Share your 3D phone case sublimation settings :)

[zoo2004]

Hello there,

I've been looking through on YouTube and Google what settings would be the best to not overcook and make colors to appear right when sublimating phone cases. On YouTube you will find at least 5 different ways how it's done.
I noticed that some people heat the mold and only after it is heated they put a blank on it and the do the sublimation and then there are people who put the blank on a cool mold and put it in a heated 3D press. The issue I'm getting is my greys are turning brown (yes I know there are posts on the forum about this), which normally should mean that colors have been overcooked - I went down from 190C and 8 minutes to 170C and 6 minutes - results are the same. What I'm concerned about is if I'll go less with the temperature phone case won't shrink properly and it will be a bit loose once put on the phone. Funny that my brighter designs turn out quite good (well they're slightly darker than in a monitor, but I assume that as normal, but sublimating black marble texture is painful). Should I go lower with temperature? Or temperature & time?
I would appreciate if you share strategies that work for you and I'll be happy to try them out. Thank you so much!

P.S. using st3042 3d sub machine & Ricoh Sg 3310dn with Fotorite inks from City Ink Express

[socialgiraffe]

Always preheat the puck (mold)

180 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Mine go for 7 minutes. Times and temp will vary depending on the inks you use and to be honest, City Inks Express have not got a great reputation.

Make sure you are only using the top oven and not both.

[ilianandreev]

Do you need to cool the mold for next use? Because it seems like if its too heated the image turns blurry ...

[webtrekker]

Always preheat the puck (mold)

180 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Mine go for 7 minutes. Times and temp will vary depending on the inks you use and to be honest, City Inks Express have not got a great reputation.

Make sure you are only using the top oven and not both.

To be honest, I use CIE inks and their paper in a Ricoh SG3110DN and find them to be excellent.

[socialgiraffe]

Do you need to cool the mold for next use? Because it seems like if its too heated the image turns blurry ...

Not for me, I need to keep the puck hot for decent results on a bulk order

To be honest, I use CIE inks and their paper in a Ricoh SG3110DN and find them to be excellent

Hopefully they have improved since I was using them then. I really like the Ink Express guys. Great prices, really good inks and above all really good customer service. Those three things are a very rare breed in ink suppliers.