Hello everyone,


I need some advice on 3D vacuum sublimation printing on phone cases.



  • I'm using this machine Forward A5 Pro https://forwardtools.com/products/fw...-in-drying-box
  • Printing on forward compatible phone film sheets (don't know what's different about theirs to anyone elses)
  • Hippo sublimation ink in a converted Epson ET-15000
  • Single layer 3D sublimation phone cases



I'd say maybe 1 out of 10 prints I've done so far on phone cases have come out looking good. The rest have been botched prints.


I follow the steps to a T:


  • I print on the sublimation sheet
  • let it dry
  • Heat the mould and blank case inside the machine as it's coming up to temperature 130 degrees
  • Open the lid when it's ready, quickly place the film, print side down, on the case and mould
  • Shut the lid and hit 'transfer start'.
  • Wait 300 seconds and remove the case



Sometimes the film isn't properly 'stuck' to the phone case, it either moves, or just gets stuck to the 'ceiling' of the machine and doesn't transfer the print (or more regularly it transfers a little bit but it's very faint).


I feel like the machine isn't getting a good seal on the film. But I'm not sure what else to do. I've attached one image showing the results, usually it is a lot worse than that - barely any of the image transfers at all - (but I couldn't seem to upload any more images for some reason.)
fd2d8de2-f7df-42d8-8cb1-bda7c9dcaf2a.jpg