Dye Sublimation

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What is Dye Sublimation?

Sublimation it a process where a solid becomes a gas, without becoming a liquid. Dye sublimation is a process that involves specially created inks that once printed on the special transfer paper, becomes a gas when heated near 400° Fahrenheit, under pressure.

What can you decorate with Dye Sublimation?

Dye sublimation inks bond with polyester fibers, and some other man-made materials. The inks will not bond with natural materials, such as cotton, wool, wood, or metal. Blank products can be purchased that have a special polyester coating applied to them, so that they will accept dye sublimation inks. These products include tiles (ceramic and hardboard), cell phone cases, ornaments, jewelry, bags, shirts, hats, slate, plaques, can coolers, clocks, watches, photo panels, and lots more. New products are being developed all of the time.

What kind of designs can you use to decorate items?

Anything you can create in a computer program that can print to a printer. Photos, logos, digital artwork, text, scanned images, etc… How big does my image need to be? See this explanation of digital printing and image resolution. Digital Printing Resolution

Can I decorate dark items (i.e. shirts, hats, etc.)?

No, dye sublimation inks are translucent, and take on the color of the item they are printed on. There is also no white ink with sublimation. White areas of a print have no ink at all.

Where can I get items to decorate with dye sublimation?

There are lots of places on the internet to buy dye sublimation blanks. Some of them will sell to individuals, but some of them won’t. Some of my favorite places to buy from are:

Sublimation 101 - http://www.Sublimation101.com - Michael Kaminsky gives great support, and gives his cell phone number to customers so that they can call when they need help. This is who DMS bought the working 8-in-1 press from.
Johnson Plastics - http://www.jpplus.com - They have a warehouse in Carrollton, near Midway and Keller Springs, but don’t stock all of their sublimation products there. Call them to find out if what you want is available locally.
Condé - http://www.dyetrans.com - Located in Georgia, but a very comprehensive collection of dye sub products, and lots of templates for them. At last check they require a $50 minimum for online orders.
JDS Industries - http://www.jdsindustries.com - They carry a great selection of products available in their Dallas warehouse, but require a tax ID to set up an account.

Dye Sub SIG Members

Current Members

Cary Fleming (@caryf300) - SIG Leader / Dye Sub 101 teacher
John Gorman (@talkers) - Dye Sub 101 teacher
JJ Perry (@apparently_weird) - Dye Sub 101 teacher
Amanda Miller (@MrsMoose) - Dye Sub 101 teacher
Robert Cunningham (@robertcunningham) - Dye Sub 101 teacher
Cindy Dalton (@cookiecody) - Dye Sub 101 teacher
Donetta Fleming (@donetta)
Doug Emes (@dougemes) - joined SIG 9/28/2019
Sonya Pickens - (@sonepi)
Mary Mathias - (@Mary_Mathias)

How do I join the Dye Sub SIG?

For starters, add your name to the list above. Then keep an eye out for the next SIG meeting on the calendar, and try to attend. If you are interested in becoming a dye sub teacher, the first step is to take a Dye Sub 101 class. If you want to teach dye sub project classes, then that is all you need. If you want to teach the Dye Sub 101 classes, to teach other members to use the equipment, then come to one of the quarterly Train-the-Trainer sessions, which will normally coincide with the SIG meetings.

What do I need to do Dye Sublimation?

At minimum, you need:

A computer
A printer capable of using sublimation inks
Sublimation inks
Transfer paper
- This can be purchased from Creative Arts in packs of 4 sheets. A 4-pack of 8-1/2" x 14" (legal) paper is $5, and pack of 11" x 17" (tabloid) is $10. Manila envelopes containing dye sublimation paper can be found in the lateral file in the Scrap Vinyl drawer. When you have used all of the paper in your envelope, please return the empty envelope to CA for reuse.
- Single sheets are not available.
- If you provide your own paper, there is a reduced fee for using just the dye plus the affiliated consumables. This "no paper required" fee is $1 per page printed for Legal, $2 for Tabloid.
A heat press (there is no fee to use the heat press - just for the associated consumables)
Blowout paper (uncoated butcher paper or newsprint work great)
Items to decorate

Additional useful items:

Heat tape
Repositionable adhesive spray
Lint roller (for decorating apparel)
Heat resistant gloves (i.e. Ove Gloves or similar)
Scissors
Heat conductive pad (used for tiles, slate and glass)

Meetings

DMS Dye Sublimation Tools

DMS has purchased a number of tools to use for dye sublimation. Training is required for their use.

Sawgrass SG 800 Printer

We have a Sawgrass SG800 printer that is loaded with Sawgrass SubliJet-HD dye sublimation inks. It is capable of printing on up to 13"x19" paper. However, to us paper over 11"x17" you have to use the Bypass Tray attached to the back of the printer. The printer manual is available here. You must take the Dye Sub 101 class to get access to the dye sublimation printer.

Stahl MAXX20 16" x 20" Heat Press

We have a Stahl MAXX20 16" x 20" heat press. The manual is available at this link.

NEVER PLUG THE HEAT PRESS INTO A POWER STRIP, UPS, OR EXTENSION CORD. PLUG IT DIRECTLY INTO A WALL OUTLET. THIS IS A FIRE SAFETY ISSUE.

When using this press for dye sublimation you must have the temperature in the 380 to 400 degree Fahrenheit range. Some fabrics require the lower end of the range to keep from scorching.

To change the temperature display to Fahrenheit from Celsius use the following procedure:

WARNING - DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE IF THE HEAT PRESS IS ALREADY AT OPERATING TEMPERATURE.

Turn the Heat Press OFF.
Press and hold the MODE button on the control panel.
While holding the MODE button turn the POWER button to the ON position.
Continue holding the MODE button until a beep is heard and the display indicates ---.
Release the MODE button.
The display should now indicate C.
Press the + or - button on the panel until the display indicates F.
Finally, press the MODE button again to return the heat press to operation.

JTrans 8-in-1 11 x 15" Heat Press

There is also a JTrans 8-in-1 heat press that works as an 11" x 15" flat press, cap platen, 8" plate press, 10" plate press, and a press for 11 oz. and 15 oz. coffee mugs, water bottles, 12 oz. latte mugs, and 17 oz. latte mugs. It is currently configured as a hat (cap) press. The mug press has its own base with its own heating and timing unit. We have scanned the JTrans 8-in-1 Heat Press Manual for your convenience.

NEVER PLUG THE HEAT PRESS INTO A POWER STRIP, UPS, OR EXTENSION CORD. PLUG IT DIRECTLY INTO A WALL OUTLET. THIS IS A FIRE SAFETY ISSUE.

When using this press for dye sublimation set the idle temperature (the first one) to 330 degrees Fahrenheit, and set the working temperature (the second one) to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Some fabrics require the lower end of the range to keep from scorching.

JTrans Multi-Function Mug Press

We have a JTrans Multi-Function Mug Press that includes heating elements for 6-10 oz. mugs, 11-15 oz. mugs, 12 oz. latte mugs, 17 oz. latte mugs, 1.5 oz shot glasses, and 3 oz. shot glasses. You can review the instructions here: Mug Press Instructions

NEVER PLUG THE HEAT PRESS INTO A POWER STRIP, UPS, OR EXTENSION CORD. PLUG IT DIRECTLY INTO A WALL OUTLET. THIS IS A FIRE SAFETY ISSUE.

When using this press for dye sublimation check the instructions for the idle temperature (the first one) and working temperature (the second one) for the item you are decorating.

3D Vac-U-Press

This heat press helps to fully sublimate curved products using an air-forced vacuum and thin silicon pad. Our vacuum press allows you to create phone cases, tiles, and more with all-over sublimation (additional inserts or jigs may be necessary). Perfect for curved products that don’t work easily in flat heat presses, like flasks and shot glasses! With an oven-like heating system, your products will have even heating and pressure without worries that the product may break or bend! The 3D Vacuum Press can easily go from imprinting on coasters and plaques to mugs, shot glasses and flasks. We have about a dozen 11 oz. silicon mug wraps, 3 or 4 mug wraps for 15 oz. mugs, and 1 wrap for 20 oz. mugs. The maximum size for prinatble items is 11.8" x 16.5". You can view the user manual here.

NEVER PLUG THE HEAT PRESS INTO A POWER STRIP, UPS, OR EXTENSION CORD. PLUG IT DIRECTLY INTO A WALL OUTLET. THIS IS A FIRE SAFETY ISSUE.

Supplies and Accessories

There is also heat tape, repositionable adhesive spray, Ove Gloves or similar, and newsprint/non-waxed butcher paper to use while decorating. DO NOT use the waxed freezer/butcher paper in place of newsprint/non-waxed butcher paper. You may ruin your item, the heat press, and your day.

Other Tips

A lot of metal sheet stock, fiberglass reinforced plastic, and hardboard products come with a clear plastic protective cover. Remove this before pressing, or you will ruin the item.
When decorating shirts, and other apparel, scalloping the paper around your design will minimize the appearance of press lines on your final product.
When pressing shirts, and other apparel, either dress the press so that only one layer of fabric is between the upper and lower platens, or put a sheet of Teflon between the layers of fabric to prevent your design from blowing through to the other side.
Products will be HOT when they come off of the press. Use an Oven Glove or similar protection to handle them.
Products like slate or ceramic tiles need to be pressed with a green heat conductive pad to help the paper conform to the shape of the item, and to evenly heat them.

Temperature, Time and Pressure Reference

Here are some suggested starting points for temperature, dwell time, and pressure for our heat presses. There is NEVER a reason to go over 400 degrees Fahrenheit.