looking into dye sub......

[Larry Bratton]

I called them and talked to Customer Service and the ink is slightly more UV Resistant than my IQ inks. She said they DO NOT recommend using it for a outside or sunlight exposed option.

Coatings like Frog Juice will help.

AL

Not much of anything that is totally UV resistant in the printing and ink realm. Coatings like Frog Juice and Clear Star will help but not a cure at all. Lamination will help also. Reds are especially susceptible. Even paint will fade after a while.

Like Mike said, if your doing small runs, consider laser toner transfer. It would probably hold up as well as sublimation if the item is not washed in a dishwasher on a regular basis. Plus you can put it on most anything. Sublimation requires specially coated substrates.

[Ross Moshinsky]

As said previously, volume is the key to dye sub. If you don't have sufficient volume your printer will clog and in the process of cleaning/unclogging it will drink ink. Sub ink may be about the same price as gold.

I buy my transfers from My Transfer Source. (after I trashed my printer and gave away my sub ink)

I do laser sublimation, black only and get outstanding results.

I also do laser sublimation. It really is easy. We have CMYK. Does your laser only work on colored substrates? We've done white, and it always looks AWFUL. It always picks up all the dust on the paper and transfers to the white. It's really annoying. Otherwise, we've been pretty happy with our HP4550. We're on our second printer though, but we bought used the first time so it is what it is.

As for the new sublimation inks from Johnsons and Sawmill. The results are good/great. I'm just not sure if having to deal with clogged heads is worth the effort for an occasional sublimator. At the same time, I can't see sublimation being a great business to be in. It seems like there is a lot of competition. I like the sublimation printers to compliment the business. Not to stand alone. If I have to worry about clogged heads because I don't use it every day, that would hurt the chances of me buying. It doesn't really matter, I'm not in the market for a dye sublimation setup this year. Probably in 1-2 years I'll start looking at them again.

[David Harvey]

Well...thanks to all for the 'very deep insights' to dye-sub. I can understand the problem with ink jets clogging up and the need to keep the print heads 'fluid' by often use. My Roland would do the same thing, but they have it engineered to take care of itself by running a quick head cleaning periodically on it's own to prevent that.
Being 'not in the dye-sub' business yet, my printing needs would be very, very low to start with should I get started.
I think that what I will most likely do is to utilize the services from My Transfer Source, as some here have recommended. It would be a little more expensive, per item, but I wouldn't have to worry about the initial startup costs and run the risk of damaging a printer for lack of use....not to mention the cost of those ink cartridges (wow! they cost as much as the ones for my Roland printer/cutter). And... it will give me time to check the market and see if there is a need here for that service.

Thanks all! Great help...

[Ron Chapellaz]

David, I sent you a PM.

[AL Ursich]

Are there a lot of UV rays inside these days? Wow, what's the point of marketing UV+ ink when you really shouldn't use it where UV rays can attack it?

Your right, it all comes back to application.... Could be NO UV... Depending on where the gage is located.

I still have a bunch of 2 inch disks.. I can print you up some and see how they work...

I have some Sublimated stuff out on the deck in the sun and a duplicate in a box inside that I use to show the difference in 2 years of sun... They are still readable.... Just not as bright....

CLTT might need to be post baked to harden it up.. Since the gage could be fluid filled.

What do they use for fluid? Mineral Oil?

AL

[Dave Gates]

I just got the GX7000 a few weeks back. It is way better than the epson 4800 and 4880 I used to run. The printer hasn't clogged once so far(knock on wood). Also, the GX7000 prints extremely fast compared to the epsons.

I also have a laser system...a hp 4550. It works really good for black prints and simple( clipart) images on gold and silver aluminum. I've been using http://www.sublibrite.com/ for toner supplies.

[Mike Null]

One of the characteristics of laser sublimation on white is that you get "ghosting". It can't be avoided so most laser sub is done on silver or gold where the ghosting doesn't show.

[Rodne Gold]

Why do you want to do dye sub when you have a SP300? What are you intending to do?

[Bryan Cowan]

Your right, it all comes back to application.... Could be NO UV... Depending on where the gage is located.

I still have a bunch of 2 inch disks.. I can print you up some and see how they work...

I have some Sublimated stuff out on the deck in the sun and a duplicate in a box inside that I use to show the difference in 2 years of sun... They are still readable.... Just not as bright....

CLTT might need to be post baked to harden it up.. Since the gage could be fluid filled.

What do they use for fluid? Mineral Oil?

AL

We use quite a bit of different fill fluids; Mineral Oil, Glycerine, Halocarbon, Glycerine/Water mix, Silicone, etc. Glycerine is our standard fill.

We wouldn't use sublimation as mass production but rather custom dials we do for OEMs where a minimum quantity wouldn't be as high and where the lead times aren't as long. Perhaps we could also stipulate these gauges are to be used where no UV rays are present and/or the dials are susceptible to UV damage and may fade over time. I'd let management come up with their own disclaimer.

I could send you some blank dials (2.5", 4", and 6" diameters) with artwork if you'd be interested. My first concern would be the quality of the sublimation; UV protection 2nd.

Bryan

[AL Ursich]

We use quite a bit of different fill fluids; Mineral Oil, Glycerine, Halocarbon, Glycerine/Water mix, Silicone, etc. Glycerine is our standard fill.

We wouldn't use sublimation as mass production but rather custom dials we do for OEMs where a minimum quantity wouldn't be as high and where the lead times aren't as long. Perhaps we could also stipulate these gauges are to be used where no UV rays are present and/or the dials are susceptible to UV damage and may fade over time. I'd let management come up with their own disclaimer.

I could send you some blank dials (2.5", 4", and 6" diameters) with artwork if you'd be interested. My first concern would be the quality of the sublimation; UV protection 2nd.

Bryan

I only have 2 inch blanks.

AL