Cobra ink High temp Ink problems

[OWJones 1,981]

so is there a special press for stuff like plates and tiles etc?  Surely my tshirt press won't work.

 

Why wouldn't it?  I use my "t-shirt" press for everything flat - tiles, business cards, lanyards, dog tags, poker chips, puzzles, jar openers, coasters, mouse pads, glass cutting boards, glass plaques, etc.

 

For plates there is a metal puck that fits inside the flat bottom of the plate to provide even pressure.  The presses for mugs are ok, but most people report better results using a wrap (Cactus seems to be the preferred brand for wraps) in a conventional oven - the handles on mugs act like a heat sink and draw heat away from the area near the handles, so you end up with less color development/fading near the handle - when you put it in the oven, it heats evenly everywhere and you get more even color.

 

I did just order a hat press, as I don't think there is any way to press a hat in a "t-shirt" press, at least without flattening it.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

I use my t-shirt press for sublimation all the time - just make sure to cover it with butcher paper or similar before each press as the ink will attach to the press and show on on your next press

[jaybyrd 3,770]

I use plain copy paper top and bottom to protect everything. Butcher paper is cheaper but the printer is so close and easy to grab a couple sheets out of when I need it.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

I use a lot of backing paper from laminate and vinyl - gets a second use out of it!

[jaybyrd 3,770]

Backing from vinyl work good?

[mr300s 1,272]

Sams sells a 1000 feet roll for like $20.00 I am on my third roll.I love these iphone cameras

 

 

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Backing from vinyl work good?

works great - I like getting every mile from products LOL

[xpaperman 719]

I just figured with a regular press, the metal and pressure could crack or break a plate or tile, but I guess with the rubber padding beneath it, it's ok

[OWJones 1,981]

I just figured with a regular press, the metal and pressure could crack or break a plate or tile, but I guess with the rubber padding beneath it, it's ok

 

When heating tiles, I put a Nomex felt pad on the lower platen, place the transfer facing up and the tile facing down on top and then heat through the tile (as opposed to most pressing where the image is on top facing down) - the felt helps to pad the tile and prevent cracking, while also holding the transfer paper over the curved edges of the tiles for thorough coverage.

 

You can get the same effect by putting the tile down first and facing up and then the transfer on top facing down, and then cover with one of those expensive green silicon rubber pads - but I already had the Nomex felt (came with my press) and I'd rather cook it for an extra minute (to let the heat penetrate the tile from the back) than pay out ~$80 for a rubber pad I'll seldom use.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

whoops - you are right - not for plates - I do tiles in the regular press - I didn't read the whole thread.  my bad

[MadHatterGraphix 1,258]

TedS do a couple more of head cleanings I ended up doing 30 of them the other night for some reason, and 3 head alignments It cleared up my black ink issue.

 

As for the original post glad the paper side was  the issue happy my inexperience helped (check page one of thread where I bring it up) As for burnt paper I will admit mine gets tan but not burnt however the image comes out crisp and has vibrant colors. As for tiles I actually got a sample of singleprint transfer paper from Rhinotech and they sent a foam pad to do tiles etc and it works. However I haven't tried the singleprint yet but that's a different story.

[jaybyrd 3,770]

When I run out of ink by not paying attention it takes 30 plus cleanings plus priming to get it working again.

[MadHatterGraphix 1,258]

(INSERT POINTING UP ARROW HERE)

Exactly.

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

Ok, the ink tanks are pretty low anyways so after I finish my current two jobs I will refill, prime, clean up and go crazy on the alignments and cleanings. Thanks for the tips guys, I would love for my printer to work better.

[mr300s 1,272]

Also on the Cobra ink web site if you go to support Ted there are a bunch of videos on different things as far as cleaning etc... Good Luck

[OWJones 1,981]

Uh-oh, looks like the printer is running out of ink...

 

[skarekrow 1,842]

Thanks... had to snag that shot. (post-it to the front of my Printer!)

[MadHatterGraphix 1,258]

I have to use that pic too its classic.

Ted let us know if it works. When my printer wasn't printing black I was so frustrated, just glad I got petroman's t-shirts done before it happened.

[Wildgoose 4,200]

Ted I have the WF 30 and just do t-shirts from time to time not sublimation but I too have had to occasionally do a lot of cleaning cycles. I think thats whats up. Until that test page is perfect your not going to get a clean print. I am a little surprised that your unit came without the syringe because mine had it in the bag. In fact mine said that since I was west of the rockies it would ship dry and I would have to load and prime and when it got here they shipped it ready to go which surprised me in a good way. I don't do enough production on mine with the pigment based inks an have to clean the heads fairly often because I don't think they like to set. I love the CISS system because of how cheap it is to run, I spent less on a refil kit for the WF 30 than one set of cartriges for my daughters HP that she has at college and I ran for about a year on the first tanks. The problem with the WF 30 is it doesn't have a waste tank so mine just dumps onto a sponge down in there and I think there is a limited amount of space. Your unit should handle tons of cleaning with nothing but a little loss of ink. BTW I watched a video on the JPSS paper and they claimed that the papaer works with just about any kind of ink so if/when you convert to sublimation you may still be able to do transfers at least with JPSS.

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

I am excited about going cleaning crazy and trying to get this old girl into shape. I have a big job and a final project for school I am going to be working on the next few days but after that I will get on it.