Sublimation Dye Printers

[Ed Cubberly 0]

Hi,

I just purcheased the US Cutter 6 in 1 heat press and plan to do mugs, mouse pads,plates and T shirts. Which sublimation dye printer do you recommend ? I 'd like to do T shirts using an 8" x 10" photo. Will ink jet transfer sheets work on Mugs ?

Thanks,

Ed

[gg 1]

Welcome to the US Cutter forums, I have no answer but have the same ? sure someone will reply that knows..

btw keep us posted how the 6 in 1 works, I plan to get one myself in the near future,

[edge 67]

This would be a good place to find answers to your questions about sublimation.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/dye-sublimation/

[bk2design 1]

Welcome to the forum! There are a lot of people interested in the heat press you just bought, please let us know how it works for you

[Benr98 40]

Hello and welcome.  I use the Epson 1280 for dye sub.  Like anything some like it some don't.  I use the bulk dye sub ink and purchased it from Johnson Plastics.  I do not think inkjet transfer sheets will work as well on mugs.  I know the dye sub advertising mugs we did turned out great.

Jenny

[go10go4 0]

You can do sublimation a couple of different ways. One is with dye sub inks - almost always done with Epson printers, because Epson printheads don't heat the ink. HP, Canon, others heat the ink, making them unfeasible for dye sub. I had a 1280, but found the printhead clogging to be a major issue. The newer Epsons (4000, 4800, etc.) don't seem to be quite so prone to clogs. One of the problems with sub ink is lack of suppliers. Sawgrass inks sought a patent for the sub process and basically control the sub ink market. Only other current supplier is TOG in Texas, which has a lawsuit pending against Sawgrass. Sub inks are somewhat expensive.

Another way is with dye sub toners. I have a Konica Minolta with dye toners. Very expensive ($1,000 for toners), but actually less per print than sub ink. You never have to worry about clogging. You can print a week from today, and there will be no issue with image transfer. With the sub ink, the printer almost always has to be used daily to keep the heads from clogging.

Standard ink jet transfers don't work well with mugs. I do both OEM laser toner transfer and dye sub toner transfer with mugs. Both methods work well. The OEM toner has a definite "hand", or feel to the mug; the dye sub has none. Both methods can use either a mug press or the mug wraps. I have an Okidata dedicated to OEM toners, and use it for T-shirts, mugs, etc. With the dye sub toners I do mugs, license plates, dog tags, garments, etc.

Let me know if I can help you with any dye sub applications.

        Larry

[rose 0]

Hi and Welcome to the forum.  I use the Epson C88+ with the continuous ink system.  It works great!  I absolutely love it!  I use my cuter for most things for shirts but use the printer for photos.  I have not tried to do mugs so I can't comment on that issue.  Good luck!

Rose

[FutureSgtsWife 0]

I also have the Epson 1280 - and found the print heads clogged more with the bulk ink system -- so I refill my cartridges instead -- and have less of a problem.  You need sublimation ink on sublimation paper -- not regular ink jet transfer paper.