Wide format sublimation is defined by using any printer that is 42” and wider. Small Format is considered any printer that is smaller than 42”. Digital sublimation printing and transfer is the same whether you use small format or wide format printers to make your transfers. You can still print the huge myriad of substrates with either process.
Small Format:
Current Ricoh printer models that are supported for small format printing are Ricoh GX 7000 and the Ricoh GXe3300N. Epson printer models that are supported for small format sublimation are the Epson C88+, Epson Workforce 30, Epson Workforce 1100, Epson 1400, Epson R1900, and the Epson 4880. Deciding which printer is right for your business depends on your budget and the size and quantity of the sublimation transfers.
Also, there are many heat presses that you can use for small format sublimation starting with a price of a few hundred dollars. We will discuss the different benefits of heat presses in a later discussion, but, basically, all you need is a press with a temperature of 400 degrees with a timer. Pricing will depend on the size you want and the various options you pick.
Here are some features of Small Format sublimation:
Wide Format Sublimation:
In the over 42” wide category, various models from Mutoh, Mimaki, Roland and Epson wide format printers work well with water-based sublimation. The wide format printers range in print width of 42.5” all the way up to 120”. It may be surprising, but oftentimes the smaller wide format printers can print faster than the larger ones. As long as the width of the printer fits your production needs, it may be beneficial to purchase multiple small printers instead of one large printer.
Not only can you print and transfer large items with wide format sublimation but you can make many smaller items all at the same time if you need fast production. Using a RIP enables you to place many jobs on the sheet to print all at once.
There are two types of wide format heat transfer presses. – flat bed presses and rotary presses. Flat bed presses come in sizes from 30” x 40” up to 5’ x 10’ and larger. The large flatbed presses are great for overall garment decoration and cut and sew sportswear as well as smaller banners and soft signage. You can also use the larger flatbed heat presses to make large hard surface items with products like the Unisub and Chromaluxe aluminum, hardboard, fiberglass reinforced plastic, phenolic (like Formica) and tile murals.
Rotary (calendar) heat presses are where the fabric and paper wrap around a heated drum for the transfer process. The larger the heated drum is, the faster the fabric and transfer will run through the press.
These presses are used for the large and long banners, cut and sew garment production, table covers, flags, etc. The rotary presses are available from 44” to 120” widths.
Benefits of Wide Format Sublimation:
-Overall Garment decoration
-Cut and Sew Garment decoration
-Soft Signage (POS)
-Large Banners
-Exhibits and Displays
-Large Flags
-Cut-and-Sew jerseys
-Table covers
Coastal Business Supplies and ISW, Inc., have the expertise with both wide format and small format sublimation solutions that are just the right fit for your business and budget. All the printers, consumables, as well as installation and training are offered to help you grow your business. Give us a call today!
I am getting some custom wrestling singlets made and I am having trouble finding a gold color that would look good on a singlet. The singlets are in a camouflage format. The singlets are being printed by dye sublimation and if anyone has had anything dye sublimated, the colors are mostly submitted electronically. They send me the proofs of the singlets through my e-mail and I am not very happy with the colors they are providing. I went to the ND vs U of M game this past weekend and I noticed the color gold they use is exactly what I’m looking for. It has a metallic look to it. Has anyone gone through this process before? and if so, Is there a gold color you would recommend using? Also, what colors would match with Navy Blue, Gold, and White in a camouflage setting? Thank you for your time!
Sublimation is meant specifically for white polyester material, so if these singlets already have a camouflage design, you may find it difficult to get an accurate color from your image. Another issue you may want to look into is using a color correction profile. Depending on the type of sublimation inks you are using, we highly recommend using a color correction profile to get the most accurate colors out of your sublimation prints. Though you can get very vibrant colors through sublimation, I don’t believe you can achieve metallic colors in your sublimation images just yet. I would suggest printing out a color chart and pressing it so you can better tell what your colors will look like AFTER being pressed. Here’s a blog of ours that helps explain how to do that – http://blog.coastalbusiness.com/how-to-print-color-swatches-in-coreldraw/.