old grumpy

[purpledragon]

ok its a bit of a rant but needs saying ,
Whats wrong with you new guys entering this trade why arnt you researching before jumping in to the world of sublimation,
Sublimation printing isnt difficult as long as you know the basics . I can believe it when i see posts like i have a problem with my colours the answer normally comes back as check your icc profiles and the poster then says "whats an icc profile" Honestly ??? type how to sublimation print in google and icc profiles get mentioned very early on . Type icc profile in the search on here and you get a ton of results . there should be no excuse for not knowing this very basic information.
And then inks "having problems with inks i have small format printer and im using cheap ink from ebay whats wrong ?" well that question is answered in the questiuon cheap ink you shouldnt be using depending on how you interprit the law but im willing to bet sawgrass can afford lawyers bigger than most of us who interprit it in their favour and whats more you're admitting it in open forum i wonder if sawgrass ever do a cull ???
infact cheap materials in general are a huge mistake . buying cheap mugs from ebay is counter productive and results in questions like "why are my prints so bad " because you are using cheap crap !!! thats why . Surly you want your business to grow buying cheap will not help you on your way .
And then when all the helpful advise is given you find the mugs being sold on ebay for £3.00 with free postage why ? because you are selling them from your back room not paying tax ni insurances etc etc good luck when you out grow that room and need to move to a premisis lets see you manage that on 20p profit per mug
unfortunatly joe public sees these cheap mugs and expects everyone to sell at that price . I was asked just yeterday a question by a customer why should they buy a mug from me at my prices when they can get cheaper on ebay then the cheeky gits said well mind you the print faded after 2 washes in the dishwasher AGGGGHHHHHHH and thats why you should buy off me because i use quality blanks quality inks and quality papers and whats more i know all about profiles !!!
rant over

[pisquee]

Part of the problem with the ICC issue, is a lot of sellers of cheap ink don't mention ICC profiles or the need to have them, either as they just want to quickly and easily make sale, or they themselves are unaware... I have messages some Ebay ink sellers in the past about whether they have ICCs, and I've had a range of answers, but the two that usually come up is that you don't need one with these inks, or to use Adobe 1998 ... either these sellers are lying or don't know what they're talking about.
This advice is taken on board by the buyers of the cheap unbranded inks and believed.

[purpledragon]

Part of the problem with the ICC issue, is a lot of sellers of cheap ink don't mention ICC profiles or the need to have them, either as they just want to quickly and easily make sale, or they themselves are unaware... I have messages some Ebay ink sellers in the past about whether they have ICCs, and I've had a range of answers, but the two that usually come up is that you don't need one with these inks, or to use Adobe 1998 ... either these sellers are lying or don't know what they're talking about.
This advice is taken on board by the buyers of the cheap unbranded inks and believed.

I take your point but cast your mind back to when you first started did you just ring a supplier ask if you need anything other than their ink and off you go OR did you decide on doing sublimation printing and then start researching it ? I cant believe you stopped at what a supplier told you . I personally googled it read up on it checked what i needed and then talked to suppliers (not just one) for their advice too i wasnt lucky enough to have this forum then either where everything you need to know is here without even asking

[pisquee]

I met my (now) wife, and she was already doing all sorts of sublimation stuff (very experimental arty stuff) I thought it looked interesting, so I went off and read up on everything I could find out about it from the science of how it all works, to the politics of the 'ink situation', learn about colour management and ICCs etc etc etc. I was a sound engineer, and have quite a techie head, so enjoyed learning how it all worked, but I think from some of the bigger sound companies I'd worked for, and their managers, I got the thinking of 'doing things right' and buying the right tools for the job, so this led me to get her to give up on her desktop printer and buy some large format machines, along with the ICC calibration kit, and sourcing some pro level inks, rather than the consumer grade stuff she had been using. Everything now works very well for us, and gone are the days of me tearing my hair out of trying to get her desktop printer to pull ink from a CISS, let alone achieve the colours she wanted it to do. Before I met her, she was on the phone a LOT to her supplier trying to get advice for all this, but never got anywhere. Things have moved on from those days, and I ended up changing my career and quitting a very well paid job in London's west end theatres and we're now both full time on the design company.
I accept that we're not a normal set up though, and not everyone is in our situation, but I do like to try and help people not have to go through the early days we went through of things not working if we can.

[harlequeen]

When I came across this forum, I read everything I could on here, before buying my setup. I've asked questions, and had great help from people in the past. But I always try to research first and give something a go. I agree with purple dragon, do some of the work yourself and you get a better understanding of what's what.

[purpledragon]

When I came across this forum, I read everything I could on here, before buying my setup. I've asked questions, and had great help from people in the past. But I always try to research first and give something a go. I agree with purple dragon, do some of the work yourself and you get a better understanding of what's what.

agree
its not that i mind helping people out its just some of the questions are sooooo basic it makes you wonder if someone has bought a set up without checking anything then gone ahead pressed a photomug and are wondering why faces are green or red or whatever we all come accross problems which i can more or less gaurantee someones had and solved but what some have to realise is no one here is paid to give advice we all have a business to run so help yourselves with a bit of research first then ask the question when you hit that brick wall .

[Quinsfan]

I first saw this type of printing at a trade show, I was there for the break down for a company I worked for at the time. I went home with some info given to me by the usual suspects from the stands and then spent the best part of 6 mths looking into it. When I came across this site I took the advice and made a large coffee and pulled up a chair and read.
I still got things wrong but by looking again I found the answer or asked for help.

I don't know if it possible to have a "Frequently Asked" section?

Do you frequent users who always seem to help have your replies saved so you just copy and paste them?

[pisquee]

Do you frequent users who always seem to help have your replies saved so you just copy and paste them?

I've considered it

[Renniwano]

I don't think you'll ever get rid of the 'cheap and cheerful' brigade who do it without doing it legit.. it's seen as a way of making a quick buck and then 6/8 months down the line, you see a lot of them selling their equipment..

[arthur.daley]

you also have to remember that as a total imaging novice, the average novice doesn't yet know the questions to ask and is being told all sorts of rubbish by people who just want to sell them stuff.

That said i think a well structured FAQ or beginners guide to starting out in sub would stop a lot of the endlessly repeated questions - or at least the novice could be pointed towards said items.

Question is who is going to volunteer to compile the FAQ and write the articles )


regards


Arthur