Sublimation Ink & Printers » synthetic fabric

All You Need to Know About ArTainium Sublimation Ink

Sublimation Ink & Printer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:45:17 +0000

ArTainium sublimation ink is used to create short run and highly customized images. Recent breakthrough in sublimation printing technology has ensured an economical and practical way to print on a variety of objects. Sublimation uses sublimation ink and sublimation paper in some Epson 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 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.

What can be sublimated?
• White or lighter substrates – Sublimation inks are translucent in nature and therefore it shows best result in white substrates. Likewise, you can use grayish substrate for getting near natural results. But when you use other light colored substrates you can expect the best results when the images are with dark colors and complementary to the color of the substrate. But most of the time darker substrates cannot produce the results you expect.
• Soft substrates – For good results you should use synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon satin, or rayon using sublimation printing process. Use the specific types of nylon or rayon that go well with the process. Your vendor will be able to suggest you the right one. You can use this process for printing on soft surfaces like can koozies, mouse pads, car flags, and colorful puzzles and cubes.
• Hard substrates – Sublimation process of printing can produce the best result in hard surfaces. The sublimation print can penetrate the coating and gets crosslinked with it to become permanent. As it goes in the layer of the coating you cannot even feel the print on the surface.

What cannot be sublimated?
• There are some hard substrates that are not polymer coated and hence you cannot use sublimation process of printing. But, you can get some hard surfaces that are coated with polymers and therefore can accept sublimation prints. You must remember that because of the inherent nature of the printing process lighter color bases produce best result but dark substrates may not produce the colors truly.
• Again, you cannot use cotton substrates for sublimation. Though you can use a substrate with 50/50 mix of cotton and polyester, the color will look dull and faded. For these types of substrates it would be wise to use heat transfer paper.

Which items are commonly sublimated?
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.

What do you need for sublimation?

Here is the list of sublimation supplies you’ll need.

• 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.

Now you are ready to use ArTainium sublimation ink for sublimation printing.

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.

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.