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smitch6
27-11-2011, 02:45 AM
Hiya :)
Just been round my nephews doing some more testing for him
He's wanting to print cotton T's
he got some paper from yolo (well expensive at £40 for 25 sheets) (especially when your only 16)
printed him a couple of tee's but the results weren't much than my cheap transfer paper i use
it felt very rubbery and cracked as soon as you put any pressure on it
i did one for his little girlfriend and she (in her words lol)
'adjusted her bra' and it left a horrid mis-shapen bit

so i've just spent ages searching thru the info on here and i think the best option is Chromablast
so next question what printer can be used?
can it be used for sub work as well?
what ink do you have to use?( i know ink is a funny question :) so pm if needed)

i have an epson B1100 can i put the ink in there and use that?

he wants A3 size :~

and i gather i need special paper as well?

what finish does it give? is it long lasting? does it crack, fade etc and can it be tumble dried, ironed etc pls

apologies for all the questions but it's the only way to find out info :)

thanks steve

mrs maggot
27-11-2011, 10:32 AM
have you got hold of yolo and asked them, i have had paper off them and it printed and is still washing/wearing fine

smitch6
27-11-2011, 10:36 AM
no
but tbh we didn't like the rubbery feel that the transfer gave us anyway
i think with any transfer your going to get that rubber feel and because of that it will crack etc

thats why i thought about investigating the chromablast route

John G
27-11-2011, 11:21 AM
can it be used for sub work as well?

If you mean the ink then no.


what ink do you have to use?( i know ink is a funny question :) so pm if needed)

Chromablast is the ink - the process is a combination of ink and a special paper.

A lot of people use epsons but the later Ricoh's can be used with Chromablast ink using carts.

smitch6
27-11-2011, 11:25 AM
Can i put chroma ink in my B1100?
as i use replacement carts now, so can i just remove my carts and then put the chroma ones in and use them and then return to sub carts once finished etc
at the mo i have 2 sets of carts
sub and normal ink

smitch6
27-11-2011, 11:29 AM
Has anyone got a chroamblast set up?
if so would they mind sending me a sample of some description pls
it can be on a scrap piece of cotton cloth or a reject they've done etc
i'll happily pay for expenses etc i just want to feel what it's actually like etc
and see how it stands up to washing etc

thanks

Paul
27-11-2011, 12:58 PM
Has anyone got a chroamblast set up?
if so would they mind sending me a sample of some description pls
it can be on a scrap piece of cotton cloth or a reject they've done etc
i'll happily pay for expenses etc i just want to feel what it's actually like etc
and see how it stands up to washing etc

thankswould.be worth to ask martin. Bms is selling this system so iam sure they got some printed samples. Worth drop them a line...

Justin
27-11-2011, 02:06 PM
but tbh we didn't like the rubbery feel that the transfer gave

I'm yet to try any of their papers but are there not different papers that would give a different hand?

John G
27-11-2011, 02:18 PM
I think there's only one type of paper for chromablast ink and to get a soft hand I think you stretch the shirt a little after pressing. Could be wrong though!

Doh! thought you were talking about chromablast not Yolo :redface:

Justin
27-11-2011, 02:26 PM
Lol, I did go back and check....I know my marbles are on their way out! ;-)

smitch6
27-11-2011, 03:49 PM
He got laser and inkjet but the only A3 printer i have is inkjet so we'll be selling the laser lol
bless him he didn't check before he bought it as to the prices of A3 laser printers :O

John G
27-11-2011, 04:42 PM
I know my marbles are on their way out! ;-

My marbles rolled away a few hous ago as i've been helping my daughter with maths homework :confused:

bms
27-11-2011, 10:24 PM
Hiya :)
Just been round my nephews doing some more testing for him
He's wanting to print cotton T's
he got some paper from yolo (well expensive at £40 for 25 sheets) (especially when your only 16)
printed him a couple of tee's but the results weren't much than my cheap transfer paper i use
it felt very rubbery and cracked as soon as you put any pressure on it
i did one for his little girlfriend and she (in her words lol)
'adjusted her bra' and it left a horrid mis-shapen bit

so i've just spent ages searching thru the info on here and i think the best option is Chromablast
so next question what printer can be used?
can it be used for sub work as well?
what ink do you have to use?( i know ink is a funny question :) so pm if needed)

i have an epson B1100 can i put the ink in there and use that?

he wants A3 size :~

and i gather i need special paper as well?

what finish does it give? is it long lasting? does it crack, fade etc and can it be tumble dried, ironed etc pls

apologies for all the questions but it's the only way to find out info :)

thanks steve

Any of the Epson printers & Ricoh printers that are supported for sublimation inks are also supported for Chromablast. So the Epson B1100 and Photo 1400 as well as the Ricoh GXe7700 (all A3) can be used. The Epsons have bulk feed systems, the Ricohs use cartrridges.

You print with Chromablast ink onto Chromablast paper (in reverse) and you would cut around the image shape to reduce the 'hand' of the paper transfer.

We've got samples of colour laser and Chromablast onto white t-shirts on display and the Chromablast gives a more vibrant image reproduction and a similar hand to each process.

Both wash as well as each other, no cracking like inkjet transfers - normally I'd recommend reverse iron.

A3 paper is around £80 +vat on 100 sheets (A4 is half the price), plus the cost of the chromablast inks (similar cost to Artainium ink).

smitch6
27-11-2011, 10:48 PM
Brill thanks for the info martin :)

i presume i can just swap carts like normal etc
can you get the chrom inks in bottles that i can fill myself?

bms
28-11-2011, 08:36 AM
Brill thanks for the info martin :)

i presume i can just swap carts like normal etc
can you get the chrom inks in bottles that i can fill myself?

Yes you can and yes Chromablast for the Epson is available in refill bottles just like Artainium.

smitch6
28-11-2011, 08:42 AM
brill thanks for that Martin
as soon as funds permit i'll give it a try :)

Donnette
25-04-2012, 11:25 PM
Yes you can and yes Chromablast for the Epson is available in refill bottles just like Artainium.

So does that mean you only need one printer? Can you just swap the cartridges and paper around depending on what job you are doing? We have the ricoh with sublimation ink and trupix paper (which is fabulous by the way!!) but think we need to invest in another printer / system to enable us to print on cotton tshirts. Still researching but think we are going down the chromoblast route. Is this the best way forward? Any help and advise on this would be appreciated.

bms
26-04-2012, 08:44 AM
So does that mean you only need one printer? Can you just swap the cartridges and paper around depending on what job you are doing? We have the ricoh with sublimation ink and trupix paper (which is fabulous by the way!!) but think we need to invest in another printer / system to enable us to print on cotton tshirts. Still researching but think we are going down the chromoblast route. Is this the best way forward? Any help and advise on this would be appreciated.

Ricohs and Epsons are very different in the way they hold ink in the printer. The Epsons hold a minimal amount of ink just before the printhead so swapping out cartridges between sublimation and chroma blast is possible and a small print job and you've cleared out the other ink. There are potential problems in swapping cartridges out all the time though (air locks, blocked heads, wear on the cartridges). With Ricohs there is ALOT of ink in the tubes that go from the cartridge to the printhead so swapping cartridges is not feasible and it would be much more cost effective to get another Ricoh printer.

AdamB
28-04-2012, 05:23 PM
Hi Steve,

I recently used Chromablast until Xmas.

To be honest - when you get it right the print is very, very nice .................... but, there were too many negative points to keep my system going so I ran it dry and am converting the printer I had to a pigment printer for transfers.

I had far too many bloackages with the system, plus the 'reduced' hand that was advertised on many videos only worked if the garment was true white (I should know - I tried often enough).

That, plus the paper and ink costs to maintain the system meant that I had to decide if I would keep the system going, and (to be honest) you can't really sell something to someone at a price if they don't know the difference between a cheap ebay transfer and screen-print.

Chromablast went at Xmas and since then I have used pigment ink with transfers (light and dark) and never had any complaints or objections from customers - plus, the pigment ink can be used on all colours where as Chromablast is limited to light colours.

Hope that helps?

Adam

smitch6
28-04-2012, 10:16 PM
yes that does thanks Adam :)

saves me spending even more money on something that doesn't work

AdamB
28-04-2012, 10:19 PM
No probs Steve - but remember, this is only my experience and it must work fine for others otherwise it wouldn't have been developed and sold.

Still - that said, I won't be going back to it :(

smitch6
28-04-2012, 10:20 PM
as i know you i can honestly say i take your word as solid bud
:)