Articles
What Is Dye Sublimation?
The Dye sublimation transfer is a process by which you can use an image that has been created digitally either by scanning a photograph or downloading a picture taken with your digital camera or an image created in a piece of imaging software like Photoshop or Corel and then printing this image with an Epson desktop printer using special inks called sublimation inks onto paper. Once the image is on the paper you place it under a heat transfer press on top of your substrate and heat the paper until the inks turns to a gas and transfer the image onto the item you are trying to make.
What Type Of Images Can I Use?
Any image that you can get into your computer you can use (subject to copyright). You can scan it with a regular desktop scanner, you can create it using many of the available image editing software type programs such as Corel or Photoshop or you can download the image from your digital camera.
What Type Of Printer Do I Need?
Because of the type of ink that is used you are limited in the type of printer you can print with. Without getting too technical only certain types of printheads allow for the sublimation ink to pass through them so you can use Epson printers or the Ricoh GX7000 printer. Some of the current Epson models you can use are the Epson 900/980, Epson 3000, Eson 7600, Epson 4000, Epson 1280, Epson C84/86, Epson R1800.
What Type Of Ink Do I Use?
The ink used in the process is special. It is a mixture of water and heat reactive dyes. The best inks come from Sawgrass Technologies.
What Paper Can I Use?
With the wrong kind of paper you will have serous problems getting the correct color management. We recommend paper from Sawgrass Technologie.
What Software Should I User?
For ceramic tile murals, the only software that works for the profitable sublimation business is MuralCreator. This software makes it easy to import images, select your field of tile, set your parameters and produce saleable prints from the very start. It is priced at $169.95.
What Type Of Heat Transfer Press Can I Use
There are a multitude of different heatpresses from different suppliers all have different characteristics it depends on what products you are going to try and make. Heat presses range from a few 100 dollars for a small press for doing T-shirts and namebadges to the mid range presses about 750-1500 dollars which are more robust and allow for bigger products to be made.
What Types Of Products Can I Make
There are a whole range of products out there that have been designed for the sublimation market, from small dog tags and luggage tags to mouse pads to T Shirts to huge 20 square foot ceramic tile murals. It all depends on what your budget is and what you want to make but there’s one thing for sure: You will never be short of ideas in this wonderful sublimation world.
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