HELP?!? Haha, dye sublimation press...
Moderators: Head Monkey, kelvin, bigKam, skidesmond, chrismp
Thanks for the tip, shot them off an email. I'm much the same, I spent a lot on building a heated press properly last year with the idea of starting a company. The idea went on the backburner for a while there but I've been getting so much interest from other snowboarders and stores that it's coming back.
I did it that way in this press simply because it was easier to build. It makes exactly none difference as long as you keep the heat under the paper side. I originally thought that I could use my board press for graphics...by the time you get finished switching everything out and the additional heat on the mdf it just didn't work. For me.
Pressing from above hahahaha, Rich you kill me!
Blossom part 1
Pressing from above hahahaha, Rich you kill me!
Blossom part 1
"86% of the time it works 100% of the time".
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skidesmond
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skidesmond
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strangesnowboarding
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i have not done enough tests on the PBT (lack of material) i assume that is what u are using.
we ran photos and various printouts and the clarity is almost better when sublimated. that being said it depends on the substrate, with a light weave nylon/spandex combo some of the definition is lost, however a tight, thick weave has all the detail of the computer screen.
we are waiting on topsheet that should come in on monday! will post pics of the sublimated graphics once we get them out. hoping that we will not loose any quality with the PBT.
what are your temp and time settings?
we ran photos and various printouts and the clarity is almost better when sublimated. that being said it depends on the substrate, with a light weave nylon/spandex combo some of the definition is lost, however a tight, thick weave has all the detail of the computer screen.
we are waiting on topsheet that should come in on monday! will post pics of the sublimated graphics once we get them out. hoping that we will not loose any quality with the PBT.
what are your temp and time settings?
Yep - PTB 
Good idea Brazen - I'm still working out the kinks, so would appreciate the feedback! Sent you an e-mail, but here is a link for anyone else:
https://picasaweb.google.com/r.barnes01 ... pNiurrDhcg#
The image is 5cm x 7cm.
Temp and time is tricky - would give it, but I'm not using a silicone heater. With my set up the heater is almost directly on the print and substrate. I'm around ten minutes @ 200 volts - still working on this. Substrate (PTB) is not so affected by heater, so not seeing shrinkage, so have a bit of room to add a bit more time if need be. Changed the set up to make this possible - not so much AL.
Strange - I think your designs are going to jump from the sheet and you'll be super stocked, hope so!
Good idea Brazen - I'm still working out the kinks, so would appreciate the feedback! Sent you an e-mail, but here is a link for anyone else:
https://picasaweb.google.com/r.barnes01 ... pNiurrDhcg#
The image is 5cm x 7cm.
Temp and time is tricky - would give it, but I'm not using a silicone heater. With my set up the heater is almost directly on the print and substrate. I'm around ten minutes @ 200 volts - still working on this. Substrate (PTB) is not so affected by heater, so not seeing shrinkage, so have a bit of room to add a bit more time if need be. Changed the set up to make this possible - not so much AL.
Strange - I think your designs are going to jump from the sheet and you'll be super stocked, hope so!
Last edited by Richuk on Sun Apr 17, 2011 1:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
the sublimated version looks a lot more like the original file on my screen. the paper print looks too dark and warm.
if you really want to get it spot on, you'll have to make color profiles for your printer/paper combo. there are places that offer a calibration service, or you could get a calibration tool like the spyder ones and do it yourself.
if you really want to get it spot on, you'll have to make color profiles for your printer/paper combo. there are places that offer a calibration service, or you could get a calibration tool like the spyder ones and do it yourself.
Thanks Chris - I agree, the colour is closer. I was pleased with that. I have the right profile for the ink - just not matched it to the program yet. Will do once I have worked out the clarity issue. I had seen a free service, but not seen spyder - thanks! Will follow that one up.
I think the clarity might have something to do with:
1. Paper - I have the right sublimation paper, hard surface
2. Paper option designated within the printer settings - experiment?
3. Heat applied during the process - timing, in combination with paper option?
The detail on her legs are a little lost ... I think
I think the clarity might have something to do with:
1. Paper - I have the right sublimation paper, hard surface
2. Paper option designated within the printer settings - experiment?
3. Heat applied during the process - timing, in combination with paper option?
The detail on her legs are a little lost ... I think
I had enough time to be able to complete a few additional samples, taking a slightly different approach. Clarity lost by poor camera skills. Colours picked at random.
I am using PBT and PE (Isosport).
This is what I am seeing with PE. Font @ 10, 15, 20 and 25pt
6 mins - insufficient ink transferred
7 mins - sufficient ink transferred
8 mins - too much ink transferred and begins to bleed out (red in particular)
Using these results, I obtained a better understanding of PBT and used a difficult font to prove the result. You can just see how the font design uses a back shadow (left).
And so:
In forward print (the new print) she is slightly less tanned, i.e. less colour saturation at 8 mins. The rear print was at 10 mins. I think PBT is more tolerant material and you can use the time variation to control contrast.
When printing fonts into PBT, you can go as low as 10pt using something like aerial, complicated fonts at around 15 - 20 pt, depending on the font. 20pt minimum with PE.
Borrowed a copy of photoshop from a friend, which has resolve the colour profile issue.
In summary, increasing the size of the image to 6 x 8 produced a better result and was further improved by correct use of heat. I suspect 5 x 7 is pushing the boundaries of what the paper can achieve. Its hard substrate specific, but not digital specific.
Hope this information is helpful and others agree with these findings.
I am using PBT and PE (Isosport).
This is what I am seeing with PE. Font @ 10, 15, 20 and 25pt
6 mins - insufficient ink transferred
7 mins - sufficient ink transferred
8 mins - too much ink transferred and begins to bleed out (red in particular)
Using these results, I obtained a better understanding of PBT and used a difficult font to prove the result. You can just see how the font design uses a back shadow (left).
And so:
In forward print (the new print) she is slightly less tanned, i.e. less colour saturation at 8 mins. The rear print was at 10 mins. I think PBT is more tolerant material and you can use the time variation to control contrast.
When printing fonts into PBT, you can go as low as 10pt using something like aerial, complicated fonts at around 15 - 20 pt, depending on the font. 20pt minimum with PE.
Borrowed a copy of photoshop from a friend, which has resolve the colour profile issue.
In summary, increasing the size of the image to 6 x 8 produced a better result and was further improved by correct use of heat. I suspect 5 x 7 is pushing the boundaries of what the paper can achieve. Its hard substrate specific, but not digital specific.
Hope this information is helpful and others agree with these findings.
Last edited by Richuk on Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:39 am, edited 2 times in total.