Sawgrass SG1000 Sublimation Printer

Overview

Prints vivid images onto special paper and that is applied to a surface with heat. Fabrics and objects that lay flat can use the heat press. Shaped objects need a compression sleeve and the oven. The sublimation ink is not opaque so this process does not print well directly on dark fabrics.

There is an excellent book called the Sublimation Cookbook that has a one page reference for all kinds of sublimation work. You can buy it for $19 or borrow the copy we have at Maker Nexus.

Polyester is key

The application of heat vaporizes the printed ink. If the ink is in contact with something, the ink will then be applied to that something. They key is that the ink really bonds to polyester. Things that you want to receive the image ("blanks") must either be polyester or have a coating of polyester.

There are many sublimation-ready blanks on the market: plaques, water bottles, coffee mugs, cups, plates, t-shirts, aprons, coasters, pot holders, ink pens, the list is long.

Heat Transfer Paper

Dye sublimation printing is done onto heat transfer paper. You print your image mirrored and put the ink face onto the blank. This process allows the background of the blank to show through. For instance, when printing a colored t-shirt, the color of the shirt will affect the look of the final product.

Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV)

There is a specific type of Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) that can be used to provide a base for the dye sublimation image. The paper has a slick, shiny backing. The ink is printed on the non shiny side of the sheet. After printing, it is recommended that you allow the inks to dry for 2 hours before masking, or you can lay your design underneath an open heat press platen for about 45 seconds. The printed HTV is pulled from the backing plastic and placed on the blank. With heat the ink will be bonded to the HTV and the HTV to the blank. This has two advantages:

1. The color of the blank has much less effect and so a dark color t-shirt can be decorated;
2. The HTV will apply well to some non-polyester materials - in particular cotton.

There are two down sides:

1. The vinyl sheet adheres to the blank. This gives the finished fabric a definite "feel". And since the vinyl sheet is waterproof, this isn't suitable for some uses (ex, napkins).
2. You need to cut out your artwork. You can do this with scissors or a blade. If you do not do this, then you will see that extra vinyl on your finished product.

The only HTV vinyls that are suitable for sublimation are clear sublimation HTV, white sublimation HTV, white glitter HTV, holographic HTV, and glow-in-the-dark HTV.

EasySubli HTV is applied at a low temperature of 311°F for just 15 seconds.

Polyester Spray

Another option is to pre-treat your non-polyester blank. We have a sample spray bottle of a product that can be sprayed on wood, non-polyester cloth, glass, and other blanks. You would then use normal heat transfer paper. In our testing the results on 100% cotton cloth were not bad. We will experiment more to see if the result can be improved.

Fabrics

When printing with normal heat transfer paper the most vivid image will appear when the fabric is at least 90% polyester. A fabric of 65/35 Poly/Cotton will print well; not as vivid as 90% but still suitable for most cases. A fabric of 50/50 Poly/Cotton will print but the image will have a faded or "vintage" look; this might be suitable for your particular use.

For 100% cotton fabrics, an HTV base is recommended. In this case the ink will heat bond to the thin vinyl sheet and the vinyl sheet will heat bond to the fabric. This gives vivid results. You can also use HTV for transfer to other materials such as 50/50 Poly/Cotton.

You will need to experiment to find a recipe that works for your artistic intent.

Heat

Applying heat vaporizes the ink and in the case of HTV will cause the vinyl backing to bond with the blank. It is important that the image be attached to the blank so that it does not move during the bonding process. If your blank has a second surface close to the application surface (such as a t-shirt or cloth bag will), then you need to place a piece of paper between the surfaces to prevent bleed through.

A heat press is used for fabrics and blanks with a flat surface. The image can be attached using special Heat Safe Tape. There is a spray adhesive called tackispray (e.g. Eco-mist) that can be sprayed on the image before positioning it on the blank. Be sure to put paper under your blank and on top of your work to protect the two heat press platens from bleed through.

An oven is used for blanks without a flat surface, such as a coffee mug. In this case the image is positioned and attached using a disposable compression sleeve.

The temperatures and times used depend on the material of the blank, and whether you are using paper or HTV.

Equipment Specifications

• Maximum media size of 11" x 17" (13" x 51" with the bypass tray installed)
• Maximum print image of 10" x 16" (due to print margins)
• Fast Print Speed
  • High Speed (600 x 600 dpi) - 15 seconds
  • High Quality (600 x 600 dpi) - 29 seconds
  • Advanced Photo (1200 x 600 dpi) - 48 seconds
  • Ultra Fine Photo (4800x1200 dpi) - 6 minutes and 40 seconds
• Ink: our printer is set up with the standard Sawgrass ink

Software

Once you install the driver on your laptop, then you can print from any program.

However there is software called PrintMate from Sawgrass (download) that has options to specify the ink type (we use Sublijet), the blank material, and more. We assume these control options will give you a superior result. If you use this software, let us know your experience.

Overall Process

1. Prepare your artwork
2. Select appropriate heat sublimation paper

   • Normal heat transfer paper
   • Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) (e.g. Sisser Easy Subli)

3. Print the artwork on the non-shiny side
4. Turn on the heat source to the appropriate temperature for your work

   • Heatpress
     • Normal transfer paper
       • 100% Polyester cloth: 385 degrees, 45-60 seconds, moderate pressure
       • 50/50 Cotton Poly blend 385 degrees, 45-60 seconds, moderate pressure
     • HTV
       • 311 degrees, 15 seconds, light pressure
     • Polyester coated flat blank thing
       • ??
   • Oven
     • ??

5. Prepare the blank's surface

   • Cloth - press flat in the heat press
   • Cotton cloth without HTV - spray with polyester precoat
   • Oven - be sure the blank has a polyester coating

6. Position artwork on blank

   • Cloth - hold in place with special heat-safe tape, or use Eco-mist "tacky spray"
   • Odd shape - hold in place with special heat shrink sleeve (use heat gun to shrink the sleeve in place)

7. Transfer the image

   Be sure to use butcher or parchment paper above and below to protect the heat press platens!

   • Heatpress
     • Cloth
       • With regular transfer paper: 45 seconds of moderate pressure
       • With Sisser Easy Subli HTV: 15 seconds of light pressure
     • Polyester blank: 45 seconds
   • Oven
     • ??

8. Carefully remove the item - IT IS HOT!
9. Allow to cool and peel off the transfer backing

Material Sources and Notes

Maker Nexus will stock some supplies for sale, but members who will do significant printing will benefit from buying supplies directly from a supplier.

Supplies:

• Heat Transfer Warehouse. They are not crazy expensive, but not cheap.
• Heat Press Nation
• Swing Designs
• PYD Life

Sawgrass University how-to videos

Maker Nexus will sell

We plan to offer

• Transfer paper in sets of 5 or 10 sheets
• High Temp Tape in rolls
• A small collection of shrink sleeves
• A few types of blanks