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Post by crazy4scraps on Dec 13, 2022 17:14:23 GMT
I think I want to get a dye sublimation printer for making shirt transfers and other things, but really don’t have much knowledge about them. I’m looking at the Sawgrass SG500 specifically but it looks like there are a few different ink options I could go with. I will not buy another Epson ever. My goal isn’t to turn this into a business or anything, I want to use it for making promotional items for DH’s business, my cottage food side hustle, personal projects and gifts. I have done some Googling but I’m not really finding the information I’m looking for. Anyone here have any experience with this or have any suggestions or recommendations? TIA!
ETA: I did a search on the General Scrapping board but didn’t really see anything there.
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Post by katlady on Dec 13, 2022 17:26:39 GMT
The only dye sublimation printers I am familiar with are the Canon Selphys for printing photos. I didn’t know they made bigger models for transfers. Have you checked YouTube for reviews? They’re reviews and demos of just about everything on YouTube.
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iowgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,295 
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Post by iowgirl on Dec 13, 2022 17:27:08 GMT
THere are quite a few Facebook groups dedicated to sublimation. I have converted an Epson printer, but I honestly don't do it much. One of those things I wish I had not though I needed  You sound like you would have more of a use for it though. Remember you need sublimation blanks. The items have to be specially coated - you can't just sublimate onto anything. Cups, signs, etc - have to be sublimation ready. Not hard to find blanks though! Any shirts, etc. need to be polyester - or at least have a high poly count. The poly count needs to be the highest number in the shirt, if it is a blend. You would need a heat press that goes to 400º to sublimate. Some have mug and cup adapters. Some do cups in a dedicated convection oven (but you don't want to use your own kitchen oven). |
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Post by Zee on Dec 13, 2022 17:32:13 GMT
THere are quite a few Facebook groups dedicated to sublimation. I have converted an Epson printer, but I honestly don't do it much. One of those things I wish I had not though I needed You sound like you would have more of a use for it though. Remember you need sublimation blanks. The items have to be specially coated - you can't just sublimate onto anything. Cups, signs, etc - have to be sublimation ready. Not hard to find blanks though! Any shirts, etc. need to be polyester - or at least have a high poly count. The poly count needs to be the highest number in the shirt, if it is a blend. You would need a heat press that goes to 400º to sublimate. Some have mug and cup adapters. Some do cups in a dedicated convection oven (but you don't want to use your own kitchen oven). All this. You can find a lot of answers on Facebook groups. I find the poly tshirts to be a bit limiting for my needs. I tried sublimation on a cotton poly blend but it came out in the first wash. The tshirts I made using Cricut sublimation ink paper with a poly tee held up great though. I decided not to try printing my own stuff with a sublimation printer bc I wouldn't get much use out of it, but you might. Just make sure you're using the right base materials as mentioned above! |
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Post by dnkmmw on Dec 13, 2022 17:36:48 GMT
I have a Sawgrass 1000, but I don't use it much. One thing to keep in mind is that it needs to stay plugged in all the time and it will run a process to try to keep the ink lines clear, which means, you will be using ink even if you aren't printing anything. The printer also requires a waste tank. I use Sublijet UHD ink, which I buy from Conde. As you are learning, I'd suggest buying variety packs of materials to try out. Conde does a black box special for Black Friday, but they may have some left. In my experience, you always want to have extra blanks if you absolutely need something for a certain event. It's more expensive and frustrating to make mistakes as you often talking about items like shirts or mugs. Once you heat set it, it can't be redone.
As mentioned by iowgirl, you will need a heat press. Don't skimp on this as you want consistent results, which you can't do if your press doesn't operate consistently.
Dawn
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Post by crazy4scraps on Dec 13, 2022 19:13:51 GMT
Thanks for the information, all of this is helpful. I already have a 15”x15” clamshell heat press that will go up to 400°+ so that isn’t an issue. If I was going to do mugs or tumblers or things like that I would need to get a press for those so I’m doing a little research on that part of it too. I was aware that the items need to be sublimation ready so that’s not a surprise. With a little more digging on YouTube I found Jennifer Maker’s website and her videos answered more of my questions. She did say that anything fabric must be more than 50% polyester to work well, or you can use a type of HTV that can be sublimated onto for using with cotton fabrics. There is also a sublimation prep spray that can be used on cotton fabrics that she tested and said it worked well, I’m not sure how well that would hold up with regular washing though. The HTV might be an option for some of what I want to do, like chest logos on DH’s work shirts. Right now I’m doing them with two colors of HTV that have to be precisely layered which is doable but tedious. With a sublimation printer I could do his logo in full color and it would only be one layer of vinyl. I also sew which opens up a lot of options since I could pick a fabric that will work, sublimate on it and then sew the project or vice versa. Sawgrass has a few different dealers listed on their website, it looks like all of them are pretty similarly priced. I probably should have thought of this prior to Black Friday but I didn’t.  |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Dec 13, 2022 19:15:54 GMT
The only dye sublimation printers I am familiar with are the Canon Selphys for printing photos. I didn’t know they made bigger models for transfers. Have you checked YouTube for reviews? They’re reviews and demos of just about everything on YouTube. I have a Selphy, and seeing a cheap pack of paper and ink for it on the Woot! website recently made me think about getting a full size printer for other stuff.  |
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Post by dnkmmw on Dec 13, 2022 20:25:44 GMT
should have thought of this prior to Black Friday but I didn’t. There likely weren't any crazy good deals on printers. The prices are pretty consistent at all the dealers. It looks like Conde still had the black boxes as of yesterday they are free with either a $200 or $250 purchase (sorry I can't recall the exact amount). I have also dealt with Johnson's Plastics and Coastal for smaller purchases and didn't have any issues. Conde was doing online open houses during Covid. I think twice a year. I don't know if they still are online, but they are basically demos of products. It's free and a lot of great information. |
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You sound like you would have more of a use for it though.
