Sublimation printing - creating color profiles

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zedonet
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Sublimation printing - creating color profiles

Post by zedonet »

With sublimation printing, an individually created color profile is particularly important, because the color reproduction in sublimation differs significantly from normal printing on paper and there are several suppliers for sublimation ink, transfer paper and different materials that are printed. With our color measurement service you can create individual color profiles also for sublimation.

How it works:

1. Open the "PrintFab" app and create a new profile entry

Open the color profile management with the button "Profiles" and create a new color profile with button "New profile...".
First select paper type and print quality and ink saturation limit:

printfab-win-en-profile-1.png
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  • As "Type of paper", select "Matte inkjet paper"
  • The highest quality is preset for the print quality. For sublimation, a somewhat lower quality is usually sufficient, here we select "1440dpi".
  • We recommend the default ink saturation limit (250 or 300 depending on the printer model). If necessary, you can also print a saturation test line and check up to which ink application the printout is still sharp - if there is too much ink, it will bleed into neighbouring color fields.
Then please give the profile a name, under this name the profile will be available in the "Paper type" selection in the print dialog. You can fill in the other fields freely:

printfab-win-en-profile-2.png
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Finally, confirm with the "Ok" button.

2. Print the color chart on the transfer paper

Continue with printing the color chart on the transfer paper - button "Print color chart":

printfab-win-en-profile-3.png
printfab-win-en-profile-3.png (18.93 KiB) Viewed 78895 times

You need a "Order Number", you can get it in our online shop for EUR 39,95:

https://www.zedonet.com/en_shop_tp_profile.phtml

For a test print you can use the following number: 7010-0854-2802-7161
As "Chart Type" for sublimation printing we recommend the setting "Proof/Studio Profile".

3. Transfer to textile or other material

In order for the color reproduction to be correct, it is very important that the sublimated object (T-shirt, coated aluminum plate, etc.) is sent in (not the transfer paper). It must be flat and at least in A4/Letter size. It is not a problem that the printout is mirrored in the transfer press.

Unfortunately, ceramic cups are not suitable for color profiling, as they have too little surface area and are round. Alternatively, printing on a white aluminium plate (coated for sublimation) with an area of at least 20 x 25cm is recommended. Important: when sublimating on aluminium, the metal is on top of the transfer paper (the metal is heated).

printfab-win-en-profile-4.jpg
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4. Send in the color chart

Please send us the color chart sublimated onto fabric or other material:

ZEDOnet GmbH
Sedanstrasse 8
87600 Kaufbeuren
Germany

Important: If you have to do a declaration of the letter content for customs, make sure to specify a value of 0 (zero), otherwise shipment is delayed and there are tax fees.

5. Profiling is done by us

Usually you will receive your color profile by e-mail in less than 7 days. The ZEDOnet color profile measuring service will only process color charts sent in with valid order number printed on them.

Note: The profile file is designed for dynamic color management of PrintFab drivers and is not in ICC format. Upon request, we will also send an ICC color profile for integration into application programs (soft proof).

6. Import color profile

To import the color profile, go back to the color profile management, press the "Import..." color data button and select the color profile file that you received from us.

7. Print with PrintFab and the color profile

The following PrintFab settings are important

Tab "Main":

printfab-win-en-profile-5.png
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Quality - select a high quality so that you get a good transfer result - e.g. 1440dpi
Paper - select the newly created profile

Tab "Color":

printfab-win-en-profile-6.png
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Color Mode = "Color (RGB)"
Intent = "Perception" or "Perception Photo" or "Saturation"
Color space = "sRGB (default)"

("Perception Photo" is a slightly higher in contrast, "Saturation" is recommended if there are strong colors in the document that would otherwise print too pale).

If you print from Photoshop or Illustrator, select "Let printer determine colors" in the application's print dialog.
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