DYE SUBLIMATION PRINTER RESOLUTION

[August]

Brandon1970,

I'm not sure what you are talking about... dye-sub printers don't use ink. They use 3 color film, which is transfered to the paper by heat. Kind of like an iron on transfer.

Sincerely,

August

[Setiprime]

August - Good catch - I think there are a lot of people who misunderstand Dye Sub, not realizing it is a totally different technology.

[fperry]

There are several companies offering dye sub ink CIF units for inkjet printers,these are used to print on a substrate that is then used in a heat press to transfer the print to fabric,I guess that is where the misunderstanding is,I suppose that the last part of the process could be called dye sub.They also offer printer profiles based on the fabric type. :-?

[DerekB]

I think the confusion is over dye based inks, as used in Inkjet printers, and dye sub printers, which use a different technology. The CIF units mentioned are large bottles of ink to save having to use umpteen cartridges. they can be dye or pigmnent inks but use normal paper. Dye sub printers use film ribbons and heat to sublimate the ink onto special paper (thats how they get their name).

There is no way that any injet can be made to become a Dye Sub. It's like trying to convert a digital camera to take film (I know that there was an attempt made to do it the other way round, but basically it comes down to cost)


There are large dye sub printers that can do giant prints, but you are talking mammoth machines for commercial printers that cost about the same as a house and need about the same space to use them.

[sublimtech]

if you want to try some good subli-paper, visit our page. This Qualimage paper comes from Switzerland... i tried it, very-very good photo qualitat, fast drying.

our page is: www.sublimation-tech.com or www.qualimage.hu

[wingnut1]

There are pros and cons to both DS and inkjet. a 6, 8 or 10 colour inkjet just can't be beaten by a DS for colour gamut. Also red bleed is a problem with DS that hasn't been fixed. The advantage of DS of course is the prints are laminated and waterproof and last for years.

I suppose the ideal solution would be an inkjek that also laminated the prints as they rolled out of the printer. But this isn't possible now because current injet technology means the print has to breathe or gas for while before it can be covered.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by IanWgglswrth

Hi Ian,

Have just found a little more info:-

300 dpi on a dye-sub relates to about 4800 dpi on an inkjet.

400 dpi on a dye-sub relates to about 6400 dpi on an inkjet.

...

This is a rough approximation. It varies with the dithering algorithms used in the inkjet printer and the number of inks used.

One reason there is no push for higher resolution dye-sub printers is the additional resolution would be useless. Human eyes can't see finer detail that what is resolved by 300-400dpi dye-subs.

As to clogging and fading, modern state of the art pigment based inkjet printers, when used with the proper paper, are more permanent than dye-sub print. Also, clogging can be solved. HP has completely solved the head clogging in their B9180, B8850, and the current Z-series grande-format printers.

[Chato]

Try printing small text on a dye sub, and you will know why ink-jets will be around for a long time.

Dave