What desktop sub-printer prints white?

[jralexmaloney]

Hi All,

I've been doing some research and interested to know what printers you all use to sublimate white on dark garments?
What i've seen so far is:
Sawgrass Virtuoso and Oki.
Are there any more(not as expensive if possible) options than these listed?


Thanks!

[UK Printed Mugs]

There is no white sublimation ink. If you want to print textiles with white then you need laser based toner solution such as Oki or the cheaper alternative www.ghost-white-toner.com/?lang=en

[pisquee]

... or you do it the other way round, and print the white garment to be black or whatever colours, and don't print anything where you want it to be white.

[aNDI]

A bit off topic but has anyone used the transfer paper for dark garments to get around the problems of printing on black or dark coloured apparel.

[webtrekker]

A bit off topic but has anyone used the transfer paper for dark garments to get around the problems of printing on black or dark coloured apparel.

I've used Jet-Opaque papers from Yolo. They work fine but have a 'hand' to them as they lie on top of the fabric and don't impregnate it the way sublimation does.

I haven't done any extensive washability tests on it though, as I mainly use this method on tote bags and drawstring bags.

BTW, you'll need a contour cutter to cut out your transfers.

[aNDI]

BTW, you'll need a contour cutter to cut out your transfers.

Yes that is what I was thinking. My daughter has a cricut machine, much like the silhouette that will print then contour cut the design. We have not used print and cut yet but failing that I am pretty handy with a scalpel. I know what you mean by "hand" but I am sure I saw somewhere that it is more suited to cotton that polyester but can not be 100% about that.

Do you know if you can print the transfer sheet with sublimation inks or is an ink jet the better option. I was looking at magic touch for transfer paper which is their A4 OBM 5.4 I tried my hand and asked if they would send out a sample for me to try. I am not holding my breath though.

[webtrekker]

The recommended option for printing on Jet-Opaque is to use pigment inks, however, the Yolo site says dye, pigment and sublimation inks can be used. Not having a pigment printer, I use my Ricoh SG3110DN with sub inks to print with and the results are very good but, as I say, washability is not an issue for me as I don't use Jet-Opaque on garments.

[aNDI]

A quick goggle and I found your Ricoh. It looks a nice sturdy piece of kit. How do you find it. Sorry to bombard you with questions but the further I look into the wonderful world of sublimation the more questions pop up. How do pigment inks differ from the dye type inks that I run on a fairly cheap epson desk jet.

I will have a chat with Yolo and see if they are forthcoming with any samples.

One other thing that bothers me using transfer paper for dark garments is if you print text as individual letters in order to peel them off the backing sheet would require you to apply each letter onto the fabric one at a time unless you know different. I hope I have explained myself.

Thanks for your patience and advice.

[webtrekker]

The Ricoh SG3110DN is fine. I've got 2! I keep them always on standby and have no blocked nozzle problems.

Pigment inks are more permanent and waterproof. They have tiny particles of pigment suspended in the inks.

You can use clear application tape with the transfers, the same as you would with sign vinyl application. This lifts the whole, weeded, design off the transfer paper in one go.