Sublimation

[James & Zelma Litzmann]

Does anyone have any advice on sublimation, equipment, etc. Thanks in advance.

[Mike Null]

Zelma

I can only tell you what I did. After struggling a couple of years with inkjet sublimation I gave up and gave away my equipment, inks and paper.

I then bought an old HP laser jet black toner machine and have paid for it three times over in 90 days. I will not go back to inkjet sublimation.

Reasons: too many rejects, limited and expensive substrates, expensive inks and just generally a headache.

I recently farmed out a small mug job. Neither of the people I went to could come close on colors.

[James & Zelma Litzmann]

(I then bought an old HP laser jet black toner machine and have paid for it three times over in 90 days. I will not go back to inkjet sublimation.)

Mike I don't know a lot about sublimatation . . . yet but with the HP laser jet black toner machine, can you do the same as sublimation, or something similar. I am wanting to put the customer's pictures on cups, boxes, key chains, tiles ect. but I want to be able to do this in color. I can do this with my laser to some degree but I was just looking for other ways.

[Richard Rumancik]

There are toner-based sublimation systems; not sure if Mike has black-only sublimation or what. If you check some of the magazines like A&E you may see some adverts. Color toner sublimation cartridges are expensive but don't suffer from shelf life/usage problems. Can't say how they compare for image quality.

My experience: Several years ago I bought an Epson printer for $400 and Sawgrass ink for $400. I did several experiments learning how to do it, then got busy with the laser. I did not know you had to run the printer every week to keep the inkjets from plugging. Short story is that the printer head plugged; I could not flush it, the heads are not easily replaceable, and the Epson dealer said throw it away. So keep in mind that if you do inkjet sublimation you need to use it continuously or you may not be able to clean the head. If you don't have a job for it one week you still need to start it up and run a sheet or two through it using all the colors.

Mike - can you elaborate on what you are using the HP for?

[joe daley]

Does anyone have any advice on sublimation, equipment, etc. Thanks in advance.

we run 6 sub printers -- what do you need to know exactly?
Joe
direct email: sales@palmimports.com

[James & Zelma Litzmann]

First I want to say thanks to everyone who has responded.

Joe, are all 6 of yours the same kind or do you have a variety and if so which one do you prefer. What the biggest issue you have, if any, what kind of things should I watch for when trying to decide which one to go with?

Any or should I say all advise is appreciated.

[joe daley]

First I want to say thanks to everyone who has responded.

Joe, are all 6 of yours the same kind or do you have a variety and if so which one do you prefer. What the biggest issue you have, if any, what kind of things should I watch for when trying to decide which one to go with?

Any or should I say all advise is appreciated.

depends on what you want to do- were one of the largest ceramic poker chip manufacturers out there so were constantly running printers- we use the same printers- Epson 4000--6 of em 12-15 hours a day- every day-
other then cleaning these printers they dont miss a beat- ever.

Our page counts are through the roof- and not one printer failure yet.

We use a korean ink and never have had a clogged head that couldnt be cleaned with a nozzle check.

The Epson 4000's can be converted to DUAL CMYK which is great- although we run em at 8 color-- only because sometimes when you print something else especially under flexisign flexi wont see the printer unless its in 8 color mode- so we switched back to 8 color.

Any of the EPsons will work if you need wider format- even a Roland SP300 or Mimaki works well for dye sub- they all share the same EPson print heads which are tried- and true for dye sub ink.

let me know what you want to do- format needed and I can add some addit information hopefully.

Joe

[David Lavaneri]

"We use a korean ink and never have had a clogged head that couldnt be cleaned with a nozzle check."

Joe,

How/where are you buying Korean ink?

Since Sawgrass Technologies has cracked down on all companies (openly) selling sublimation ink in the U.S. (and other parts of the world?), the only availability of sublimation ink is Sublijet and ArTainium, both owned by Sawgrass.

Note: I have no affiliation with Sawgrass or any other sublimation supplier.

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri

[Larry Bratton]

(I then bought an old HP laser jet black toner machine and have paid for it three times over in 90 days. I will not go back to inkjet sublimation.)

Mike I don't know a lot about sublimatation . . . yet but with the HP laser jet black toner machine, can you do the same as sublimation, or something similar. I am wanting to put the customer's pictures on cups, boxes, key chains, tiles ect. but I want to be able to do this in color. I can do this with my laser to some degree but I was just looking for other ways.

Zelma:
You might check into CLTT (Color Laser Toner Transfer). It requires an inexpensive laser printer, like an Okidata or Minolta, a heat press, and some CLTT transfer paper. It works really well on lots of things. Cactus Equipment sells all the paper etc. I don't know if I'm supposed to post a link here or not, so I won't. If you need more or want more information PM me and I'll send you the links.

[Larry Bratton]

Zelma:
Here is a link to former thread here about CLTT.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=59182

[Matt Wheeler]

"We use a korean ink and never have had a clogged head that couldnt be cleaned with a nozzle check."

Joe,

How/where are you buying Korean ink?

Since Sawgrass Technologies has cracked down on all companies (openly) selling sublimation ink in the U.S. (and other parts of the world?), the only availability of sublimation ink is Sublijet and ArTainium, both owned by Sawgrass.

Note: I have no affiliation with Sawgrass or any other sublimation supplier.

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri

I too am interested in another ink solution, we are having way too many issues with sublijet. haven't tried the arTanium, yet. Do you have an ICC profile with the korean inks?

[David Lavaneri]

Matt,

The good old days of inexpensive sublimation ink (it's always been inexpensive, yet exorbitantly overpriced) are gone.

Sawgrass Technologies (through upholding their patents) has squelched US sales of all sublimation ink, (except their own) leaving you with a choice between Sublijet and ArTainium. That's it!

I didn't expect Joe to answer the where/how question, though I assume he's dealing directly with a Korean supplier.

With regard to ICC profiles, some colors ranges are easier to achieve than others, but for the most-part, sublimation ink has gotten to the point where you can successfully print transfers through your native print driver.

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri

[joe daley]

Matt,

The good old days of inexpensive sublimation ink (it's always been inexpensive, yet exorbitantly overpriced) are gone.

Sawgrass Technologies (through upholding their patents) has squelched US sales of all sublimation ink, (except their own) leaving you with a choice between Sublijet and ArTainium. That's it!

I didn't expect Joe to answer the where/how question, though I assume he's dealing directly with a Korean supplier.

With regard to ICC profiles, some colors ranges are easier to achieve than others, but for the most-part, sublimation ink has gotten to the point where you can successfully print transfers through your native print driver.

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri

way back when we found this solution we THOUGHT we were gonna be millionaires- so we started selling ink on ebay- sev days later a 14 page sease and desist letter came from Sawgrass with more attorneys names on the letter head then actual type- we got the point.

I had no idea at the time which end was up with ink- never knew they had a gizillion patents on this stuff.

Bottom line is- Korea, China, Japan ALL make sub ink- you just have to be carefull where you buy from - as all ink is not the same. Trust me on this. Took years to find the right ink.

I own Sawgrass inks and we have our own profiles we use which work flawlessly. I just prefer the more affordable ink we use now.

I'd love to comment more but its a delicate subject. Drop me an email.
sales@palmimports.com

[joe daley]

I too am interested in another ink solution, we are having way too many issues with sublijet. haven't tried the arTanium, yet. Do you have an ICC profile with the korean inks?

yes- many years of experimenting with both dye profiles AND profiles in AI has gotten us dead on for the most part with fairly accurate color rendition- we have the profiles down solid for accurate skin tone reproductions for ceramic tile- we manufacture for Lowes and most of the work is photos ( and I still dont understand this but-- MOST orders are for ceramic plawues for toomstones-- go figure)

There isnt one magical profile and setting that does it all unfortunately- depends on what ya need to do.

[Bill Cunningham]

The reason most are ceramic Tombstone plaques, is because your price is probably reasonable.. I've had folks come in to get a photo etched into granite or marble, because the funeral home quoted SEVERAL HUNDRED dollars for a full colour ceramic insert..Which is 'really' a rip off! Get em while their vulnerable, and get em for lots!