A coyote howling drawing

Today I’m sharing a coyote print & photo. I drew the coyote in pen and ink and printed it with sublimation ink onto special paper. Then I used a heat press to transfer it onto a fabric bag. I gave the finished product to a friend for a birthday present.

This was my first attempt at this type of printing. It turned out a little blurry. I tried transferring another one of my drawings and didn’t have the press hot enough. Maybe I should have read the suggested settings by the fabric manufacturer. 😉

Sublimation printing

What is sublimation printing? It uses heat to bind the ink and fabric together. A post on prodigi describes it as follows: “The inks that are used turn into gas when brought under heat, then combine with the fabric and permanently print onto the fabric.” They compare it to a tattoo.

One thing to think about if you are considering trying this type of printing; the printer should only be used with sublimation inks. Fortunately, the cost of the equipment is relatively low. I bought an Epson ET-2800 printer and an Offnova heat press machine for less than $300 total. Of course, you can spend hundreds of dollars if you want products with more features.

I’ve tried transferring images using other methods, with limited success. Using a glue-like liquid medium works, but the final product is very stiff. Standard iron-ons printed with inkjet printers may fade and/or crack over time.

I have many drawings sitting in file folders and digitized on hard drives. Some were done as part of a contract; others were drawn for my own use.

I hope to eventually share more of them with you, presented in different ways. Since I’m kinda clumsy, I’m sure I’ll stumble along the way. I’ll have to go through a period of trial and error.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

Scott Adams

A coyote howling photo

I’m also sharing a photo I took of a coyote howling. This is one of my favorite pictures of a coyote. Can you see why?

I hope you enjoyed seeing my coyote print & photo and learning a little bit more about sublimation printing. 😀

Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.

First Friday Art