Full Version: Sublimation

From: Mike (MIKEN) [#8]
 14 Feb 2007
To: Greg (HARLEY1954) [#7] 14 Feb 2007

I second everything Ed Holley said. I use the same ink, switched to the same cartridges and agree with the laser volume.

From: logojohn [#9]
 15 Feb 2007
To: Greg (HARLEY1954) [#1] 15 Feb 2007

You might check around on ink prices. Johnson plastics price for c88 sawgrass ink is $75 each x 4 which I think has been lowered recently.

I can give you the worst case on ink usage.
We had a customer that wanted a combination of lasered bright gold(not gold ink) and white letters on a black plaque plate that was close to filling up a letter size page.

The only way for us to do it was to sublimate the black background with the white letters hollowed out on ID's laser sub material. After sublimating, it is lasered for the bright gold part.

Each letter size page took 1/10 of the black ink in the cartridge. It is easy to keep track since the sawgrass power driver shows the percentage of ink remaining and it went down 10% after each page.
We new that going in and quoted a high enough price and luckily they
only need to do 11 of them.

We did another job with 21 small plates per letter size page with black text and no background and got over 30 pages from 1 cartridge.

I may be wrong, but I think for sublimating T-shirts you may need to buy
special shirts that will accept the sublimation ink which would be more expensive.

If shirts or fabric are your main focus, the laser OEM toner might work better. I have some fabric paper for it but haven't had a chance to try it yet. Results are inconsistent quality on other items so far.

There may also be other methods. For large quantities it is much cheaper to order them in from somebody that does it all the time with faster and cheaper methods.

I just googled it and there is even a special forum for printing shirts.
HERE

From: Greg (HARLEY1954) [#10]
 18 Feb 2007
To: ALL

Thank you all for your input on this subject. Haven't decided what to do yet, but all of your input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

From: jpkevin [#11]
 19 Feb 2007
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#7] 19 Feb 2007

Hi David,

I have not seen problems with the Subliject C88 bulk system. We don't sell may Artainium bulk systems, so I can't speak for that, but it is basically the same as the Sublijet one with just a couple differences in how the ink bags connect to the system.

From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#12]
 19 Feb 2007
To: jpkevin [#11] 19 Feb 2007

Kevin,

My comment was based on printers using the "jar" type bulk systems, where losing the "prime", due to a loss of vacuum or elevation changes in the bottles presented another set of pesky variables.

The Sawgrass "Quick Connect" system is one that I have no experience with. Does the elevation of its mylar bags play a role in how effectively that system works?

From: jpkevin [#13]
 19 Feb 2007
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#12] 19 Feb 2007

The "jar" type of bulk system does have some "pros", but I personally don't care for any ink system that lets air get to the ink. In the "jar" system, or bulk cartridges with holes in the top, allow air to get to the ink, and anything with liquid in it will evaporate, therefore changing the consistancy of your ink over time. With the bags, they collapse to allow the ink to flow into the system, so that air does not get to the ink. As long as your container with the bags in it are at the same level as your printer, you should be ok.

From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#14]
 19 Feb 2007
To: jpkevin [#13] 19 Feb 2007

Good points Kevin.

Thank you.

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