signal transfer paper for dye sublimation

[Paul]

Hi! Any one use that before? any good?
thanx in advance.

Paul

this is the auction I found this: LINK (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/A3-TRANSFER-PAPER-FOR-DYE-SUBLIMATION-PRINTING_W0QQitemZ300378448063QQcmdZViewItemQQptZL H_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item45eff360bf)

[chongsta]

Hi Paul,

Im using this paper now - A4

Seeing as its my first outing with transfer paper i can only say that Im not overly impressed by some of the colours im getting back. Logos and graphic images seem fine but when it comes to real photos im a little dismayed by the colour output.

Im doing some searches for photo-glossy transfer paper. Is there any out there? Does glossy give a better colour response. Matt is always going to give a duller reflection of colours.

Cheers
Dave.

[Paul]

Hi Dave. I dont think there is anything to do with the paper. responsible for all colors you geting is ICC and quality of ink.
with paper whats realy counts is coating. how much ink will it release to the blanks.

[chongsta]

hi paul,

What ICC profile do you have for RGB then?

Im used to large format printing, not desktop. Im a newbie :)

Cheers
Dave

[JSR]

Unlike inkjet photo printing whereby you have a custom profile for your choice of ink and paper, dye-sublimation's profile is kind of a "one size fits all" model.

For most tasks, it's good enough, but the sheer number of different substrates you're printing on means you won't get exactly the same result on a mug as you get on a t-shirt (for instance).

Dye-sublimation isn't a good choice if you need to match a specific colour, simply because dye-sublimation ink has a very small colour gamut. If you thought the gamut of regular inkjet was small, just wait 'til you compare it to dye-sublimation ink.

The mantra for dye-sub is "close enough is good enough". For most photos, particularly ones with bright colours and good contrast, you'll produce a good result. But a photo that's all dark shadows and gradients will be a tougher nut to crack. And trying to get a neutral greyscale in a colour print is just some utopian ideal.

I make it clear up front to all my customers that "colour matching is not guaranteed" because unless you're prepared to spend weeks working on samples and tweaking the set-up, you need to accept that "close enough is good enough".

It is worth stressing that the colours you see printed on the transfer paper are *not* the final colours. If they look dull or even, to some extent, off-colour, then this is normal. Dye-sublimation ink reaches full colour after heat is applied. This is why adjusting the time and temp of your heat press can have some effect - certainly over and above which paper you use.

Different papers will generally give a better transfer when it comes to sharpness, or will lay down more ink for a fabric item, but the paper doesn't have a huge amount to do with what colours you get. You won't know what colours you get until you press the item.

Hope this helps.

[Justin]

I make it clear up front to all my customers that "colour matching is not guaranteed" because unless you're prepared to spend weeks working on samples and tweaking the set-up, you need to accept that "close enough is good enough".


Oh how I wish one of my customers would understand this! Not going into details here but I've just been to check an order because the colours were different from the previous batch. If they hadn't had one of the old batch left they'd never have noticed. I had to change printers between batches and was surprised how close it was, almost unoticable...almost :-( They thought the whites weren't white enough....err, did I print white?!!?!?

Justin :x

[chongsta]

Thanks JSR, that actually helps a lot. Ive been wasting a lot of mugs trying to get colour matches but they way you've put it makes perfect sense.

Ill warn customers now. At least if theyre forewarned then i think you can get a better response from them when you say "look how good it is" ;) !!!

cheers
Dave

[JSR]

Thanks JSR, that actually helps a lot. Ive been wasting a lot of mugs trying to get colour matches but they way you've put it makes perfect sense.

Ill warn customers now. At least if theyre forewarned then i think you can get a better response from them when you say "look how good it is" ;) !!!

cheers
Dave
When you're doing photos (if they're good ones and not all blurred or taken with an old mobile phone) then the customer won't need much prompting to see how good it is. Most people don't realise how good the photo can be on a mug or other similar item.

I have had my fair share of customers who send in a design they made and are a little upset when the finished item isn't exactly the same colour, but when you start asking what the input profile is they don't know what you're talking about. And is their monitor even profiled? How do you know that they see what you see? Boy, colour-matching can be a nightmare.

On most medium-to-large orders, I insist on sending the first off to the customer for approval before I continue with the rest. The easiest way to know if the customer will be happy with the product is to send them one. Once approved, they can hardly complain later that it's not good enough. They're happy, you're covered, everyone's a winner.

If the customer doesn't like the sample and you can't do any better, then it's time to suggest they try elsewhere. There isn't a huge profit in dye-sublimation because we can't charge £25-£50 set-up fees. If someone's buying a £5 mug, then you can't be expected to waste a dozen of them trying to colour-match. It's just not practical, not worth your time, and certainly not worth you wasting your stock. It's different if you want to do some experimenting off your own back, because we all have to do that from time to time, but you need to draw the line somewhere.

That's the way I look at it anyway.

On a slightly similar note, I was watching a 7x5 scanner being advertised on QVC the other day. At one point the salesman scanned a picture of someone wearing black and they showed a printed blow-up in which the figure was *clearly* wearing purple. Now, I wouldn't pass that. That would be in the bin and me doing it again in a heartbeat, but the salesman and QVC presenter were saying how wonderful it was. Wonderful? Are these people blind? Or do people honestly just not notice? There's a difference between not being able to colour-match and just taking the mickey! :D

[Tris]

Hi! Any one use that before? any good?
thanx in advance.

Paul

this is the auction I found this: LINK (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/A3-TRANSFER-PAPER-FOR-DYE-SUBLIMATION-PRINTING_W0QQitemZ300378448063QQcmdZViewItemQQptZL H_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item45eff360bf)

That is the only paper I have ever used never had a problem myself but have never tried anything else to see if it's better

[purpledragon]

cant go to far wrong with tru pix paper my colours are great and the images / photos are pretty sharp

Brett

[Justin]

Just starting using Trupix for the first time this week and initial results are superb.

Justin