Chromablast printer info

[smitch6]

He got laser and inkjet but the only A3 printer i have is inkjet so we'll be selling the laser lol
bless him he didn't check before he bought it as to the prices of A3 laser printers :O

[John G]

I know my marbles are on their way out! ;-

My marbles rolled away a few hous ago as i've been helping my daughter with maths homework

[bms]

Hiya
Just been round my nephews doing some more testing for him
He's wanting to print cotton T's
he got some paper from yolo (well expensive at £40 for 25 sheets) (especially when your only 16)
printed him a couple of tee's but the results weren't much than my cheap transfer paper i use
it felt very rubbery and cracked as soon as you put any pressure on it
i did one for his little girlfriend and she (in her words lol)
'adjusted her bra' and it left a horrid mis-shapen bit

so i've just spent ages searching thru the info on here and i think the best option is Chromablast
so next question what printer can be used?
can it be used for sub work as well?
what ink do you have to use?( i know ink is a funny question so pm if needed)

i have an epson B1100 can i put the ink in there and use that?

he wants A3 size :~

and i gather i need special paper as well?

what finish does it give? is it long lasting? does it crack, fade etc and can it be tumble dried, ironed etc pls

apologies for all the questions but it's the only way to find out info

thanks steve

Any of the Epson printers & Ricoh printers that are supported for sublimation inks are also supported for Chromablast. So the Epson B1100 and Photo 1400 as well as the Ricoh GXe7700 (all A3) can be used. The Epsons have bulk feed systems, the Ricohs use cartrridges.

You print with Chromablast ink onto Chromablast paper (in reverse) and you would cut around the image shape to reduce the 'hand' of the paper transfer.

We've got samples of colour laser and Chromablast onto white t-shirts on display and the Chromablast gives a more vibrant image reproduction and a similar hand to each process.

Both wash as well as each other, no cracking like inkjet transfers - normally I'd recommend reverse iron.

A3 paper is around £80 +vat on 100 sheets (A4 is half the price), plus the cost of the chromablast inks (similar cost to Artainium ink).

[smitch6]

Brill thanks for the info martin

i presume i can just swap carts like normal etc
can you get the chrom inks in bottles that i can fill myself?

[bms]

Brill thanks for the info martin

i presume i can just swap carts like normal etc
can you get the chrom inks in bottles that i can fill myself?

Yes you can and yes Chromablast for the Epson is available in refill bottles just like Artainium.

[smitch6]

brill thanks for that Martin
as soon as funds permit i'll give it a try

[Donnette]

Yes you can and yes Chromablast for the Epson is available in refill bottles just like Artainium.

So does that mean you only need one printer? Can you just swap the cartridges and paper around depending on what job you are doing? We have the ricoh with sublimation ink and trupix paper (which is fabulous by the way!!) but think we need to invest in another printer / system to enable us to print on cotton tshirts. Still researching but think we are going down the chromoblast route. Is this the best way forward? Any help and advise on this would be appreciated.

[bms]

So does that mean you only need one printer? Can you just swap the cartridges and paper around depending on what job you are doing? We have the ricoh with sublimation ink and trupix paper (which is fabulous by the way!!) but think we need to invest in another printer / system to enable us to print on cotton tshirts. Still researching but think we are going down the chromoblast route. Is this the best way forward? Any help and advise on this would be appreciated.

Ricohs and Epsons are very different in the way they hold ink in the printer. The Epsons hold a minimal amount of ink just before the printhead so swapping out cartridges between sublimation and chroma blast is possible and a small print job and you've cleared out the other ink. There are potential problems in swapping cartridges out all the time though (air locks, blocked heads, wear on the cartridges). With Ricohs there is ALOT of ink in the tubes that go from the cartridge to the printhead so swapping cartridges is not feasible and it would be much more cost effective to get another Ricoh printer.

[AdamB]

Hi Steve,

I recently used Chromablast until Xmas.

To be honest - when you get it right the print is very, very nice .................... but, there were too many negative points to keep my system going so I ran it dry and am converting the printer I had to a pigment printer for transfers.

I had far too many bloackages with the system, plus the 'reduced' hand that was advertised on many videos only worked if the garment was true white (I should know - I tried often enough).

That, plus the paper and ink costs to maintain the system meant that I had to decide if I would keep the system going, and (to be honest) you can't really sell something to someone at a price if they don't know the difference between a cheap ebay transfer and screen-print.

Chromablast went at Xmas and since then I have used pigment ink with transfers (light and dark) and never had any complaints or objections from customers - plus, the pigment ink can be used on all colours where as Chromablast is limited to light colours.

Hope that helps?

Adam

[smitch6]

yes that does thanks Adam

saves me spending even more money on something that doesn't work