by Amanda 2 Comments
Confused about what settings to use to print sublimation designs from Silhouette Studio to Epson WF 7720 printers converted to sublimation? I see several posts a day on sublimation forums for new users looking for print settings from Silhouette Studio for converted Epson printers. I use Silhouette Studio to print my sublimation designs. Here is a run down of what has worked best for me!
Sublimation Printer and Ink
To start off, I’m using an Epson WF 7720 with Cosmos Ink. These settings should work for Epson WorkForce printers using Cosmos ink, but I have only tested them with my WF 7720. The Epson EcoTank printers use a different type of ink, so these settings probably won’t work for the EcoTanks.
Why Do I Need to Mess with the Print Settings?
Because we are using non-Epson ink, we need to change the color settings to get accurate colors with the sublimation ink. Silhouette Studio does not use color profiles that you can load in like Photoshop. However, we can change the color management settings to get around that. If using the default print settings, your colors will probably be way off. Skin tones and reds seem to be the most problematic. If you are having issues with those colors, it’s probably due to your settings. Paper Type is another important setting as this controls how much ink the printer releases onto the paper.
Color Management Settings
To adjust the color settings for Cosmos Ink, go into the “More Options” tab of the Printing Preferences menu and under “Color Correction,” select “Custom” and then hit the “Advanced…” button. On this menu, select “ICM” for the Color Management setting. Hit OK and print your design. If you’re getting lines on your print, be sure to uncheck the “High Speed” option and/or hardwire to the printer instead of printing over wifi.
Paper Type & Quality
I primarily use “High Quality Plain Paper.” This paper type has worked great for me on a wide variety of substrates from textiles to mugs. I have heard many people say that they like “Premium Presentation Matte Paper” but for the WF 7720, High Quality Plain Paper seems to work great with A-Sub’s 120g paper.
Why are the paper settings important? These tell the printer how much ink to lay out. For some of the premium paper options, the printer will feed more ink through. However, this may be wasted ink. If you press your design and find that the paper is still really saturated with ink, but your pressed item looks vibrant, your print settings may be telling the printer to put too much ink down, or your paper may be too thick.
Select your transfer paper based on how much ink saturation you need. If you use too light of a paper, such as 105g weight paper, it may not hold enough ink for vibrant transfers. If you use too heavy of a paper, such as 125g weight, it may jam in the printer and absorb so much ink that it bleeds on the blank substrate. I use 120g paper as a nice middle of the road option.
For the print Quality setting. I have found Standard to be sufficient for most of my designs. However, when pressing photographs, the High quality setting really kicks it up a notch!
A Few More Notes:
The design you choose must be mirrored prior to printing or in the print settings. The mirrored box is on the “More Options” tab.
Remember that your printed transfer will be dull. Don’t be alarmed when the colors look completely wrong! I’ve noticed that greens in particular look very wrong. Keep the faith that it will pop post pressing!
I’m also a firm believer in testing. Don’t expect your first settings to work perfectly. Have extra material on hand for testing colors and settings! If you are doing t-shirts, go to your local fabric store and buy inexpensive polyester fabric so you don’t waste your blanks on testing.
I hope this helps!
~Amanda
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