sublimation plates - AGAIN :)

[bms]

Isn't it better to have a small stock of a quality items knowing it will sell even though it's a slow seller.

Quite true, the ones on the forum printed up by Elaine_Zang looked good in the pictures.

[Paul]

yep. i wish to know if they actualy presed those plates or is it PS trick :)

[Paul]

ok. so plates again :) I just printed one with gold edges :D no crisp picture at all! I preheated my plate and used 165C for 6min as recomended on martins website. this is only guide i could find quick. the i pressed another oic on this same plate (as I only got one as a sample) but lowered preasure and it come out much better. wired... so what preasure are you useing pps? I tryed lowes preasure i can do but it still not as sharp as I would like. is only acceptable.

[JSR]

Trying to get "sharp" on a plate is nigh on impossible - certainly on these awful plates we get in the UK. It's slightly better these days on the Orca-coated plates, but the old ones before that were awful for sharpness. I have a semi-regular (not regular enough) customer for plates and when he first ordered, I sent him a plate to point out how "soft" the print was (I didn't want loads of returns). He pretty much said that it was still better than he'd been getting from elsewhere.

What press are you using Paul? I'm still using an old one from BMS which doesn't heat to the edges of the platen, so I have to keep the print pretty tiny. My pressing time isn't a million miles from what you're doing (just a bit longer and hotter because of trying to compensate for the weak heat platens). I'd be interested in replacing my plate press if the resulting print is any better.

I use as little pressure as I can get away with. Too much pressure leads to broken plates. I actually remove the bottom support and stack a bunch of fabric coasters underneath the plate instead. I found that the rubber on the bottom support was gripping the plate too much - and I think it was this that causes most of the breakages. The plates need to be able to "breathe" under heat.

I see that Coralgraph sell plates with gold rims now. I'm going to get some in as soon as my PayPal account is floating again. Anything to support someone who's prepared to offer plates!

[Paul]

thats where i got my plate from JSR ;)
I always get some good sample from Henry. I use my 5in1 for my plates. well... 4in1 as flat bed died :(
like ones on this pic:


I also use them to press small bits like keyrings and coasters as they heat up quick so dont need to waste electricity.

I got quite good image but not as sharp as I want. but it looks like its realy imposible as I can not find one sharp pic on the web :) so it looks like we have to suffer... shame realy....

[JSR]

Have you only got the one plate? One thing I'm interested in is how "clean" they are.

The ones I currently get from another supplier are, frankly, shoddy. If the gold rim isn't patchy then there are dirty marks that look like thumb prints under the coating (so you can't clean it). I end up chucking away more than I sell.

I have a whole stack here that I can't sell, which is why I was pleased to see a second supplier.

Frankly, the supply of plates to those of us in the UK is abominable. Coralgraph will certainly be getting more of my business if the plates at least prove to be adequate.

[Paul]

I got only one as a sample to check how sharp it can be printed. the gold rim is't perfect. is good but you can see gold paint is't fantastic. acceptable imo. I need to get couple more to but this going to be dear trial and error :(

[JSR]

I got only one as a sample to check how sharp it can be printed. the gold rim is't perfect. is good but you can see gold paint is't fantastic. acceptable imo. I need to get couple more to but this going to be dear trial and error :(

Plates are always an expensive trial and error (which is why it's impossible to sell them at a sensible price), and I think it'll be that way until a supplier really gets a handle on supplying the right thing. Much better plates are available, just not to us in the UK - which makes it practically impossible for us to build a business up around them.

[Kaz]

What happened to the guy from Ireland that was doing plates? He seemed to be doing quite well with them.

Can't remember his user name though and don't think I've seen him on the new platform

[Paul]

i dont remember anyone who actualy ever had any good results with plates :(
those metal ones from BMS are good but this is diferent product so ceramic would sellfor much more. If I get descent plates I can sell them for £15 each. I asked some people I took photos off about how much would they pay for metal one. £10 is the MAXIMUM. and this is if you push...