Sublimation Ink & Printers » sublimation printer

What Items Do You Need For a Sublimation Printer?

Sublimation Ink Printer — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:27:47 +0000

When you are expecting to purchase a sublimation printer and put it to work, you’ll need to have the rest of the necessary components to make sure that the product is actually going to give you what you need. Naturally, a computer is going to be one of those tools, as you will be attempting to print out the photos and images that you’ve produced through your computer. What you may not realize, however, is that other necessary components will be needed if you hope to actually be able to use this printer to the full range of its capabilities.

The monitor on your computer will need to be one which displays colors correctly, so you will be able to see if the image is correct. You will need special sublimation printer ink for your printer as well as the correct type of paper to take sublimation printing. Printer ink will also be needed in bulk quantities, especially if you plan on printing out a great number of pictures. A heat press will be necessary, although this is a feature which should be found with your printer itself. Finally, in order to get the best quality photos, you may wish to have a photo editing software on hand which can help you produce the best looking photos possible.

You Can Sublimate Different Surfaces

Sublimation Ink Printer — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:23:28 +0000

When you start to use sublimation printing, you will find that there are several different surfaces that you can actually sublimate, allowing you to put your favorite photos in a number of different areas. This is possible because a sublimation printer uses a different type of technology, which is more advanced than your traditional ink printer. Learning to use a sublimation printer can be truly worth the time spent as it will help you produce a number of exciting items which can all be personalized. Typically, you will be able to sublimate print onto hard surfaces as well as a number of soft surfaces and onto white objects.

The hard surfaces which you may turn to would include polymer coated objects. This hard surface will absorb the printer ink from the printer and when you touch the object itself, you should not be able to even notice the print. Soft surfaces which can be printed on would include synthetic fabrics such as rayon, polyester, nylon and satin. Cotton does not take to sublimation well and is best avoided as it can turn out to be a wasted effort.

White surfaces will be the best that you can turn to for sublimating because they will create a true replication of the colors being placed onto it resulting in a sharper, clearer image. This is unlike colored surfaces which could combine the image colors with the colors of the surface, resulting in a color that is not a true representation of the original.

Pigment Ink, Dye Ink, Sublimation Ink & More: Types of Ink For Professional Printing

Sublimation Ink & Printer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:34:42 +0000

For professional printing, all types of ink are used, be it pigment ink, dye-based ink or sublimation ink.

Pigment inks
Pigment inks are mostly used for normal document printing. All the traditional printers use pigment inks for printing on paper. These inks are contain mixed chemicals to ensure that the pigments adhere to the surface of the paper and cannot be removed be mechanical abrasion. Chemicals like resins are used in solvent based inks and other chemicals like binding agents are used in water based inks. The advantage of pigment inks is that you need less quantity of these inks for printing as they stay on the surface of the paper. Pigment inks are more resistant to washing and are recommended for use where erasure is unwanted. Among pigment inks, gel inks are the most resistant to washes.

Dye-based inks
Dye inks are stronger than pigment inks and can produce more intense colors on a given surface of paper of the same size. However, they soak into the paper and may sometimes bleed and destroy the quality of the image. To ensure that this does not happen, various quick drying solvents are mixed with dye based inks. Some measures are also taken during the printing process, including blowing hot air over a fresh print or harder paper sizing and using specialized paper coating. Another important technique is to use charged coating on the paper. If the dye is oppositely charged, then it is attracted to the paper coating and is retained. The solvent sinks into the printer paper. Cellulose is most commonly used to retain the dye. An advantage of dye inks is that the dye molecules in these inks interact chemically with the other ingredients in the inks and perform better than pigment inks in interacting with brighteners and other color enhancing agents to increase the intensity of the color and also to enhance the appearance of the dyes.

Sublimation ink
Sublimation ink is used to create short run and highly customized images. Breakthrough in sublimation printing technology has ensured that sublimation inks are an economical and practical way to print on a variety of objects. Sublimation uses sublimation ink and sublimation paper in sublimation printers to print sublimation transfers. When the sublimation transfer is put into a heat press along with a substrate at 400 F, the ink turns into gas (like dry ice) to form a permanent bond on the substrate. The substrate is a polymer coated item or synthetic fabric. The resulting print is a premium full color, photographic quality image that does not crack, peel or wash away. Sublimation inks work best with white substrates. Ash gray substrates also work well. For other light colored substrates, if the print colors are dark and complementary, then sublimation can be done well. Synthetic fabrics like polyester, satin, nylon and rayon are good substrates for sublimation. There are many items that can be used for sublimation, namely, aprons, tiles, dog tags, license plates, bag tags, ceramic mugs, door hangers, light switch covers, boxer shorts etc.

7 Things You Need to Know Before Buying a Sublimation Printer

Sublimation Ink & Printer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:31:09 +0000

With the advancement in sublimation technology, sublimation printers are finding increased use in today’s world. Sublimation printers are used for printing sharp and high quality images that are sometimes better than photo lab quality images. If you are looking to buy your first sublimation printer, then let us look at some of the things you will need to know before you buy one.

What is a sublimation printer? A sublimation printer is a type of printer that uses the process of heat transfer to a substrate at 400 F. At this temperature, the ink turns into gas (like dry ice) and forms a permanent bond on the substrate. The substrate is a polymer coated item or synthetic fabric. The resulting print is a premium full color, photographic quality image that does not crack, peel or wash away.

Which are the items on which a sublimation printer can print? Some of the most common objects on which a sublimation printer can print are There are plenty of items that can be sublimated and newer products are being added to the list every day. Some of the most common products that can be sublimated are – aprons, tiles, dog tags, license plates, bag tags, ceramic mugs, door hangers, light switch covers, boxer shorts, clipboards, hardboard tiles, mini tees, tote bags, softlink t-shirts, plaques, pet shirts, neckties, travel mugs, ornaments, pet tags, puzzles, lab coats, dash plates, business card holders, name badges, jewelry, coaster, bookmarks, mouse pads, jackets, clocks and car flags. Apart from these, more items are being added every day.

What other items do you need in addition to a sublimation printer? Apart from the sublimation printer, there are some other items that are needed for sublimation printing.

• A computer with a good amount of RAM and hard drive storage space.
• A monitor that is able to display colors properly.
• Sublimation ink – ArTainium UV+ ink is perfect for Epson printers.
• ICC Profiles – This is an accurate method for color management that instructs the inks how to mix colors to produce the right color.
• Sublimation paper.
• Printer – Epson.
• Bulk ink.
• Heat press.
• Specialty tools for easy printing, photo enlargement and photo editing.

Is a sublimation printer costly? Sublimation printers are slightly more costly to purchase and operate than normal printers because they require special paper to print on.

Which substrate colors are ideal for sublimation printers? Since sublimation ink is translucent, white substrates replicate true colors. Ash gray substrates also work well. For other light colored substrates, if the print colors are dark and complementary, then sublimation can be done well. Darker substrates kill the color of the print.

Can I use a sublimation printer on cotton clothes? Cotton substrates cannot be sublimated. If there is a fabric that is 50-50 cotton and polyester, sublimation cannot be done. The image will look unimaginative, faded and dull. For decorating 50-50 cotton and polyester fabric, heat transfer paper should be used.

Are sublimation printers easily available? The breakthrough in sublimation technology has ensured that sublimation printers are now easily available in the market.

Sublimation Printing: All You Need to Know About Sublimation Ink

Sublimation Ink & Printer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:18:04 +0000

Sublimation printing is used to print photographic quality pictures. With the recent spurt in technology, the cost of sublimation printing has gone down drastically and digital camera owners are lapping it up. A sublimation printer loads a long roll of film that is transparent. These look like rolls of colored cellophane of red, yellow, blue, and gray. The printing dyes get embedded in this film. Commonly used subtractive primary dyes are used that are cyan, yellow, magenta, and black (CMYK). When the printhead traverse over the film, it heats up. Because of this the dyes vaporize and penetrate the glossy surface of the paper and form a permanent image. As a result of the permeation, the printing is fade resistant over a long period of time.

What can be sublimated?
• Hard substrates – Polymer coated items are ideal for sublimation. The sublimation print penetrates the polymer coating and becomes part of it. When running a hand over the coating, the print cannot even be felt.
• Soft substrates – Synthetic fabrics like polyester, satin, nylon and rayon are good substrates for sublimation. When working with nylon or rayon, specific types must be chosen. Soft substrates include can koozies, car flags, mouse pads and puzzles.
• White substrates – Since sublimation ink is translucent, white substrates replicate true colors. Ash gray substrates also work well. For other light colored substrates, if the print colors are dark and complementary, then sublimation can be done well. Darker substrates kill the color of the print.

What cannot be sublimated?
• Soft substrates like cotton cannot be sublimated. If there is a fabric that is 50-50 cotton and polyester, sublimation cannot be done. The image will look unimaginative, faded and dull. For decorating 50-50 cotton and polyester fabric, heat transfer paper should be used.
• Hard substrates that are not polymer coated cannot be sublimated. Specialized suppliers must be contacted to procure polymer coated hard substrates. Color is of extreme importance in sublimation. Dark colored hard substrates will render the print color useless and impossible to detect.

The unique part of dye sublimation ink is that like dry ice, it gets converted from solid to gas without any liquefaction. The conversion is pressure and time controlled and initiated by heat. When the sublimation transfer is put into a heat press along with a substrate at 400 F, the ink turns into gas to form a permanent bond on the substrate. The substrate is a polymer coated item or synthetic fabric. The resulting print is a premium full color, photographic quality image that does not crack, peel or wash away.

There are two types of dye sublimation inks that are available in the market. For use in desktops and large format printers, the most popular dye sublimation ink is aqueous dye sublimation ink. The other type of dye sublimation ink is used in XAAR, Spectra and Konica printhead wide format printers and it is a solvent dye sublimation ink. With a spurt in digital textile printing, these inks are gaining huge popularity.