Condé Introduces Sublimatable Pennants
By: Todd Till, Marketing Director

Mobile, AL – March 26, 2010 – Condé Systems has added felt pennants to its DyeTrans™ family of sublimatable products.

Pennants have long been a way for dedicated fans to celebrate team spirit at pep rallies and sporting events. Their nostalgic charm has also given them a favored spot on the walls of bedrooms, game rooms, offices, restaurants, and taverns. Traditionally, pennants have been produced by screen printing one or more ink choices onto colored felt. Condé’s new pennants can be produced using the dye-sublimation process – giving custom decorators the ability to produce full-color, photographic quality pennants for sports teams, business promotions, fundraisers, special events/ceremonies, and school organizations. Available in 5″x12″ and 8″x18″ sizes, the white polyester felt pennants feature a 1″ white sewn strip on the side that can be imprinted with a coordinating color or design. Optional wood display sticks are available in 16″ and 33″ lengths. Visit www.conde.com for additional information and pricing.

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.

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

We’ve been in the tee shirt business for about ten years and during that time; I’ve owned about ten different printers, mostly dye sublimation printers. These are inkjet printers, used for dye sublimation heat transfer, for putting images on tee shirts and other items. Here’s a little sublimation printer review of what’s currently available on the market.

Sublimation Printer ebay:
A good source of printers for dye sub, be careful not to get the photo sublimation printers, they are NOT what you want to use for transfers. Look for printers that use sublimation printer ink. Other places to find sublimation printers for sale: sublimation printers – craigslist does not have any usable listings in any city I looked. The best source for decent sublimation printers is a reputable company that supplies sublimation printing paper, like Conde Systems, Johnston Award Supply Co. or use google to find a company.

I recommend Conde (http://www.conde.com), they have a great tech support crew and lots of info in their knowledge base, plus a huge array of products. Once you start buying from them they sign you up to their partnernet and you get access to templates, instructions and all kinds of helpful advice.

Sublimation Printers Epson
Epson makes some printers with the Micro Piezo printhead, which is ideal for dye sublimation. Here’s a comparison chart:

C120
R800
1400
4880
4 Color Printer
7 Color printer with gloss optimizer
6 Colors

8 colors; can use two different kinds of ink, 4 on each side!
Maximum Printable Area: 8.5″ x 44″
Up to 8.5″ X 14″ cut-sheet paper
Print 13″ x 19″
Prints 17” wide

Sublimation Printers Ricoh
A new inkjet printer has emerged, with Micro Piezo printheads; the Ricoh GelSprinter has two models that are useful for dye sublimation printing:

GX5050N
GX7000
Uses 4 Colors
Uses 4 Colors
Maximum Printable Area: 8.5″ x 44″
Print 13″ x 19″ (with additional feed tray)

By the way, for sublimation printers, UK suppliers, they can be ordered from transferpress.com; sublimation printers Australia, try Nova.

Now, all the printers listed above are fairly good for the purpose, the main considerations are the cost of the inks and how big the printers can print. If you have a bigger heat press, you will want to go wide. I use a small C120 in my RV and take it to flea markets and fairs and it travels quite well.

The 4 color printers are great because you only have to get four cartridges. The 4880 is unique in that you can buy 4 sublimation cartridges and also load 4 regular ink cartridges or heat transfer inks. I like ChromaBlast on one side, it’s a special system for printing on cotton garments, but that’s another subject. You do have to get special software to set this dual printing up, check with Conde for advice there.

The Epson printers have bulk feed ink delivery systems available and you can buy bottles of ink to fill them and that may save some money in the long run. The Ricoh printers use gel ink in cartridges and they are very easy to change, no clogs, no fuss, so I vote for them. The GX7000 is the best one I have owned, very fast and reliable.

Good luck with your sublimation printing!

How I Make My Jewelry on a Shoestring

I have a small home business making fanciful jewelry pieces that evoke fairy tales. Every Renaisance Faire I attend, people just love my little porcelain jewelery pieces and I constantly get asked how I create them. So, for once and for all, I am here writing down the techniques for prosperity and whomsoever wants to try it themselves.

Now, I’m not a real artist, I want to make it clear that I cannot draw so much as a flower that doesn’t look like a kindergarden kid did it. All the art I use, mostly fairies, dragons and unicorns, comes from clipart collections. Some are just CD’s I picked up over theyears and I use the Vapor ArtDisc CD and the BODART collection. These great clipart collections are from a shirt company called Vapor. I got them from Conde Systems, an outfit that sells equipment for digital sublimation printing. (http://www.conde.com)

So I take the clipart of a fairie and add it to a unicorn and maybe some trees and I use CorelDRAW to position them until I am happy with the whole picture. Then I set the pic to be the size of my porcelain piece. The porcelain I also get from Conde, they have oval, square, hearts and star pieces in graduated sizes. These are pre-coated to accept my transferred image.

I print out the picture on sublimation transfer paper, a heavy paper that works with my sublimation inks. The ink is called SubliJet-R, I have a GX5050, a Ricoh printer, it is set up to only use this special ink. I print it in reverse, or mirrored and then I place it on top of the porcelain piece. I use heat resistant tape or a spray fixative, called ProSpray (from Conde) to hold the transfer in place. You cannot move the image once it starts heating so don’t be tempted to look, it will destroy what you are doing.

Then I put the whole shebang into my little heat press. I have a Hobby Press, a George Knight JP12, it only cost $250, and it’s perfect for my small items. I use 400 degrees and keep it pressed for five minutes. The image is then transferred directly to my porcelain. I can also make tee shirts with the same process, they have to be polyester shirts and it doesn’t work well on dark colors, but the technique is much the same, just press for one minute if doing shirts.

I have gold and silver findings, little hooks, pieces that hold the porcelain, I get these from Michael’s Crafts. I add these as I see fit, attach a chain or a pin back. The best jewelry glue is E-6000, which is available at Michaels. Sometimes I use a little glitter glue to attach strategic rhinestones. Voila! That’s how I do it!

GX5050 Printer………………….$300
Set of 4 Inks……………………..$400
Sublimation Paper……………..$30
JP12 Heat Press………………..$250
Porcelain………………………….$1 each

So, there you have it folks, get started, you can be an artist, too!

Over the last several years, sublimation has provided incredible opportunities for digital decorators offering full-color, short-run, customized products. Now, digital decorators can add sublimated towels to their product list.

Towels make an easy extension to the typical sublimator’s inventory and often work as eye-catching samples to attract new jobs. And your customers will like them because they are washable and remain vivid through normal use, including the sand, sun, and fun they are intended for.

Creating Sublimated Towels

Sublimatable towels should have a smooth side made from synthetic fibers. Condé’s DyeTrans towels are made by combining a cotton terry cloth face with a microfiber terry cloth face. The microfiber side, made from a polyester derivative, is receptive to most forms of sublimation including color laser copier and inkjet transfers.

While digital decorators have tried sublimating on colored substrates, the best sublimated results are achieved on white towels, especially when transferring photographs. Without the white towel as a plain background, the photograph’s hues will assume the color of the towel used.

To get vibrant transfers of digital images, you must begin with a good photograph. Don’t forget that photos should be at least 150 dots per inch when printed. Make sure the picture’s contrast will yield good results by adjusting the auto contrast or levels in Photoshop. If you use Corel PhotoPaint, adjust level equalization (version 9) or contrast enhancement (version 10).

For spot-color matching, try a color matching system such as TruMatch or FocolTone. The TruMatch or FocolTone color palettes can be loaded into graphics software such as CorelDraw or Photoshop. Designers can then print the palettes and transfer them to towels. The sublimated charts can be used as references when matching color.

If your towels come out with a ghosted image, which is caused by paper movement during the transfer, mist the transfer with a temporary thermal adhesive spray on the print side. This will temporarily hold the transfer on the towel’s surface.

You don’t need to print full-bleed transfers to make a great towel. Full bleeds may not even be possible, depending on the output size of your printer and heat press platen size. To print on larger towels, try dividing the design into several transfers for multiple pressings.

Although transferring one-piece, full-bleed designs in multiple pressings may be impractical—imperfections are often created as two pressings are joined—you may have success with multiple pressings that are naturally divided by a white background. For example, you could use multiple pressings to transfer a logo, image and slogan onto a larger towel that would not fit onto a smaller heat press. If customers frequently order bigger, full-color bleeds on large towels, consider partnering with another decorator who owns bigger sublimation presses.

Finding a market

Sublimated towels are popular in many niche markets, from the traditional to the unexpected. Don’t be afraid to think beyond expected uses for towels: think of them as terry cloth trophies. Try marketing them as groomsman gifts, safety awards, baby gifts, housewarming gifts, gifts from realtors, religious gifts, pet towels, corporate gifts, and school spirit towels. Always remember to show samples and to market sublimated products, such as mugs and towels, together for maximum value.

Several programs can help you find the right prospects and close sales, such as Unisub’s Sublimation Target Marketing. This program’s modules explain the fundamentals of sublimation and help you focus on a niche market, such as team sports, suggesting which sports could be most lucrative.

The program also lists helpful associations related to the niche, contact information, and Web site links for prospective customers in a region. A generic sales letter and pricing and packaging suggestions are also provided.

Additional niches you can market sublimated towels to include:

Sports. Serious golfers carry golf towels; most golfers will buy two or more a year. Golf towels, like bag tags, are high-demand items that sublimation can turn into high-profit products. Digital decorators can customize towels with a variety of designs including tournament promotions, course photos, club logos, corporate sponsor logos, and course maps.

Towels are in high demand in other sports as well. As with golf, every bowler needs a towel. Find out about events and activities, and drop off some samples at your local bowling alley to target the regular crowd. Towels make great team gifts, for example, when they feature a photo of the team. And don’t forget boating and fishing. A photo of a prized catch on a hand towel is perfect evidence to support that big fish story. Or how about a towel for the next regatta?

Clubs and organizations. Consider promoting towels for fund-raisers and annual events. How about a towel for this year’s local chili cook-off? Also look to summer camps and fraternity and sorority events.

Product Promotion. Try this pitch with product promoters: “Imagine launching your new product with a photo on a hand or bath towel.” A terry cloth advertisement is far more memorable than a typical flier or brochure.

Partnerships. One fast way to achieve healthy sales is to partner with companies already selling to your target customer. For example, contact sports photographers and offer to provide sport towels to their customers at a reasonable price. Or call on local golf, tennis, and bowling pros to place your towels.

Sublimated towels can open new doors for digital decorators, giving them an easy way to wipe out the competition. When quick, customizable imprinted products are requested, sublimation can be a profitable solution. The possible markets are only governed by your imagination.

52. Resizing images: Uncheck the resample box in Adobe Photoshop under “image > image size” or for elements “image > image size > resize image.” In Corel Photo Paint, check the box “Maintain Original File size”. These features can really screw up your image. When you are resizing an image, you want to either push the dots closer or spread them out. Using these features improperly makes it so the software will either add dots out of thin air or delete them by maintaining the current resolution.

53. Use Genuine Fractals to add more resolution when a higher-resolution image is not available. This inexpensive plug-in for Photoshop is a great band-aid for low-resolution images.

54. Yes, you really need both CorelDRAW and Photoshop. CorelDRAW is our “Swiss Army knife” for graphics and page layout. Photoshop is our image prep program. For most things, I prefer Adobe Photoshop to Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Most people should buy Photoshop Elements, as it is inexpensive and gets the job done.

55. To make black-and-white (grayscale) images print best, convert the image from grayscale to RGB in Photoshop under Image: Mode: RGB.

Spot Colors

56. For “no surprise color matching,” print your color palettes using Corel’s undocumented “create color swatch macro” feature. (See my article from 2005 Sublimation Almanac, posted at www.conde.com/support for full details.) Color matching is the No. 1 issue and this amazing free feature in CorelDRAW is the best solution I know of. For other programs like Photoshop, drop me an email at dgross@conde.com.

57. If you need to match Pantone colors, buy a Pantone swatch book. Most large corporations specify their colors with a Pantone solid-coated color. You must have the Pantone swatch book to know what that color should look like; then you can use my color matching tip above to nail the proper color.

58. Verify that CorelDRAW’s “fountain steps” are set to 256. Some versions are set to 64, which prints poorly. Look in “print preview: setting: Misc.”

59. Check out Smart Designer from Digital Art Solutions. It is an excellent add-on for CorelDRAW that simplifies complex actions.

60. For Photoshop Elements users, I suggest Photoshop Essentials from www.ononesoftware.com. It is a bundle that includes Genuine Fractals.

61. Check out www.vectormagic.com for converting raster graphics to vector. This software and on-line tool works better than anything I have ever used.

62. Join www.istockphoto.com. This is the best collect of photos, vector art, and backgrounds.

63. Be sure to check out our massive template collection for Photoshop and CorelDRAW users. We also have some excellent videos to assist you in using the templates.

64. For Photoshop users: When opening a file, I see the message “This file does not have an embedded profile”. What should I do? You should assign SRGB and convert to workspace, which I suggest should be Adobe RGB 1998.

65. Should I use RGB or CMYK colors? For photos, we really want to work in the RGB world since the devices that produce photos (like digital cameras and scanners) produce RGB colors. Both work for graphics, but you can achieve a much larger color space (color gamut) with RGB compared with CMYK.

66. In CorelDRAW, the Replace Wizard can easily convert all of the spot colors used in a graphic (Pantone, CMYK, etc) to RGB for printing. When in CorelDRAW, choose Edit > Find and Replace > Replace Objects. The Replace Wizard menu will pop-up. Select “Replace a color model or palette” > Next. Select “Find any color model or color palette” and next to “Replace with the color model:”, select RGB. A Find & Replace box will pop-up. Push the “Replace All” button. Depending on the image’s complexity, it’ll take a few moments for CorelDRAW to search the entire page and replace any non-RGB colors with their RGB equivalents.

67. Why do my scans look so bad compared with my digital camera? Scanners cannot detect what is the correct white balance of the scan. You must do this step in Photoshop under “Image adjust levels” or “enhance lighting levels”. A quick fix is to try “Auto Contrast”.

Marketing/Sales

68. Put your contact information on every product you sell. For instance, sublimate the re-order info (your contact info plus the artwork filename) on the back of, say, a Unisub FRP name badge so folks can refer business to you. You can transfer to both sides at the same time. For mugs, I suggest using Rowmark MATES oval stickers on the bottom of the mugs and on the back of products. If you are whole selling the product then put the appropriate contact info.

69. Sell name badges! Without a doubt, this is my favorite sublimation product. Schools, churches, and businesses need either traditional or slotted name badges. Profits are excellent!

70. Always sell and promote product bundles. If the customer buys a mug, offer a discount if he/she also buys a mousepad.

71. Plant seeds! Provide targeted prospects with samples personalized for them. This is a great way to open doors to new clients. Join your local chamber of commerce and send a name badge or desk plate to selected members. Network!

72. Get involved with silent auctions for charities. This is an amazing way to get great PR for almost nothing. Give away something appropriate for the event.

73. Tap into event driven opportunities like car shows, sports, hobbies, and pet shows. These provide impulse buying opportunities.

74. Install a free tile mural in a public or high traffic area and use this as your calling card to show folks what you can do.

Part 2 in a special 4 part series by the sublimation expert – David Gross! Check back often for the updates!

26. Printed transfers should be transferred within a few days or else the image(s) will lose vibrancy.

27. When possible, put your paper in your printer long edge first (landscape) and then define a custom paper size. This trick will increase print speeds up to 30% because the printhead does more “interstate driving” (moving longer before stopping) than “city driving.”

Computer

28. Use the <Shift> <Print Screen> command to capture your screen at print time to help you remember what it should look like. Paste the screen into Photoshop or CorelDRAW document for saving and printing. Also remember to document your printing preferences, CorelDRAW’s “Tools/Color Management” and “Print Preview” screens. You will be very thankful when you have to reinstall your software or move to a new PC.

29. For Microsoft Windows folks, go into the Advance tab of the Printer Properties and check the box “Keep Printed Documents.” This hidden treasure allows you to re-print any job from the print folder without using your application. Great for repeat jobs.

30. Use the Windows system’s restore feature when your computer has a major problem. This will return Windows to an earlier date before the problem occurred. This has saved me many times.

31. Remember to archive all your artwork files for future orders on an external USB hard drive. Rotate drives for off-site storage in the event of fire or theft.

32. Should you go with 64 bit windows? I say a qualified yes. For new computers that do not need to run old software applications, go with 64 bit versions. It has a much higher RAM limit and delivers better performance. ArTainium and Gel folks are all set since we can use our ICC profiles with the native printer drivers. For very old Epson printers, check first. For instance, Epson 3000 folks are out of luck as there is no 64 bit driver. No problem for 4000 series printers.

33. Max out your RAM. The limit for Vista is 4GB.

34. Of course install virus/spyware/firewall software. I like Microsoft’s OneCare… visit www.onecare.live.com for more information.

35. Don’t bother buying monitor calibration equipment or software unless you have a nice new monitor like a Sony brand. If you think you have a nice monitor, then install and use the ICC profile for it.

Heat Press

36. Measure your heat press’ temperature at least twice a year. I recommend a low-tech solution: a metal candy thermometer. If you determine the press is out of calibration, contact your supplier partner for the “magic buttons” to push.

37. Always use protective paper on the top and bottom of a substrate while it is being pressed. This will protect your heat platen, bottom pad, and substrate. I recommend a roll of uncoated, white butcher paper available at Sam’s Club. I seldom recommend Teflon sheets, as it traps moisture and will transfer sublimation ink to the next substrate. I do, however, recommend it for products with adhesive backs such as Rowmark’s MATES material and our fabric patches.

38. Lubricate your press every month with high-temp grease to ensure smooth operation and long life.

39. Check that your press closes evenly by cutting a sheet of paper into four squares and placing 1/2 of each square under each corner of the press. Then close with light pressure. Verify that each square pulls with the same resistance. If not, the press may need to be adjusted.

40. Check to see if a shuttle attachment is available for your press. This is an awesome productivity enhancer that allows you to press a product while prepping for the next.

41. If you do lots of double-sided products like bag tags, consider a product like the cool plate. This large “heat sink” cools your substrate in a fraction of the normal time, allowing for increased productivity.

42. Remember a bigger pot boils slower. As you press more stuff at one time, you must (in most cases) increase your transfer time.

43. Invest in a small convection oven for doing larger quantity mugs and other ceramic items like dog bowls and latte mugs (I like the Cuisinart Brick Oven that’s good for up to six 11oz. mugs). Be sure to get a thermometer to accurately set your temperature. You will need wraps to hold the transfer to the substrate. Be sure to follow the instructions. Only use this oven for sublimation, not for food preparation.

44. Always use an adhesive lint roller on soft substrates. This usually removes the blue lint that can show up after sublimation.

45. Use Pro Spray to hold the transfer to soft substrates. This prevents the paper from moving when opening the press, which causes a shadow print. I suggest you make a spray box so that the spray does not make a mess on your floor or table.

46. Remember to cool ceramic mugs in room temperature water after pressing. This will stop the sublimation process.

47. Buy a swing away heat press. It closes evenly and will put out a lot more heat.

48. A Teflon pillow will help prevent unsightly transfer marks on fabric during the transfer process and help avoid heavy seams on products such as tote bags.

Graphics

49. To reset CorelDRAW to it’s default menus, press F8 as you are launching the program.

50. Use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements at the front end to prepare images for CorelDRAW. CorelDRAW will not properly handle resolution. This must be done either in Photoshop or Photo Paint. See tip No. 29 on “resizing images.”