DSF

not sure if it's me or have i bought all the wrong stuff?????
i got a combo heat press as i wanted to do T-shirts, mugs etc
but now it appears i can't print on dark T's or normal cotton ones

i was recommended to use transfer paper with normal inkjet ink
but have now been told that it will only last a few washes????

how do i make decent printed 100% cotton T's?

have i got to buy a new machine or dif transfer paper or what

this is really confusing me and i seem to be spending more and more money and not getting anywhere

You'll probably find the people on e-bay who sell 'complete business start up packages' which allow you to make millions from a few hundred pound layout, make more than those of who actually do the printing.

This forum is invaluable for advice, the problem is many people only find it when they have already been ripped off by the e-bay cowboys

i would try this paper if i was you http://www.yolo.co.uk/jet-opaque-247-p.asp

is it good?
does it stay on the garment without breaking up or peeling etc

the last thing i want as a new business is customers complaining and bringing stuff back

NASH;14123 wrote:i would try this paper if i was you http://www.yolo.co.uk/jet-opaque-247-p.asp

I got a sample pack of this sent through today and I'm going to try it later ................... I will post results!

i suppose it wants to be good really at around £1 a sheet :O
but i suppose it outweighs the cost of a sub T as cotton are around £1 each

so £2 ish to make a T isn't a bad price if it's going to be a good one that lasts

please keep me informed Adam

So what is the difference between printing onto cotton rather than polyester? what is the difference in quality and the limitation with it rather than dye sub?

How is the process different from dye sub to ink?

The noticable difference is the feel after the printing has been done.

With dye sub you don't feel the image on the tshirt as it soaks into the fabric, for lack of a better phrase, and a transfer you can feel, sometimes they are hard to the touch, hence they can crack after a few washes

Quick recap on the basics:

Sublimation printing will ONLY transfer to polyester. Many sublimation t-shirts are white with a polyester microweave in the upper layer of the t-shirt to allow the sublimation ink to transfer.
Most sublimation t-shirts are white as you can't print white ink with sublimation so you can't print onto dark t-shirts unless you print onto a white thin sheet of material that can be pealed and stuck to a t-shirt (anything that is transparent in the picture will be white due to the white thin pealable material you're using.

Cotton t-shirts cannot be printed onto with sublimation. There are other ways - the cheap approach uses an inkjet printer printing onto a clear material that will crack and peal after a few washes so is only good as a one off promotional use. The colour laser printer options allow you to print full colour onto white/ light coloured t-shirts but these "stick" to the outside of the t-shirt and there is a feel to the shirt where there is any clear parts of the logo/ picture. You can also print onto a white thin material much the same as sublimation and stick this to the outside of the t-shirt and then there is WOW7.1 from The Magic Touch (expensive) but the only thing close to Direct to Garment printing without spending £10,000 on the printing equipment. There is also ChromaBlast printing which is also from Sawgrass and this produces vibrant results, again with a slight feel where there is transparent areas in the print - this is supported with Epson and Ricoh printers only.

Then there is screen printing - another printing method that's suitable for larger production runs and not really cost effective for one offs.

So you have sublimation for white (or a couple of other colours - light blue, light green...) polyester based t-shirts, inkjet for cheap one off promotional t-shirts, colour laser for cotton t-shirts, the white thin material for dark garment printing (sublimation/ colour laser/ also printable flex using durabright inks in an Epson printer), WOW7.1 for complex full colour transfer to dark garments, screen printing or direct to garment printing.

I think that covers it in a nutshell!

i presume the wow has to be printed on a laser printer?

expensive stuff init :O