested in trying it.


4 x 100ml of each colour for £69 .. ebay


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

i got rigged up for sublimation printing for £120 .. im still pinching myself 

inc .. 
CISS unit
110 sheets of A3 paper
and inks


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

im still playing.. gonna be a loooooong day


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

only problem ive hit ..is, A3 size prints are a no no on a 15 x 15 inch press as you cant hit it twice, its a one shot deal


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## ModernTreasures (Jul 9, 2014)

Don't forget that with the Epson you need to run it every day to very couple days to keep the head from drying out. I run a test print about every other day when not in use..


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

Sstraley01 said:


> Don't forget that with the Epson you need to run it every day to very couple days to keep the head from drying out. I run a test print about every other day when not in use..


yeah,, thanks.. ive put an alarm on my moby .. i'll get one of the software programmes one day


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## Printor (Apr 16, 2015)

Lookin good! Don't ya love it when all your stuff works on the first try.


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

Printor said:


> Lookin good! Don't ya love it when all your stuff works on the first try.


jay mate.. i swear on my life, i thought i was gonna have a seizure when the first paper fed through.. i was expecting the brown instead of black that i keep seeing people on about on here.. then the last 10 seconds under the press..well, to say i was ****tin myself was an understatement.. but it was the easiest thing ive ever done..


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## denlig (Sep 5, 2014)

Tabz said:


> first print out.. no profile, no tweeking, im not complaining ... yet


Man that looks nice to my old untrained eyes!


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## denlig (Sep 5, 2014)

Tabz.

I'm alittle afraid also. I close my recording studio down after 20 plus years and sold all my equipment to get into phone case vacuum sublimation, Sock sublimation and later t-shirts. I'm trying to read to get all the info I can digest before I get started. Now my wife is complaining because she wants some phone cases with her decease father on them.

Your t-shirt look nice to me.


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## Printor (Apr 16, 2015)

My last injet printer was the first time Fed-ex did not break it in shipping. I know what you mean freaking out about that first print. I had a HP That fed ex broke 4 times in a row and the final product I had to build out of 2 brand new broken printers cus I had a job board FULL of jobs I had to print film for yesterday.


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

denlig said:


> Tabz.
> 
> I'm alittle afraid also. I close my recording studio down after 20 plus years and sold all my equipment to get into phone case vacuum sublimation, Sock sublimation and later t-shirts. I'm trying to read to get all the info I can digest before I get started. Now my wife is complaining because she wants some phone cases with her decease father on them.
> 
> Your t-shirt look nice to me.


Go for it mate.. too me after all the reading and the panic setting in, im telling you now, its the easiest thing ive ever done, maybe im lucky, i cant stress how better they look than transfers, the colours just pop out better than i ever dreamed .. ive not even messed with the printer settings, set up ICC profiles .. nothing, zilch, zip .. dont go and buy high end £800+ printers and £200 inks.. theres no need, get an epson 7110, they are only £80 in the UK now, full set of inks for £69 and a 110 A3 sheets of sublimation paper for £25 .. job done.. obviously a heat press is needed, but saying that, i only paid £190 off amazon for mine and it works a treat, .. the more you read, the more the fear sets in 

heres a pic of a t shirt i just did for a mate.. the pic doesnt do it justice


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## denlig (Sep 5, 2014)

Tabz said:


> Go for it mate.. too me after all the reading and the panic setting in, im telling you now, .. the more you read, the more the fear sets in


Tabz,

I hear ya man. The fear elevates after reading some of the horror story's. I'm starting off with cell phone cases and I will be ordering socks from skdave Tuesday to sublimate. I bought a Epson XP310 that came with a CISS and ink and also a 15 x 15 heat press. I think it is small for printing transfers A4 paper for shirts but will do good for cell phone cases. Do you think I should sale it and get Epson wf7110 and a bigger 16x20 heat press?

Thank You Tabz


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## MoiWirl (May 17, 2015)

First, Tabz.....

Awesome work and congrats on the "easy" success of your prints!

I especially think that the Fear and Loathing print shows how amazing even a simple printer can make such a quality print. Can you show the shirt for it, would love to see how well that one transfers.




denlig said:


> Tabz.
> 
> I'm alittle afraid also. I close my recording studio down after 20 plus years and sold all my equipment to get into phone case vacuum sublimation, Sock sublimation and later t-shirts. I'm trying to read to get all the info I can digest before I get started. Now my wife is complaining because she wants some phone cases with her decease father on them.
> 
> Your t-shirt look nice to me.


Denlig,

We are about to go the same route in regards to phone cases along side our screen printing T-shirts.

What oven or 3D press are you looking at?

We are currently up in the air on buying one of the small bake type ovens like this one and we are expecting to demo it sometime this next week or two.

Dye Sublimation 3D MultiPress | LRi

We had considered this company as well but the ROI on top of our screen printing would put more pressure on than I think we want especially when screen printing is our main focus and we are just opening up our shop.

MACHINES & CONSUMABLES â€” IDT Systems (The Nanopress to start)

Just curious what route you are looking at and why?

Again, Tabz, excellent work!

Adina


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

denlig said:


> Tabz,
> 
> I hear ya man. The fear elevates after reading some of the horror story's. I'm starting off with cell phone cases and I will be ordering socks from skdave Tuesday to sublimate. I bought a Epson XP310 that came with a CISS and ink and also a 15 x 15 heat press. I think it is small for printing transfers A4 paper for shirts but will do good for cell phone cases. Do you think I should sale it and get Epson wf7110 and a bigger 16x20 heat press?
> 
> Thank You Tabz


ive never done phone cases mate, so i cant help you on that one, i was under the impression they need a vacuum type case that you pop the case in and close the lid .. but what do i know 

and a 15 x 15 press is fine for transfers (A4 and A3) because on A3 you heat press the top then repeat lower down, ie.. press twice, but that wont be an option with sublimating T shirts on A3 as its a one shot deal, .. unless you do A3 size in pics that are in 2 halves, ie, text at the top and piccy lower down .. if that makes sense


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## denlig (Sep 5, 2014)

Tabz,

The t-shirt looks great very well done man. What size transfer is you using and what's the name brand transfer if you don't mind me asking. Also where are you purchasing your shirts from. Sorry about all the question. Thanks


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## MoiWirl (May 17, 2015)

Tabz said:


> ive never done phone cases mate, so i cant help you on that one, i was under the impression they need a vacuum type case that you pop the case in and close the lid .. but what do i know
> 
> and a 15 x 15 press is fine for transfers (A4 and A3) because on A3 you heat press the top then repeat lower down, ie.. press twice, but that wont be an option with sublimating T shirts on A3 as its a one shot deal, .. unless you do A3 size in pics that are in 2 halves, ie, text at the top and piccy lower down .. if that makes sense


We are so wanting to do sub shirts and you are not making it any easier to say no! I guess all we would need is a heat press since we have everything else for it....See what your doing!

*now shopping for a heat press

Adina


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

MoiWirl said:


> We are so wanting to do sub shirts and you are not making it any easier to say no! I guess all we would need is a heat press since we have everything else for it....See what your doing!
> 
> *now shopping for a heat press
> 
> Adina



you can do them.. just not A3 size that will overlap the press im affraid.. unless a far more experience chap knows a secret way


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

MoiWirl said:


> We are so wanting to do sub shirts and you are not making it any easier to say no! I guess all we would need is a heat press since we have everything else for it....See what your doing!
> 
> *now shopping for a heat press
> 
> Adina



the best way round this is .. use A3 transfers, sub inks will work on transfers, that then gives you the normal option with a 15 x 15 press to press twice.. sorted


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## MoiWirl (May 17, 2015)

Tabz said:


> the best way round this is .. use A3 transfers, sub inks will work on transfers, that then gives you the normal option with a 15 x 15 press to press twice.. sorted


and I misspoke, I meant paper and transfer as the process not the medium.

So now we are sitting here asking ourselves, how much? Do wee need to add sublimation shirts into our line? Arguing to ourselves that, well he have the printer and sub ink...why not, we can get use out of the heat press otherwise as well.....

Tahnks Tabz....THANKS A LOT!

Adina

*oh, we really do want to see the Fear and Loathing on the shirt when you have the time


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

MoiWirl said:


> and I misspoke, I meant paper and transfer as the process not the medium.
> 
> So now we are sitting here asking ourselves, how much? Do wee need to add sublimation shirts into our line? Arguing to ourselves that, well he have the printer and sub ink...why not, we can get use out of the heat press otherwise as well.....
> 
> ...



go for it.. its easy ... the paper makes the world of difference, use either Texprint or Xpress and you'll be fine.


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## denlig (Sep 5, 2014)

MoiWirl said:


> .
> 
> Denlig,
> 
> ...


MoiWirl,

I purchase a FreeSub 2030. I picked this because I wanted something small to get started with. Two cases at a time is fine with me for now.

3d sublimation machine.jpg

This will be my next machine after I make some sell to pay for it. In my area no one is selling sublimation phone cases or socks or don't have a clue to what it is but when i explain it they get excited. I have hardcover, 2in1 tpu/hardcover and wallets cases. I will purchase socks Tuesday also. This will be my next machine which i think is 2d that print on the cases.

High_quality_digital_cell_phone_case_printer.jpg


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## MoiWirl (May 17, 2015)

Tabz said:


> go for it.. its easy ... the paper makes the world of difference, use either Texprint or Xpress and you'll be fine.


Thanks again Tabz!

We have been considering it anyway since we want to add a performance wear line and we have no real need to do all over prints with sub per our designs.

Our only thought has been, knowing that we can't sub on black how dark can we go with the shirt and retain integrity.

The "line" would require the shirts to be tan or mocha at their darkest.


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## MoiWirl (May 17, 2015)

MoiWirl said:


> The second one is a printer and not an oven right? Direct to substrate UV Ink?


I totally didn't mean to hijack your thread Tabz 

Denlig and I can start a thread or PM from now on about phone cases.

Sorry again Tabz!

Adina


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

MoiWirl said:


> Thanks again Tabz!
> 
> We have been considering it anyway since we want to add a performance wear line and we have no real need to do all over prints with sub per our designs.
> 
> ...


ive seen light yellow with sub inks, and it looked .. not good, red looked brown etc... white is the only realistic option


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

you'll be fine with black .. but any other colour will take on the background colour.. but vinyl becomes an option though.. every colour is available in vinyl


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

i love vinyl


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## MoiWirl (May 17, 2015)

Tabz said:


> you'll be fine with black .. but any other colour will take on the background colour.. but vinyl becomes an option though.. every colour is available in vinyl



Well, for the line we are considering there are a few requirements.

We have to offer a brown, pink would be great and and some lighter colors of yellow, light green all of course only subbing dark color inks (browns, blacks, purples and reds) on the darker garments. White will still be an option.

Or to clarify, we would be subbing only dark inks for the performance wear but with some pretty hefty gradient halftones.

The reason being it is a line targeted towards active women's yoga wear and having white as the only option, pigeon holes us.

We have started designing them with water based and discharge in mind but with that we have so many other variables to consider that just sublimating them seems to be an easier route.



Tabz said:


> i love vinyl


Vinyl "could be" an option but we figured implementing our sub printer (we already own) and adding a heat press would be more cost effective than buying a vinyl cutter & heatpress. Plus we want the no hand feel especially for yoga wear.

Adina


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## denlig (Sep 5, 2014)

Tabz,

I was thinking the same thing. didn't mean to hijack your thread. I'm just trying to get answers so I don't waste alot of items. My money is very low right now. Sorry Tabz


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## MoiWirl (May 17, 2015)

denlig said:


> Tabz,
> 
> I was thinking the same thing. didn't mean to hijack your thread. I'm just trying to get answers so I don't waste alot of items. My money is very low right now. Sorry Tabz


Check your message box. We can PM back and forth, I'd be happy to let you know all I have learned and would like to hear the same from you.


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

denlig said:


> Tabz,
> 
> I was thinking the same thing. didn't mean to hijack your thread. I'm just trying to get answers so I don't waste alot of items. My money is very low right now. Sorry Tabz




dont be daft mate.. ask away, none of us were born with the knowledge.. feel free captain


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## denlig (Sep 5, 2014)

Tabz,

My intention with t-shirts is to alter the shirts to make them different. I have sewing machines and serge machines to sew hoody pocket pouches, cell phone pockets and small key pockets on the t-shirts along with subli designs. I just want my tees to be different then others.


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## Tabz (Apr 9, 2015)

denlig said:


> Tabz,
> 
> My intention with t-shirts is to alter the shirts to make them different. I have sewing machines and serge machines to sew hoody pocket pouches, cell phone pockets and small key pockets on the t-shirts along with subli designs. I just want my tees to be different then others.


sounds great.. you just need to remember one thing when your selling..

theres no such thing as a wrong item.. just a wrong price, so if you think the time put into one shirt can be kept under a good value bracket then try it... by all means try it


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## denlig (Sep 5, 2014)

Thanks Tabz for being so kind with your help. I'm so hype about this venture and I believe I made the right move of close a 20 plus year recording studio to do this. Everyone is still in shock the I close the studio business to do this but this has been in my heart for a few years now.

Thanks Tabz


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## Sacman (Jan 20, 2014)

Denlig, 

Going back a few posts, you linked a direct print application. I have that exact printer. It is based on an R230 6 color Epson (R220 in the states). A couple of things that you should be aware of. Unless that one is converted to work with UV, it is probably an eco solvent based printer. The reason I have never done cell phone cases with it is that the ink will come off with alcohol. Beer won't do it but if someone lays their case down in a puddle of strong liquor (151 proof) the print will come off. 

You will also be limited in a couple of ways. You will probably have to buy their pre-coated cases and not be able to just buy them anywhere. Eco-solvent needs a coating to adhere to the substrate. I have gone through about 10 liters of coating in a about 1.5 years. And there are different types of coating depending on the substrate (glass, plastic, general purpose). If you buy cases from somewhere else, you will have to coat them. This requires a compressor and a paint spray gun. I coat something just about every day and just about anything can be coated. I have two guns with two different coatings in them to make it easy to swap between the ones I use the most. 

On the upside, that printer has a flat base. It shows a cell phone fixture on the tray but I am certain you can remove that. I have printed so many different things on my printer. I started out printing on blank dice making minecraft blocks. Sold about 100,000 of those but the time was not worth the return. I have a friend that owns a CNC so he makes my print trays for me when I am doing high volume. For low volume and one offs, I use a series of chipboard letter 'L's that I tape down to the tray to line things up. I cover the top of the item in yellow painters tape and print on it to get my alignment right and then remove the tape and print. I have also scanned the item I'm printing on and printed out the scan on piece of paper taped to the tray and then taped the item on the paper. This thing is stupidly versatile. I love mine!


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## denlig (Sep 5, 2014)

Sacman,

Thanks for the heads up. I have been in contact with the supplier about uv conversion because that's what I was worry about it coming off. I will make sure its uv before purchase because I want to use my own supplier cases. 

May I ask where you purchase yours from because I'm definitely going to buy one for my next purchase.
Thanks


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## Sacman (Jan 20, 2014)

I got mine through Magnetic via Alibaba. I have referred several people to them. I purchased the A4 size but they offer larger sizes as well. 

Here is a link to their Alibaba site: alibabaPK, laser engraving machine, embroidery machine direct from China (Mainland)


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## MoiWirl (May 17, 2015)

Tabz, I found this video that shows a great example of colored shirts and between your success and this video I do think we can achieve the look we want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTrDucbyRtU

Looking for a heat press now 

Adina


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## lost15 (Nov 20, 2014)

Hello denlig

Your machine is running ok? do you use film sublimation? how many did you already produced? the cases are with good quality? 

Thanks!!




denlig said:


> MoiWirl,
> 
> I purchase a FreeSub 2030. I picked this because I wanted something small to get started with. Two cases at a time is fine with me for now.
> 
> ...


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