Enough is Enough

[k21john]

Well after lots of experimenting we've decided to pack up Sublimation Printing, the reasons are simply down to the quality of finished items. our hope was to produce a range of ceramic tile murals for Kitchens, Bathrooms and of course Gardens but the problems with UV stability and the small range of ceramic tiles available means that we cannot produce the quality that we would like, So our aim now is to change direction and invest in a kiln. use the water transfer method along with making our own bespoke tiles and other ceramic / glass items.

So I would just like to say a huge thankyou to the members of the DSF forum, your posts and advice have been invaluable over the last year or so and I see the forum growing from strength to strength...

BTW everything I've got is now on Gumtree https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/subl ... 1218274213

Thanks again

John

Note.... just dropped the price to £1495 ovno

[webtrekker]

Sorry to hear that, but hope it wasn't a case of 'fools rush in.'

It appears to me that many newcomers buy all the equipment THEN wonder what they can do with it! This forum is very prominent in Google results when searching for anything with the word 'sublimation' in it. It's a shame therfore when people don't properly research an idea before committing money to it. Some people even come across as blaming sublimation for not producing the results they were after, when in fact they didn't understand the process from the outset.

Anyway, I'm not saying you fall into any of those categories and hope you do well with your new endeavour.

[scotty44]

Sorry to hear it's not worked out John,
Out of interest, where are you buying the clay from or are you yet to source it?

[weston]

I run a pottery in Stoke if you require info on setup let me know...

[scotty44]

@Weston, wheres that mate? who do you get clay from

[weston]

Hi Scott44, We only use English bone china clay...

[scotty44]

Aha, that's one body we dont produce....
Sorry for hijacking you're post John

[Justin]

Sorry to hear this John and thank you for your kind words regarding the forum. The longer yo stay in this business the more you learn the value of buying good quality equipment which inevitably proves to be very expensive.

I completely understand what you're saying about quality and the limitations. I've had it to the back teeth with some of our blank supplies, to the point where I'm now thinking along the same lines as you, ditch the sublimation for other methods, UV being my preferred option (great on tiles!)

Anyhoo, I wish you all the best, don't be a stranger....I'll set up a pottery section to keep you involved

[k21john]

Thanks for your kind words guys, just to clarify a couple of points, we did start this venture with eyes wide open, visited shows like FESPA before parting with the hard earned folding... and boy have we learnt a lot, the forum has been invaluable and I would recommend to any newbies that they spend time on here, (a lot of time)....

We have gone through some incredible learning curves since starting this venture, from honing my skills as a photographer photographing my partners art work which is Fine Art Soft Pastel work, now there's a subject that I could write a book on and also spend 30 - 40 grand on setting up a studio space to get accurate colours, take a look at Scan Back cameras.........

Anyhow the decision has been made to start working with clay and glass using several methods including Water Transfer, the reason we like this method on ceramics is that it is more or less 100% UV Stable and Scratch Resistant therefor perfect for our Garden Tile installations, I'm also with Justin on UV printing, done a lot of research on Roland and Mimaki Digital UV Printers and eventually we will be looking to buy a large Flatbed Hybrid Printer, check out some of the videos on Youtube, the possibilities of what you can do are endless, print on more or less any surface on substrates that are 8' x 4' x 6" and roll material up to 60" wide, I think £30 grand will be spent in the next 18mths or so.....

With reference to sourcing clay, at the moment we have no preference but are happy to listen to other peoples thoughts and recommendations so will be happy to see your comments especially if Justin sets up a Pottery Section....

Thanks again guys....

[k21john]

Just a point of note about my comments above, I'm not knocking Dye Sublimation, and if your into producing clothing, mugs, promotional items then I think it is a great business to be in, We however are looking at producing bespoke quality one off products and after trying to do this we find that we have to look at different production methods so Dye Sub is not for us.

Thanks again
John