Chuckle monkey

Sublimation? Dye? Pigment?

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I am having a hard time understanding the differences.   I really want to get a Printer from Cobra and play around with it.  I thought I was going to buy the sub inks, but now I am not sure.  Any pointers would be appreciated.  Thanks!!

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What are you wanting to print?

Sublimation ink only has one use - for printing sublimation transfers that you will then heat press on to a polyester substrate.  The colors are dull and drab if you try and print anything else with sublimation ink - it only looks good once it's heat pressed onto polyester.

 

Dye ink is the best for true photo quality output, but very susceptible to moisture and is the worst choice for printing iron-on type transfers (JPSS or 3G Opaque type materials).  It is the least likely type to have head clogs due to being a pure liquid based ink - pigment and sublimation inks are a liquid with tiny particles held in suspension and those particles can cause clogs and require frequent printing or head cleaning.

Pigment is a close second to dye ink for photo quality output, is more permanent and best choice for printing iron-on type transfers.   I have two pigment printers that I use for printing transfers and for all of my office paperwork and general purpose printing.  As stated above, it can lead to clogs and other issues unless you print frequently, or do regular head cleanings.

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Thanks so much for the response.  I guess I should have been a bit more clear.  I get a lot of customers that want 1 off shirts.  I do many with HTV but some designs I just cant do.  I was ready to do the sub but I don't like only using Polyester.   I would also like to be able to make a mock up shirt that I can show to a customer before I do a screen printing run. 

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You can sublimate on to a 50/50 cotton/poly blend, but you'll end up with a very washed out image as only half the dye will stick to the shirt.

 

Another option is ChromaBlast, which is similar to sublimation, but for cotton shirts, but you'll be stuck buying a more expensive printer system and much more expensive inks, plus more expensive transfer papers and it will only work on cotton fabrics, so no coffee mugs, dog tags, can coozies, etc. like you can do with sublimation.  You would need to get a Ricoh printer (same ones that are sold for sublimation) but add $240+ worth of ChromaBlast inks, and another $57 for ChromaBlast transfer paper.   I do not believe that Cobra Ink sells any ChromaBlast products.

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Best option would be pigment ink so you can use Jet Pro Soft Stretch and 3G paper. It works on cotton and pretty much everything else. You would need an epson printer and pigment ink. If your cutter does contour cutting you can use 3G Opaque paper which works on dark color fabric and is more like a vinyl.

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More info: With Dye sub and JPSS you are going to be limited to mostly white or very light colored shirts. White is best with the JPSS but you can work around and do some other options on some things if you do it right. Dye-Sub similar, white is best but you can add darker (black) to higher colored shirts but at that point it's likely a simple silhouette image so HTV is also viable. I have a pigment printer for JPSS and all of my regular office printing , I also sometimes use 3G but it's so pasty feeling that I try not to and always warn my customers who insist on a picture or some suck on colored shirts that it's not the best. I have a dye sub printer too and do occasional polyester work but it's actually rare to find someone who is ok with white 100% polyester shirts that also cost more than cotton. If I had a brick and mortar business I would try harder in the "Trinket" area with dog tags and other stuff that I am sure sells just fine in the right location/atmosphere. I would suggest a pigment printer with wide format and you can at least benefit from the bulk ink savings even if you don't do many JPSS shirts. 

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