Vinyl vs Sublimation

[ramy 3]

Hello all,

I am looking into getting a heat press , and I have been reading the post here on vinyl and sublimation,

where I'm getting a little confused and maybe its all based on cost, but is one preferred over the other (vinyl or sublimation)?

Thanks

Ramy

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

you will want to start with vinyl - more universal - to do t's in sublimation you have to use special all polyester shirts.  the advantage to sublimation is there is no "feel" to it but if you want to do t's. hoodies, sweats, etc go heat applied vinyl

[Benr98 40]

you will want to start with vinyl - more universal - to do t's in sublimation you have to use special all polyester shirts.  the advantage to sublimation is there is no "feel" to it but if you want to do t's. hoodies, sweats, etc go heat applied vinyl

I agree with this!!

I can do dye sublimation, but alot of the products you need are more costly and especially now, most customers won't want to pay the price, just my opinion.  I packed up my sublimation inks, etc almost a year ago now!

[midwaste 4]

"I packed up my sublimation inks, etc almost a year ago now!"

I've heard this from a few people, mostly due to the high cost of the ink cartridges that clog/go bad/etc, from not using them enough, often screwing a printer as well.

I wouldn't say that vinyl is a substitute for sublimation, nor are inkjet transfers (even the best), but IME, there isn't a whole lot of demand for sublimated custom shirts (not to mention the cost).  On the other hand, this is all the rage in the fashion industry.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

I got the ricoh set up for dye sub and haven't had any of the clog problems - the guy at Indy from conde said they let one of the ricoh's go for 2 months and it printed fine.  I think the jell Ink has fewer problems but it is expensive.

[Renegade 2]

I vote for vinyl as well.  Sublimation has its place and is pretty cool, but for shirts you need to remember that they need to be polyester for sublimation.  That not only limits your color choices, but it also drives the cost up considerably.

[FutureSgtsWife 0]

I got the ricoh set up for dye sub and haven't had any of the clog problems - the guy at Indy from conde said they let one of the ricoh's go for 2 months and it printed fine.  I think the jell Ink has fewer problems but it is expensive.

I also have the ricoh gel ink system and absolutely LOVE it.  For tshirts, I'd only use sublimation if they want full color, a photo, or something sooooo detailed that I couldn't be bothered weeding.  ALso - for sublimation, the tees have to be white/gray/very very light.  And polyester.  I usually keep my sublimation items to ceramic tile, stainless mugs, neoprene, mousepads, etc.  I find a market for both types of systems.  If anyone wants a sample of something sublimated, let me know.

-Lisa