Sublimation color help! - Engraving Etc. Forum

From:	Linda (LINDAG)	22 Apr 2007
To:	ALL	1 of 15

6719.1

Once again I am having difficulties with color! Files that worked a month ago now come out with a slightly different color. Reds come out a little orangey and blues come out darker blue. Any ideas why this is happening or what I can do to fix the problem?

many thanks in advance.

Linda

EDITED: 22 Apr 2007 by DGL

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	22 Apr 2007
To:	Linda (LINDAG)	2 of 15

6719.2 In reply to 6719.1
Linda, Some potential causes come to mind: 1) Low ink levels. Even though a satisfactory nozzle check is evident, low ink levels can cause colors to weaken or lose their punch. 2) Change of substrate or transfer paper. Good results rely on a conscious combination of ink, transfer paper and a dye-receptive substrate. A change in any of those areas can affect vibrancy of color. 3) Ink that's past its prime. How old is the ink? Although today's ink is much more stable, if past a couple of years old, ink can be subject to settling, which is when dye particles fall out of suspension in the carrier fluid, (glycol?), delivering less actual dye to the transfer paper. 4) Computer settings. Check your settings, i.e. RGB or CMYK color can play a role in color accuracy. Also, computers can occasionally revert to default settings, wreaking havoc on color profiles. If you're using ICC profiles or a PowerDriver, go through your computer settings with your ink supplier, to make sure they're set properly. David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri DGL Engraving Port Hueneme, CA
EDITED: 22 Apr 2007 by DGL

From:	Linda (LINDAG)	22 Apr 2007
To:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	3 of 15

6719.3 In reply to 6719.2
Thank you David. The ink is not really very old and everything was working fine previously. Now I did change the vendor I was purchasing my ink from, however the ink is the same type. Would that make a difference? Linda

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	22 Apr 2007
To:	Linda (LINDAG)	4 of 15

6719.4 In reply to 6719.3

Linda,

Although it's been fairly common for ink supliers to change formulas without notice, (usually for the better), essentially, ink is ink and a change of suppliers shouldn't make a difference.

What model printer do you use?

Are you using a bulk ink system or cartridges?

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

EDITED: 22 Apr 2007 by DGL

From:	jpkevin	23 Apr 2007
To:	Linda (LINDAG)	5 of 15

6719.5 In reply to 6719.1
If you are using Artainium, I would guess that a setting changed. Corel is notorious for Gremlins changing your color settings, when it crashes during a print job. I would start by checking your color settings. Kevin Lumberg Sublimation Specialist Johnson Plastics 888-869-7834 kevinl@johnsonplastics.com

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	23 Apr 2007
To:	Linda (LINDAG)	6 of 15

6719.6 In reply to 6719.3

Brick reds instead of reds, and a faintly dark purplish blue are usually a sign of the color profile setup being lost.

Go through the setup list for the color profile and check EVERY setting.

Corel 9 has a bug that does not store the setting you make. The trick that usually works is to open Corel, create a new page, make the settings and IMMEDIATELY close Corel.

Sublimation is one of my least favorite processes.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

From:	Linda (LINDAG)	23 Apr 2007
To:	ALL	7 of 15

6719.7

Thank you everyone. Yes, brick red and dark purplish blues seem to be the problem here. I am using Corel 12, Epson 1280 and ink cartridges.

Sublimation isn't my favorite process either Harvey! Actually it's the color matching I seem to struggle with the most...

Linda

From:	Zonas	23 Apr 2007
To:	Linda (LINDAG)	8 of 15

6719.8 In reply to 6719.7

Linda, if you do a search you will see the problems I was having (similar to yours) but I have a bulk system. The problem would always start as the 'ink monitor' would think I was getting low on inks, even though I wasn't since I had the bulk system.

What I have done (testing now) is deleted the ink monitor software, so far so good. Just finished a 20 tile backsplash and I was having problems until I deleted the software. Makes no sense why this would work since I have the builk system and chip. But hey this is sublimation we are talking about.... nothing makes sense with it :/

Zona

From:	Linda (LINDAG)	23 Apr 2007
To:	Zonas	9 of 15

6719.9 In reply to 6719.8
thank you Zona. I just spoke with Kevin and he sent over the Artainium profiles for me to check. If that doesn't work I'll see about deleting the ink monitor files you mentioned. It seems these are common problems with this ink and software. Eventually a new method will be developed and hopefully will be so much more reliable! Linda

From:	logojohn	23 Apr 2007
To:	Linda (LINDAG)	10 of 15

6719.10 In reply to 6719.9
quote: Eventually a new method will be developed and hopefully will be so much more reliable! That is the main reason I like the Sawgrass ink. They provide the free power driver for it that is a printer driver itself. It does a great job of printing accurate colors with only rare problems. It has a pulldown menu so you can select gold metal, silver metal, unisub products, to adjust for color in the surface. I like the ink level indicator down to 1% so you can see exactly how much ink is left to avoid wasting any. I pretty much learned by trial and error and as soon as I started using the power driver the color matching problems were gone.

From:	Linda (LINDAG)	23 Apr 2007
To:	logojohn	11 of 15

6719.11 In reply to 6719.10
Are you referring to the SubliJet IQ? Guess I should think about switching. I changed some settings but the problem continued. I finally converted my text to a bitmap and the colors came out ok. I really don't like doing it that way but at least I was able to finish the job... Linda

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	23 Apr 2007
To:	logojohn	13 of 15

6719.13 In reply to 6719.12
John, There used to be issues with switching from Sawgrass to ArTainium ink. The differences in ink would require that systyem be purged with a cleaning solution. Now that both brands of ink are under the Sawgrass umbrella, I don't know if there have been substantial changes in the formula of either ink. Having said that, I doubt there would be issues in switching from ArTainium to Sawgrass ink. David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri DGL Engraving Port Hueneme, CA

From:	jpkevin	23 Apr 2007
To:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	14 of 15

6719.14 In reply to 6719.13

Hi David,

It is still not recommeded to mix the inks, however there are other factors in play in this case. Since it is a 1280, you would need a new bulk system, and all new inks. The 1280 has been discontinued, and they are no longer available from Epson new. I would be leary to invest the money for a bulk system and new inks, when if something happens to the printer several months down the road, you may not be able to get a replacement. I would look seriously at an upgrade printer at this point. You would also get into a printer that functions much better than the 1280.

Kevin Lumberg
Sublimation Specialist
Johnson Plastics
1-800-869-7800
kevinl@johnsonplastics.com