New business and new to sublimation

[Susan77 0]

Hi, I am new and have NO prior experience in printing sublimation. I have watched tons of Youtube videos and countless DIY's. So I ended up starting with an Epson WF 7710 with the extra CSI ink tank. I might have finally found the right paper to use, but now I am wanting to expand to making mugs, tumblers, etc. The videos I have been finding all say that I need to use sublimation and need a different printer and that the Sawgrass 800 is the best way to go. BUT before I buy another printer, can you please tell me, does it actually work, what kind of materials do I need to buy to print on and what paper is the best to use? TIA for any and all help with this.

[Dakotagrafx 7,298]

I used to do a lot of sublimation - if you are getting good results from your printer on other things mugs will be no different - just buy good quality mugs if you have a tax licence I highly recommend marck out of toledo oh = if you don't conde has some good mugs.  what I found is when I skimped on cheaper mugs I had a much higher rate of handles breaking or uneven coating.   some people use mug presses - I owned at least 8-10 and had problems even with the knight (top of the line) having fading around the base or handle where  the heat wicks away on those other surfaces that aren't heated.  I used to use 10 cactus wraps when we was doing hundreds of mugs and would run 5 in the oven and 5 being processed - with the oven the entire mug including the base and handles are all heated and always got even coverage from edge to edge.
I have 2 cactus wraps in great condition I am selling for $20 each + actual shipping using priority mail.

if you find you like it and your epson clogs heads, as it will, then the sawgrass set up with the ricoh printer and gel inks is much much more forgiving if you leave it set for a few months at a time - with the epson make sure you print color blocks weekly to keep the heads clear.

blow are some of the ones we did with out sawgrass set up - the chopper one was one of the OCC staff that I have worked with

 

[Dakotagrafx 7,298]

here is one I did with a mug press and got the fade near the handle from the heat being dissipated by the handle.  the bottom on this set was almost acceptable but with the cactus wraps I never had a problem.   Last picture is the cactus wraps - the cheaper versions that others sell don't have the white back that limits stretch 

[Susan77 0]

Thank you Dakotagrafx, if I stick with the Epson, what paper/media do you use on your mugs?

[Dakotagrafx 7,298]

texprint is my go to and if you switch later to the sawgrass the texprint-r allows the gel ink to dry fast enough it doesn't smear.     people generally start with an epson to get their feet wet and after they replace a couple or have trouble with correct colors they switch to the sawgrass with the special drivers they offer as it allows you to change in the program what you are printing to and it does the slight changes to the profile to keep colors correct

[headgreen 0]

Hi, I am new to this and have bought an 8 in 1 heat press machine, which can do mugs, T-shirts, caps, etc.

I am looking to buy a good entry-level sublimation printer and I am looking for some advice. I have a budget of around £200.

can anyone give any advice on what printer I should go for which can have a CISS system, as all the printers mentioned in previous threads seem to be at the end of life and can no longer be purchased?

can sublimation ink be used in ANY Epson printer?

cannot seem to find a definitive list of ink/printer / ciss sublimation kits.

any help and advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[arty-rc 719]

I recently purchased an Epson ET-2720 Ecotank printer last year and filled it with sublimation ink from on line. So far I am getting great results.

[jhonny 0]

Hi ! I,am Jhonny and new in sublimation. A few day ago I purchase a Sublimation printer for printing.But I, have no experience in sublimation Printing.
 

[slice&dice 2,460]

When first getting into any graphics enterprise, the key is not really the mechanics of the equipment, but the ability to design and set-up the print files, and keeping your workflow organized to maintain a logical and clear control over jobs, from start to finish.

That includes utilizing Job Sheets, which allow you to know what the project consists of, who the client is (all contact info), what stage the job is at, and having the ability to keep the details available for future re-orders ( that goes for digital files on your computer as well as a place to store the job sheets chronologially/alphabetically )

Job Worksheet.doc