Premium 100 ml GRAY (NOT BLACK) Sublimation Ink for Epson XP-15000 (IS100RED-AE)

100 ml Sublimation Ink

• - This is Sublimation ink.  DO NOT buy it for regular printing.
• - The color is GRAY (not Black). This ink is only for Printers using Gray ink, such as XP-15000
• - Compatible with all Epson printers.  Compatible with DURABrite Ink.
• - Easy to operate.  No need for ICC profiles for most prints (1).
• - Proprietary resin coating technology provides extra-sharp text and graphics (2,3,4).
• - Great for making T-shirts, mugs, iPhone covers, and other art and craft prints.
• - Produce a broader gamut for more vivid color; durable prints resist fading (2,4).
• - The ink is for use with a refillable cartridge or CIS that you already have. Refer to your refillable cartridge or CIS manual for how to refill. No refill tool or CIS/Cartridge manual included.

(1)  This ink is formulated for Epson's desktop printer.  We used Epson’s default color management as the target.  Under normal circumstances, there is no need for ICC files if it is used with Epson’s default color management profile.  However, if a customer has special needs such as printing on non-white material and wants the color to be exactly right, BCH also provides ICC service (with fees).  Click here to find out about the ICC service.

(2) Epson's DURABrite pigment ink uses an exclusive Microencapsulation technology where each pigment particle is encased in a resin.  Similarly, we put sublimation colorants in resin then suspend them in a polymer matrix that performs much better than regular dye sublimation ink.  This design has resulted in many advantages:

(3) Higher transfer rate.  BCH sublimation ink particles lie on top of transfer paper and are not absorbed into the coating.  

(4) Extra-sharp text and graphics.  Our ink produces a much smaller spot size with the same size ink droplet and thus provides higher density with a darker black.

Sublimation 101

Sublimation is a process to apply images to polyester and materials such as ceramics, metals, iPhone covers, and more.  

1. Find an Epson printer that uses DURABrite ink.  Purchase empty refillable cartridges and fill them with sublimation ink.  Sublimation ink doesn't print in true colors, so the printer should be dedicated to sublimation printing.

2. Print an image on specially coated paper (transfer paper).  Cheap transfer papers can be purchased on eBay or Amazon. BCH also has a collection of professional transfer papers.  Click here to find out about BCH transfer paper. A high quality coated paper will provide a better transfer rate and better printouts.  

3. Prepare target material.  When used with 100% polyester (or >80% with BCH Premium ink), a coating is not needed.  However, if you want to print on materials such as ceramics, fiber boards, metals, etc., you will need to buy coated blanks or coating agents.  For cotton, BCH is developing a non-breaking coating material.  If you are interested, you can apply for a tester's account via email support@bchtechnologies.com.

4. Attach the transfer paper to the target material.  Apply heat and pressure according to a heat press machine's user manual.  This process differs from device to machine.  We provide a generic setting below for your reference.

5.  Now your image is transferred to the target with true, vivid color.

The Difference between Standard, Premium and Ultra Premium Grades

The Standard

Want to make T-shirts, hats, and/or mugs but don't want to break the bank? BCH Standard Grade sublimation ink is a perfect solution for home users and small businesses. The ink matches and exceeds OEM specifications for color, pH, surface tension and viscosity and has the same longevity and UV rating as premium ink.   Basically, the standard grade is comparable to the regular sublimation inks on the market: from eBay or Amazon... for instance.  The Standard Grade ink is not designed for high volume professional printing, so use premium grade instead for professional use.

The Premium

Basically, human eyes are trained to look for contrast.  So when you have a whole bunch of colors going on, it will be harder for you to tell if a color is true or not.  Therefore, when you select ink, you want to have ink that can express a wider range of colors and make the black the darkest black, so your printout’s color appears more eye-popping.

The premium grade ink is designed for professional studios.  The premium ink can express a wider range of colors and has a deeper black.  Our premium grade black is much stronger, and colors are much brighter than all other inks.  The ink is also formulated for high-volume commercial printing.  This grade is our #1 exported ink for international sales and used by many professional shops around the globe.

The Ultra Premium Extra Black

The extra black is 2-3 times darker than regular shades of black.  We only make the ultra-premium for the black color because most people's eyes won't be susceptible to color saturation but are more sensitive to contrast.  Darker black makes the color more vivid and sharper.  The human eye perceives an image to be sharper and of higher quality when the image has a high contrast ratio. A deeper black increases contrast levels improve image sharpness and all-around image quality.

Black is the hardest color to sublimate.  Many people find their black transfer either blueish or brownish black.  The un-transferred black element is dark brown.  Under heat, different colors are transferred at different times.    If the temperature or time is not sufficient, there will be un-transferred black left so the final result will be a brownish black.  Furthermore, if you have the heat too high or pressed for too long, the colors will become desublimated, which means they will transfer back to the original state.  Consequently, you will end up with brownish black as well.  

Because the extra dark black has more black elements, it is even harder to get the color pressed correctly.  However, if you master the skill of using this black, here are the benefits:

1. Have the most eye-popping black print on Earth.

2. In instances where a project doesn't require such professional results, customers can dial down the amount of black, taking advantage of cost savings by using less ink.  

3. Combine with Standard Grade Color ink to save money.  Also, if money is an issue, customers can use Standard Grade color ink and use extra dark black to achieve a professional result.  

BCH is a registered trademark of BCH Technologies LLC, USA, and distributed by licensed resellers listed on www.bchtechnologies.com. Any counterfeit or illegal distribution of BCH products is prosecutable by law.