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Jen
25-10-2012, 08:35 PM
I've just received some tote bags from a supplier and through no fault of theirs they're really not what I was expecting. I'm looking to print on tote bags with my heat press and sell them, but the polyester ones are so cheap looking I couldn't charge much for them. Does anyone know if I can print onto a different material? Is cotton a big no no?

Paul
25-10-2012, 08:55 PM
i have a cotton ones and they look great with yolo transfer paper :)

gorgall2
25-10-2012, 08:56 PM
Try the black handled ones from BMS, very good quality. Cotton a big no no for sublimation

Ian M
25-10-2012, 09:16 PM
Jen, a few years ago I had the exact same situation as you. All the bags I was going to be doing was for just one customer so, I printed a sample to show them & they thought they were great. Sometimes I'll print something I'm not too happy with & then show it to others to ask their opinion & 9 times out of 10 they love them.

Jen
25-10-2012, 09:22 PM
Do you still use sublimation ink with these and does it just press on the design or the whole sheet? Sounds good if I can still use my inks and its not the whole A4 sheet stuck on :)

Jen
25-10-2012, 09:27 PM
I tried the white ones from BMS and I really don't like them. I think I want something that looks more natural. I've asked a couple of friends and they feel the same. I think they'd be perfect if I had lots of money and wanted to use them as carrier bags, but not charge £5-£6 each for them.

Jen
25-10-2012, 09:31 PM
i have a cotton ones and they look great with yolo transfer paper :)

Do you use sublimation ink with these and does it just press on the design or the whole sheet? Sounds good if I can still use my inks and its not the whole A4 sheet stuck on :)[

Jen
25-10-2012, 09:43 PM
Has anyone used canvas bags? I've seen some demos on YouTube so hoping maybe yes?

Paul
25-10-2012, 09:43 PM
I use normal inks to print on transfer. you could use subli inks but i dont know how long would they last.

gorgall2
25-10-2012, 09:47 PM
The black handled BMS bags are much better than the white promo ones. they are made of a completely different material which feels like cotton.

Jen
25-10-2012, 09:55 PM
The black handled BMS bags are much better than the white promo ones. they are made of a completely different material which feels like cotton.

wonder why the white ones are different? I didn't think the handles were long enough do think I might still have a problem :(

Jen
25-10-2012, 09:57 PM
I use normal inks to print on transfer. you could use subli inks but i dont know how long would they last.

and does it just press the design or the whole sheet? I'm seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel again ;)

Jen
25-10-2012, 10:01 PM
wonder why the white ones are different? I didn't think the handles were long enough do think I might still have a problem :(

just had a look and I see what you mean now! They look lots better! I'll look into them I think. Thanks :)

Paul
25-10-2012, 10:03 PM
you can trim it if you want or contour cut if you have a cutter.

Jen
25-10-2012, 10:34 PM
Try the black handled ones from BMS, very good quality. Cotton a big no no for sublimation

Have I got it completely wrong because I thought you could use sublimation on tshirts? Thinking I might have bought something I don't need :\

Craig
25-10-2012, 10:38 PM
If the t shirts are polyester you can sublimate them if they are cotton then afraid they cannot be sublimated on

Jen
25-10-2012, 10:44 PM
Oh dear, I thought with all the cotton tshirts in the sublimation section on websites and the fact I bought a tshirt heat press it was alright. Eek

socialgiraffe
26-10-2012, 03:51 AM
Hi Jenny

I sell Natural Cotton 5oz Bags and at the moment I also have some 10oz Natural Cotton with 15cm gusset bags. I print loads of these.

I purchased a HP CP1025 colour laser printer from PC World for £99.00 and then purchased The Magic Touch 3.1+ A4R paper. The printer has done about 3000+ prints now and I reckon I have lost about 5% due to page jams. I will point out that the printer is not supported at all by The Magic Touch but then if it works there is no reason why it can not be used (even Alan from TMT who has just joined will tell you that).

Paper works out at 30p plus VAT per A4 sheet if you but 1000 sheets at a time and I estimate the toner to be 10p which is a massive exageration but covers me. Bags from me are 30p each or 28p if you buy 100 or more. So essentially 1 bag will cost you 70p

I have tried sublimating these bags firstly without any coating and the image simply fades away after about half an hour. Coating them with a spray just takes too long and not worth it as the coating needs to be cured at 160 degrees for 20 minutes. The only way you can do that is by pressing each bag for 20 minutes. Not worth it when a laser printer is less than £100.00

I press with heavy pressure for 15 seconds at 185 degrees and bag looks perfect everytime.

I will say that in fairness if your items need to be 100% colour acurate it would be better to purchase a better laser printer direct from the maic touch as they know what works and have great customer service. But seeing as the bag is a light yellow the colour will always be slightly different.

I know there are other laser papers out there and some members rave about YOLO. I have never tried them as TMT prodcuts work, customer service is great and prices are spot on so I see no reason to try anything else.

Ask_Alan
26-10-2012, 09:36 AM
Hi jenny
Socialgiraffe is right, Sublimation basically dyes white polyester - thats a bit of an over simplification as some other plastics will dye as well but it dose not work onto natural fibres. The TMT papers are designed for laserprinters and transfer the actual laser print onto the target and so are fabric neutral.
though as pointed out the underlying colour will, like sublimation, effect the light transfer prints (TTC).

HP printers, there are some really good A4 ones @ £1000 though :rolleyes:. Our tests on the lower end ones show scratching and tramlines in the images caused by the top exit pressing the print onto the lower rollers, this gets worse with age. HP toner also has a tendency to breakdown under heat, you get a yellow stain on the backing paper when peeled for many models, this is a form of sublimation if your interested.

Alan

Jen
26-10-2012, 09:59 AM
Well this idea/hobbie of mine is turning out to be a little expensive lol. I'm going to give the black handled BMS ones a go and see how I get on and might even give poly cotton a go, why not hey!? ;) thanks to everyone who has given advice, things are starting to make sense now. I feel slightly liberated! ;)