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    Starting up dye sub - advise needed

    Hi all,

    Hope you're all well. I am a designer based in Birmingham and have been self-employed for about a year now and looking at adding dye sublimation to my list of services.

    I am after some advise in regards to the correct equipment to purchase.

    Ideally all my customers I have contacted have stated they are interested in Cotton Bespoke T-Shirt Designs, Mug prints etc.

    I have contacted a few companies over the last few days and been told that printing onto 100 % cotton t-shirts are not possible.

    I am not too sure how true this is?

    I am wondering if someone could point me in the right direction and offer me some advice. I would happily compromise on something like a 35/65 split, but wanted to see if this would
    produce satisfying results?

    Thanks in advance.

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    Hi, I am not an expert and don’t print on shirts, but I know that Magic Touch has a type of paper that works on cotton, I use it myself it is the TTC paper. It has like a rubbery feeling to it, so it might not be what you are looking for.

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    Hi. In a nutshell, sublimation requires the substrate to contain polymer filaments. When heated, the 'pores' in the filaments open and the gas from the inks enters the pores, transferring the colour. On cooling, the pores close, permanently sealing the inks into the polymer filaments.

    So, in order to sublimate a garment the garment must contain a high percentage of of polyester, typically 65% or more. Ideally it should be white 100% polyester for the most vivid, non-fading images. A print to poly-cotton will result in a nice print which will immediately wash away in the first wash leaving a faded image, the amount of fading depending on the poly/cotton mix.

    Also, sublimation is best suited to white or light pastel coloured garments as any white in your images will turn out the base colour of the substrate.

    Mugs, aluminium, and other specially coated subtrates are well suited to sublimation.

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    So what would be the best method to printing cotton garments?

    Would it be a different print process?

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    I use a Brother DTG.
    Last edited by azimov; 05-06-2019 at 11:26 AM.

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    What Brother model do you use asimov and would you recommend it? I currently only print pictures with halftones onto T-shirts
    using the Dye sub process as they feel great to the touch. I'm not keen on transfer printing because of the Plasticky feel to them.
    I'm guessing that DTG is the best way to go to print on cotton T-shirts of all colours but obviously comes at a cost.

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    I have a Brother GT 361, not the cheapest to run inkwise but its built like a tank, had it for years now with about 85K prints on it. You can pickup used ones on ebay for 4 - 5K these days, just make sure the heads are good with clear nozzle checks if buying used, the 361 has six of them at a grand a pop, I get through one or two a year.

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    Thanks for this guys. I think the DTG is totally out my price range. I am currently talking to xpres about the sawgrass sg800 A3 printer with the Adkins Heat press. I have seen a few transfer papers like the Reveal SR product and the forever subli-light paper which works with these machines for transferring on to cotton. Has any one had any experience with these papers? How do they hold up after a few washes?

    I would prefer DTG, but then the whole process becomes very expensive indeed. DTG Printer - Pre-Treatment - Press and plus I would want a machine that could do A3 size.

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    Quote Originally Posted by iCandycreative View Post
    So what would be the best method to printing cotton garments?

    Would it be a different print process?
    There are multiple printing options for cotton ( and other fabrics). In truth you need to have more than one printing option.

    For larger volume you have screen printing, but there is a high learning curve.

    For smaller volumes you have either cad cut vinyl, laser transfers or inkjet transfers. All need a heatpress and a Cad cutter.

    At the top end for low - mid volumes is dtg.

    I would save some money by looking for cheaper sublimation options than the Sawgrass printer, and using what you save on a cad cutter and a second A3 printer for inkjet transfers. That would give you the option of sublimation, inkjet transfers and cad cut vinyl.

    There are also transfer papers that you can print using your sublimation printer for use on dark cotton.

  10. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to pw66 For This Useful Post:

    cook_58 (08-06-2019), iCandycreative (06-06-2019)

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