Advanced Sublimation Questions

by Inkraz Store on February 23, 2021

We have classified the following questions as advanced because they are often asked when you have already purchased a sublimation printing system. We hope that here the answers to the doubts that are usually raised will be useful to you.

Why isn't the transferred image identical to the one that appears on my computer screen?

The most common reason is that the nozzles are not projecting ink correctly. It is worth the effort to keep the head holes clean. Another possibility is that while the printer driver was set to RGB, the file was created with CMYK, or vice versa.

Why do printers give problems if you leave them unused for a long time?

The inks are drying in the heads. As they are water-based inks, this happens quite easily, especially in hot and dry environments. The solid residues of the ink are clogging tubes and the nozzle holes of the head.

What to do in those cases?

When it is evident the printer has a somewhat clogged head, only two options remain: circulation or cleaning.

Circulating the ink has the drawback of its cost, because in that case the ink used in that operation is not recoverable. Cleaning is more cumbersome and consumes time and cleaning fluid.

How to prevent the heads from becoming clogged?

The ideal is to do a daily check-up. So that you don't forget you can use a specially designed program called Harvey Head Cleaner (www.harveyheadcleaner.com). It allows you to schedule a calendar of injectors checks on the days that you do not do any work.

The case is to prevent the ink from drying in the head, it is much easier and cheaper than repairing or changing a clogged head later.

Why do colored dots appear on sublimated t-shirts outside of the image field?

This is because some ink has dirtied the plate of the plate, and then that ink washes up on subsequent prints.

To avoid this you can give more paper margin on the edges of the design or, better yet, use a clean sheet between the garment with the paper and the iron. But make sure you don't reuse it or you will end up having the same problem.

What do I do if the head is still clogged after several cleaning cycles?

Put some degreaser or household glass cleaner on the head rest base and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Then clean the head with swabs soaked in the same product.

What is there to know about printing on paper?

Drawings are mirrored onto special paper so that they stay in the correct position when transferred.
It is normal for inks not to show up in their final colors on paper. That doesn't happen until they have been sublimated onto the final surface.
Remember that transferring doesn't give a second chance, so feel free to pin the paper to the surface if you think it can move in the process. For this we offer special, heat-resistant adhesive tapes.

Should I use a special paper?

Yes, if you want to obtain optimal results. If you do tests with other papers not dedicated to sublimation, you will end up realizing that the special paper that we sell is the one that is the cheapest.

How can I prevent some sublimated objects (such as trivets, parasols, etc.) from deforming?

As soon as you remove the object from the iron, place it under a large, heavy object and leave it until it cools.

If, despite this, you place it back on the iron for about 20 seconds and repeat the operation, it will surely return to its flat shape.

How can I get the printable surface of a purse to stay flat so that the image will print correctly?

Use a sheet of EVA material (like the one on mouse pads) cut into the shape of the purse, to place it inside. We sell them in 2mm thicknesses, but you can overlap more than one if you need more thickness. This applies to any object in which the printing area bulges inwards due to the seams on the edges: bags, backpacks, ...

Do we need a template to print objects?

It is not absolutely necessary, but it is helpful. It all depends on your level as a user of graphic programs such as PhotoShop (PS), Adobe Illustrator (AI), or CorelDraw (CD).

Using templates is convenient, fast and will help you save ink. But if at any given moment you want to do something special, different, it could pose a certain limitation.

The templates should enlarge the image 2-3mm at the edges (also called bleed) to allow for a margin of error in printing.

 

What quality should the images to print have?

They shouldn't be much less than 300dpi, which is optimal. Less quality could be noticed, but more quality would surely go unnoticed.

In the case of vector images you don't have to worry, since they are scalable to any size.

 

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