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With an emphasis on dye sublimation technology and the sublimation printing process, Condé Systems has become the recognized leader in the personalized products market by offering everything needed to get into the photo gift business including transfer systems, production software, blank imprintables, transfer paper and supplies, instructional videos, and workshops. Screen printers, sign makers, embroiderers, pad printers, engravers, photographers, artists, and home business entrepreneurs can expand their current product offerings by providing their customers full-color, photographic quality gifts and awards. During all stages of product selection, sales, and post sales, Condé offers expert knowledge and superior customer support. Condé and DyeTrans are trademarks of Condé Systems, Inc. Other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

After I sold all of Uncle Bud’s hats, I decided to keep going and looked in the local yellow pages until I found an embroidery company here in Atlanta that could provide me with more hats to sell. I had to pay a set-up fee for each design and would end of ordering 50 or so of each style to spread out the cost per cap. Since I had created some popular hats, this route did keep my business going but my margins were low and finally I looked into making my own hats. There was the big surprise!

Now, there are several ways to make baseball caps with sayings on them. Embroidery really looks classy, but it is the most expensive to produce. The sewing machines they have are increasing in sophistication but quite beyond my level of expertise. The same goes with screen printing. Heat transfer technology was the next area I looked into, mainly because I saw a “Cap Heat Transfer Press” on ebay.

The George Knight DK7 Cap Heat Press has a curved plate exactly fitting to adult caps (plus you can purchase other “platens” for smaller caps and Euro style, too). The idea is to print a transfer on your printer and press it into the hat, much like “Iron-On” transfers. The cap press cost me $500, but it looked like a good investment. I spent another $100 on high quality transfer paper and was able to continue my business. I bought the press and paper from Conde Systems (http://www.conde.com). My sales rep at Conde (Miss Joni Boykin) also sent me some printed samples of a new procedure called Dye Sublimation Transfer.

If you are fashion savvy, you have seen the new Sublimation printed clothing that has been selling in all the major shops, so you may already have an idea what is so cool about dye-sub. You can’t feel the layer of ink you put on the item! The ink sinks into the garment and looks like it was dyed. I realized this technique could revolutionize my hat scheme, creating caps with that touch of class that would keep them popular.

So here’s what it took to get set up:

Software: I had to invest in really good editing software: CorelDraw
Scanner and Camera: Since I can now reproduce photos, my tourist oriented caps sport real photos!
Printer: Epson 1400 for $200

Mobile, AL – April 24, 2009 – In an ongoing effort to provide its customers value added services, Condé Systems has begun offering Partner Floor Mats. The Partner Floor Mat Service gives businesses the opportunity to greet customers at the door with an eye-catching 23.5″x35.5″ welcome mat featuring their company name and images of personalized photo gifts. Also excellent as an indoor POP floor graphic, the mats are a highly visible, low cost way to announce that personalized photo gifts and awards are offered within. Not available to the general public, the mats and printing service are being offered to Condé customers at a wholesale price to help draw attention to and increase sales of photo gifts and awards. Visit www.conde.com for additional information.

Condé Systems is the recognized leader in the digital transfer market and offers everything needed to get into the personalized photo gift business including transfer systems, production software, blank imprintables, transfer paper and supplies, instructional videos, and workshops. Screen printers, sign makers, embroiderers, pad printers, engravers, photographers, and artists can expand their current product offerings by providing their customers full-color, photographic quality gifts and awards. During all stages of product selection, sales, and post sales, Condé offers expert knowledge and superior customer support. Condé and DyeTrans are trademarks of Condé Systems, Inc. Other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Condé Systems, Inc.
5600 Commerce Boulevard East
Mobile, Alabama 36619 (USA)
Toll Free: (800) 826-6332
Phone: (251) 633-5704
Fax: (251) 633-3876
www.conde.com

Get creative with color and output using custom ICC profiles that comes standard with ArTainium UV+ inks. Utilizing the Epson® driver, the ICC profiles provide creative freedom to control and manipulate output your own way.

Flexible Solutions

ArTainium UV+ systems are designed for the true graphics professional. With the ability to print in both Mac or PC environments, these flexible solutions work well in every environment.

More Ink for Your Money

Save money with ArTainium bulk ink systems. The EasyFlow® Bulk Ink system is available with ArTainium UV+ inks and provides a simple method to cut your costs per print by more than 60%. It’s an easy way to keep cash where it belongs…in your pocket!

In addition, our professionally created ICC color management profiles provide stunningly accurate and consistent color control management.

Key Sublimation System Components for ArTainium

For the best results, we recommend a current generation computer with a fast processor and plenty of memory. For those working with digital photographs and customer-supplied artwork, you may wish to look into purchasing a scanner and a digital camera (the higher the mega-pixels, the better).

Professional Graphics & Imaging Software Suite

The quality of your end products is a direct result of obtaining good quality graphics and being proficient in a full graphics suite of software. Sawgrass recommends either CorelDRAW or Adobe Creative Suite. Both suites allow the ability to import ICC Profiles, for color management, and provide the ability to manipulate both vector and raster images.

Sublimation Transfer Paper

For the graphic or image to permanently dye the final product, specialty sublimation inks and matched paper are needed. Regular office or copy paper will not release the image properly. For best results, choose a high-quality transfer paper that dries quickly and is designed to allow the ink to release from the paper during the heat transfer process.

Heat Presses

The act of sublimation (solid ink dye particles vaporizing directly to gas without passing through liquid stage) requires heat and pressure to occur. While there are a variety of heat presses on the market (overhead swing-away, clamshell, inline modular, etc.), customers are advised to think in terms of the products they will offer and the volume they expect to produce before purchasing one. Look for a commercial quality heat press with even temperature distribution, a fast recycle time, an accurate thermostat, and a platen designed to accommodate your products. When purchasing a commercial quality heat press, shoot for the top third of the price range.

Substrates

The applications for sublimation printing are almost endless! From T-shirts to mugs to awards to mousepads, sublimation technology can decorate almost anything that made from polyester fabrics or coated with a special polymer coating.

Epson Printers

Due to their unique piezo print head technology (cold printing vs. thermal printing), the sublimation industry has adopted the use of Epson’s inkjet printers. Platforms are designated by maximum print width and number of colors of ink. When shopping for a printer, customers are urged to think in terms of the types of products they plan on producing and their anticipated volume. Print width can be a determining factor in the number of products that can be produced, and print speed can be an issue depending on volume. Look at the benefits of each supported printer before purchasing.