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© 2012 Australian Graphic Supplies Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved. ABN 81 082 517691

1

DYE-SUBLIMATION HARDWARE

Information and Price Catalogue

Effective 1st June 2012

Private and Confidential

BRISBANE | SYDNEY | MELBOURNE

| 1300 132 677 | 1300 132 688 | sales@ags.com.auT F E

© 2012 Australian Graphic Supplies Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved. ABN 81 082 517691

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction Into Dye-Sublimation 3

FAQ’s 4

Need to Know: Substrates 5

Need to Know: Graphics Software 5

Need to Know: Colour Correction 5

Dye-Sublimation Printers 6

Printer Comparison Chart 7

ArTainium UV+ Printers 8

Ricoh SubliJet-R Printers 10

Heat Presses 13

Accessories 15

AGS has been a licensed Distributor of the

Sawgrass Inks for over 10 years now

(formerly through Power Digital). The

commitment to quality, reliability and

performance by Sawgrass Technologies Inc.

has cemented this strong relationship and

enabled AGS to be one of Australia’s leading

suppliers of Dye-Sublimation solutions.

Sawgrass Consumer Division provides high

performance dye sublimation inks and colour

management software for personalising

consumer products, such as photo gifts,

promotional products, awards and

recognitions, decorated apparel, indoor

signage, home décor, and much more...

For more information, downloads, support

and tutorials check out our new website:

www.ags.com.au.

Product Tutorials and Instructions can be

found under the ‘Resources’ tab

Technical Information and Installation

Support can be found under the ‘Services -

Digital Transfer’ tab.

All prices are correct at time of printing. All prices exclude GST and freight and are subject to change without notice. Standard AGS Terms & Conditions of sale apply.

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© 2012 Australian Graphic Supplies Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved. ABN 81 082 517691

3

Whether you are already in the Dye-Sublimation business or about to embark on a

new venture it is important to understand the basic science behind dye-sublimation.

Dye: to impregnate colour into a material. Many times this colour change is

permanent.

Sublimation: a change directly from the solid to a gas without becoming liquid.

Dye-Sublimation: Solid dye particles are changed into gas using heat and

pressure, then bond with any polyester polymers present, and change back into a

solid.

Many people think that the dye sublimation process is a new technology but this is

certainly not the case. Originating in the 1950's, dye sublimation technology has in

recent times been revolutionised by its application with digital inkjet printing

technology. When invented it was found that synthetic fabrics such as polyester

could not be coloured with the dying process used with natural fibres such as wool

and cotton.

The process developed to colour synthetic fabrics was to place special dyes on a

paper using screen print technology. This paper was then placed on the fabric in a

heat press. When heat is applied to the dyes it goes from a solid to a gas without

going through a liquid state, a bit like dry ice. The vaporised dye sublimates into the

open pores of the fabric and when the heat is removed the dye solidifies thus dyeing

it on a permanent microscopic basis. Any polyester garments such as football

jumpers, swimwear, kids pyjamas etc. are all coloured by this dye sublimation

process.

The big moment was when the dyes have been refined to a stage that they can now

be passed through the nozzles of standard ink-jet technology. This eliminated the

cost prohibitive set up associated with traditional screen printing. This process was

patented by Sawgrass Technologies Inc. worldwide, including Australia, USA and

Europe.

Beside its traditional use on synthetic fabric, dye sublimation can be used to

decorate on a vast and growing array of polyester coated products. These coated

items include ceramics, metal, wood, jewellery, clocks, coasters, mats, name

badges to name a few.

Custom Products As Easy at Create, Print and Press!

Create! Create or import your artwork using a graphic program, like CorelDRAW® or Adobe® PhotoShop®.

Print! Print your image using ArTainium® UV+ or SubliJet-R® sublimation inks, a standard Epson® or

Ricoh® printer and high quality sublimation paper.

Press! Using a standard flatbed or mug heat press, transfer the image onto a wide variety of substrates.

Introduction into Dye-Sublimation

Key Points to remember:

+ Substrate MUST have a

polyester coating or

content.

+ Substrate MUST be heat

resistant to 200C. All

products supplied by AGS

are sublimation ready!

+ Sublimation inks MUST

be used in a compatible

Epson or Ricoh printer.

+ Compatible sublimation

papers are recommended

for different ink types/

brands.

+ Sublimated products

are not suitable for long

term outdoor use.

+ Sawgrass Technologies

Inc. hold the patent to

dye-sublimation inks. All

other ‘unbranded’ or

‘non-Sawgrass’ inks are

infringing the worldwide

patent. All inks supplied

by AGS are licensed by

Sawgrass.

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4

Why can’t I sublimate dark material?

Dye-sublimation inks are water based inks, therefore they are transparent when they are pressed. If you try press

onto a dark substrate you will not see anything, if you try press onto a gold substrate the gold will show through,

slightly changing your colours. Think about when you go to do a slideshow on a projector - you need a white wall.

This is the same theory as with dye-sublimation. You need to have a white base to enable the colours to be true. The

only way you can print an image onto a dark garment is using the PromaSubFLOCK. This is a thin white vinyl that

you heat press onto and then cut out and press onto your garment. The Flock provides the white base.

Why can’t I sublimate onto cotton?

Dye-Sublimation is designed to bond to polyester fibres and ignore everything else. When it comes to garments and

fabric blends we recommend a minimum of 65% polyester, but remember because the ink will only penetrate the

polyester, the less polyester in your fabric the less quality image you will have. And also remember it has to be light

coloured.

If it only works with polyester then why can I print onto glass and ceramics?

If the substrate is not a polyester fabric then it has been sprayed with a polyester coating. All of the products Power

Digital supplies come pre-coated. We only source products with a good quality coating, as with everything there are

varying qualities of coating and this can effect the longevity of the print as well as the durability. Power Digital also

stocks a range of coatings that you can spray yourself. Remember not all products will be suited for the press, either

because of their size, shape or resilience to heat.

What about plastics?

You can’t sublimate onto just any piece of plastic. Many polymers cannot withstand the amount of heat needed to do

the sublimation part of the process, and if they can stand the heat what’s going to happen when you add some

pressure and time? Many of them melt and shrink. FRP (Fibre Reinforced Plastic) is what all of the plastics supplied

by Power Digital are made from.

Who are Sawgrass Technologies?

Sawgrass Technologies, Inc. is a specialty chemical research company developing innovative vertical market

solutions with patented digital transfer imaging technology. By combining leading-edge digital ink products with

advanced colour management software, Sawgrass has developed state–of–the–art systems for high-quality colour

printing of personalized and customised images onto a wide variety of surfaces. These technologies enable

customers to create, manage, and deliver visually rich products by harnessing the power of digital printing.

Did Sawgrass invent inkjet sublimation printing?

Prior to the mid–1990's, a commercially viable/stable inkjet sublimation ink was not available in the market. There

were unsuccessful attempts to sell sublimation inks for use in inkjet printers. These inks however tended to quickly

settle out and could not be printed for more than a few hours without permanently damaging the print heads.

Sawgrass' first solution for the problems encountered with inkjet sublimation was a wax thermal sublimation printer

product released in the early 1990's. Shortly after the successful release of wax thermal sublimation p