Tips on How to Save Sublimation Ink During Printing |
Posted: June 23, 2018 |
With popularity, sublimation transfer printing is turning highly competitive for the processors. With low margins, it’s important now a days to make the most from your set up. Here we share some key attributes regarding sublimation printing process, where you can save costs. As someone experienced in the industry, you might be well aware of them. With sublimation process the important costs can be attributed to transfer paper & inks. Together they constitute major portion of the process costs. Sublimation transfer paper carries the ink to the substrate. Once the transfer process is complete, the paper has to be disposed. However it is very important to select the right quality of transfer paper, suitable to your printer and heat transfer machine. There is a large variety of sublimation transfer papers from low, medium and high GSM. A lot of market segments use low or thin coated papers for sublimation transfer process as well. There is increasing trend to use low GSM papers to save the cost of base paper. With sublimation papers, wet cockling (curling of papers due to higher amount of ink) is a concern. Besides wastage of paper, it causes head strikes which may result into damage to costly print-heads. High GSM sublimation papers assist quick drying of the inks. You need not worry about the back impression on blanket for your roll to roll heat transfer press. However, they need more time and temp to effect the thorough transfer of sublimation inks. High GSM papers are very low probability to undergo cockling due to higher ink loads. You should use high GSM transfer papers for designs with deep shades and fabrics where higher penetration of the inks is desired. Medium GSM sublimation papers offer advantages of faster transfer process, acceptability of higher print speeds. However they are prone to wet cockling with higher ink limits and at times back impressions on blanket. Many times it is necessary to use a backing paper to avoid the back impressions. Medium gsm papers can be used for strong and medium designs. It is very important to use sublimation ink with higher dye contents to have good results with these papers. Low GSM or thin coated and uncoated papers pose a different challenge altogether. The paper handling mechanism of the printers has to be very elaborate to handle these. You need to use fewer passes, lower print resolutions, lower ink limits with these papers. There are frequent concerns regarding the wet cockling and back impressions. These paper are compatible with light designs and gentle transfer results only. Sublimation ink play a very important role in deciding the efficiency of your transfer printing process. Good drying speed, better release characteristics and consistent print performance are important attributes you need to understand. Use of lower ink limits, lower print resolutions for better colors results into optimum use of the inks. Higher strength ink formulations can help you print faster without compromising with the results. Good run-ability of the inks ensure trouble free print runs saving costly media and inks while improving the printer efficiency. Less nozzle clogs, easy nozzle recovery also helps to save the inks. With good quality inks, maintenance of printer consumables such as dampers, capping station, wiper blades etc is also minimum. Extended life of print-head also adds up to your savings. It’s very important to select the inks based on value it offers rather than the price. You can also use ICC profiles to optimize the ink consumption while having consistent and best results. This also helps you retain the customers. It is strongly recommended to use custom ink profiles rather than the generic ones. So all the best to you to save more on your sublimation transfers. Always keep in mind that A Penny saved is a Penny earned!
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