Sublimating Natural Wood

[frazzle]

I would be concerned as to the moisture content in the timber.

[Scapaflyer]

Moisture content was certainly an issue with the wood I used, it was a bit like being in a sauna at one point.
However I think it proved the point that it is possible to sublimate bare wood, although the results are nowhere near as good as using treated wood.
Another issue that has arisen since I did the test prints is that the samples have now warped quite badly. I guess this is due to heating the wood with such a high moisture content, but HEY Ho it was worth a go.

[WorthDoingRight]

The samples have now warped quite badly

So if we want shaped wooden pieces this is the way to go lol

Still like the idea of looking for wooden flooring that works directly as this will be low moisture content to begin with.

Anyway cheers guys for the input and experimentation.

[Ian M]

Someone in the video seems to know how to do it with very little equipment.

[Andrea]

I was wondering about printing to wood and came across this shop on ebay. They have videos on YouTube and that how I found the link.
To print you have to have a polyester coat on the wood, I wonder has any of the members tried any of these products and what were the results.
Here is the link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-DyePress-Dy ... 1e655f9110

[Ian M]

Andrea, this seems to be what some people use http://www.digicoat.com/

[WorthDoingRight]

Someone in the video seems to know how to do it with very little equipment.

Wonder whether they use the same iron to do their clothes also? Does not look like the wood is pre-treated with a polyester coating and that may be why the image has that washed out look that seems to work anyway.

[TonyM]

Some interesting Videos and ideas. Has anyone tried this digicoat? What did you prepare and what were the results?
One could save a fortune buying 4 cheap mugs from asda @ 99p or tumblers etc, A 6x1 five metre plank from B&Q and have a play with the router to get some nice edges, LOL and coating them. Heyho, finally make some money and compete with the transfers. I suspect the results would be poor? But perhaps someone has dipped their toe and knows different.
The blanks are too costly to make any money. There has to be a cheaper alternative?
Phone covers were doing ok, now you can get 3d ones for the latest phones for 99p.
Mugs are 2 for a quid round here and although they are transfers people dont care. I cant even get £3 when they can get half a dozen for that. Tell them they are dishwasher safe and it doesnt matter, at 2 for a pound they just get more.
Chalk and Cheese, These are personalised. Lucky if you get a couple to do for xmas presents of the family. The big companies that want the big orders want them cheap and Mr smalltime working in the shed trying to get a headstart has no chance.
I have said before we live in a throw away world and people want CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!
If I find a half decent method of coating my own substrates I will be on it like a shot.

[gorgall2]

I tried something similar to digicoat several years ago (can't remember the name) it worked okay on wood, but I would never have tried it on mugs, you would need a dustfree area to coat them and I don't think the finish would be all that great.

[Si Da Signmaker]

Hi TonyM,

Commenting on the part of your post "A 6x1 five metre plank from B&Q and have a play with the router to get some nice edges" I do just that more or less but not wood from B&Q, I go to a wood yard and sort the wood myself so as to get softwood with out notts and splits in it. Then I coat with [FONT="Verdana]acrylic [/FONT] white paint, works ok with the dry rub transfers i`m using currently but they are just a bit too fiddly & unweeded (if that actualy a word or the right term) so I want to move on to heat transfer. The problem is I dont know if I can use sublimation straight on to the acrylic coated wood or not? The problem of using the Digicoat as kindly sugested by Ian M, is, quoting from their product infomation, after applying "The coating cures at 160 degrees for 15-20 minutes" I dont think this is going to be practical for me somehow having to put the wood in an oven for 15-20 minutes is going to cause more problems with warping ect. Scratching my head at the moment, can anyone help with this, I have pick a heat press, printer & paper, but i`m reluctant to go ahead & buy them in case it won`t work.

Cheers
Si