Hi everybody,
I've been around the forum for just over a week or so (a short period as a guest), loads of great information which I've been checking out as I embark on my sublimation hobby journey.
I've been doing various tests and experiments between materials, and trying different temperatures/durations to try and come up with some kind of correlation for my own understanding.
e.g. hotter > shorter duration > burnt colours etc.
I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and whilst I am happy with how I am sublimating coloured images at the moment, I thought I'd challenge myself and sublimate a B&W image. I've tried this maybe 7 or 8 times now on polyester, and I think I have found the sweet spot, I am happy with how it sublimates there. I have identified on polyester where the black ink burns and becomes a warm image. The one that I am struggling to really nail is slate (unsurprisingly) - I can't seem to come up with anything noticeable that changes the result. I don't know if I'm just being too fussy, and if my B&W slates are just destined to have a warm hue to them.
I made the newbie mistake of trying with some large slates 19x19, and as you'd expect, screwed them up - oops! So, I figured I'd get hold of some smaller ones (9x9) and more of them, to try and test.
I've spent a considerable amount of time reviewing the various threads on slate on the forum, noting methods that have been tried, and trying them myself, but I just can't seem to nail the black and white image without the warm hue. I thought I'd reach out and ask your opinions, what do you think?
From L to R, I've got:
480s at 185c - Face down
420s at 180c - Face down
400s at 180c - Face down
I am currently pre-heating the rear of the slate for 60s, then the white surface for 60s (my first few slates had a real issue with moisture in them), allowing to cool for a few minutes and then sublimating.
All of these are using the correct ICC for the material and it does deliver colour prints well, it's just these black and white images! I have checked the B&W image itself to ensure that it's actually black-and-white and there's no colour in it, which it's all good.
Keen to hear your thoughts and perhaps suggestions, or if I'm just being a bit too fussy!
Thanks, and looking forward to continuing to learn here.
myke