Davis Brown
Sublimation printing is a process that uses heat to transfer ink onto materials such as polyester, nylon, or other polymers. The result is a high-quality print with vivid colors and sharp details.
However, there are several factors that can affect the quality of your sublimation prints.
In this article, we will discuss some tips for improving the quality of your sublimation printing, along with practical examples and explanations. By following these steps, you can achieve better results and more satisfied customers.
Tip #1: Use High-Quality Transfers:
One of the most important aspects of achieving high-quality sublimation prints is using high-quality transfers.
A good transfer should be thin enough to allow the ink to fully saturate the material, but thick enough to prevent ghost images from appearing on the backside.
It should also have a smooth surface without any bumps or wrinkles, which could cause misalignment during the pressing process. You may need to experiment with different brands and types of transfers until you find one that works best for your specific needs.
Example: If you’re having trouble with ghost images, try switching to a thinner transfer paper. This will allow the ink to fully saturate the substrate and reduce the likelihood of double images.
Tip #2: Fine-Tune Color Management and Profiling:
The key to producing accurate and vibrant prints lies in establishing a reliable color workflow.
Achieving perfect color representation requires profiling both your printer and substrates correctly:
Tip #3: Profiling Your Printer:
Utilize built-in software or third-party calibration tools to create an ICC profile for your printer/ink combination. This helps maintain consistent color output across multiple jobs and media types while minimizing dot gain or washout.
For example, if working with Ricoh printers and Sawgrass inks, use the provided software or CorelDraw to generate custom profiles based on the specific ink formulation used by your printer.
Tip #4: Substrate Profiling:
Measure the light reflectance values of your intended substrates using a spectrophotometer. This enables the creation of ICC profiles capturing how the inks interact with the individual materials being printed upon.
Having properly profiled substrates ensures that the color correction applied during the rip stage matches the actual absorption characteristics of the final medium, resulting in lifelike hues and reduced metamerism issues.
In practice, let’s say you want to print onto the polyester canvas with Sawgrass Virtuoso SG400 printers utilizing TexPrint inks. First, create a printer profile using the Ricoh Print & Converge Console or another tool.
Then, measure the white point and brightness of the canvas using an X-Rite i1iO spectrophotometer and SpectraSensor accessory.
Using a software package like Wasatch SoftRIP or Caldera GrandRIP+, import these measurement files and generate a new ICC substrate profile for your particular canvas brand or type.
During the rip stage, select this profile within the software and proceed with the usual print setup, achieving optimized color rendering on the designated substrate.
Tip #5: Adjust Your Printer Settings:
Your printer settings can greatly impact the quality of your sublimation prints. Some common adjustments include increasing the resolution, changing the color profile, and tweaking the brightness and contrast levels.
Experiment with these settings until you find the combination that produces the best results for your specific printer and media.
Example: Try setting your printer to use a higher resolution (e.g., 300 dpi) when
printing sublimation transfers. This can help produce sharper and crisper images of
the final product.
Tip #6: Preheat Your Press for Consistency;
Preheating your press before each job helps ensure consistent results throughout the day. It allows the heaters to reach their optimal temperature and eliminates hot spots, which can occur if the press is cold.
To preheat your press, turn on the power source and wait for all components to warm up completely. Then close the platens and open them again after about five minutes.
Finally, check that all areas of the platen are evenly heated by placing a piece of scrap fabric over the area and running a test cycle. Once everything checks out, proceed with your regular production routine.
Tip #7: Calibrate Your Heaters Regularly:
Heater calibration ensures accurate temperature control across all zones of the press. Over time, heaters tend to drift away from their intended temperatures due to various factors like wear and tear, changes in ambient conditions, and so forth.
When working properly, your heaters should maintain accuracy within +/- 5°F (+/-
2.78°C).
To perform a heater calibration,
- First, determine what temperature range your particular type of polymer substrate requires. For example, polyester typically requires a top temperature between 360°F (177.78°C) and 390°F (198.89°C), while Nylon may require a slightly lower range of around 350°F (177.78°C) to 380°F (193.89°C).
- Next, take a sample of your substrate material and place it in the press with the correct tension settings. Close the platens and set the desired temperature for the appropriate zone(s). Run the press through its normal cycle sequence, then immediately remove the sample and measure its temperature with a digital thermometer.
- Continue taking measurements at additional intervals until the material has cooled down.
- After collecting data, calculate the average temperature achieved by dividing the sum of all measured temperatures by the number of samples taken.
- Compare this value against the ideal target temperature range mentioned above to determine whether your heaters need adjusting.
Final Words:
To summarize, here are the six main suggestions we covered to enhance sublimation printing quality:
1. Use high-resolution images (300 dpi) and resize them appropriately.
2. Adjust source file contrast, sharpness, and saturation before printing.
3. Optimize artwork orientation and layout for efficient printing.
4. Choose appropriate paper types, thicknesses, and weights for various fabrics.
5. Conduct proper maintenance and cleaning of the sublimation printer.
6. Create and apply customized printer and substrate profiles for precise color
management.
7. Experiment with different transfer techniques to achieve desired results.
8. Explore advanced features like double-pass printing and edge-to-edge
designs
