Instructions for using

TOG Sublimation Laser Cartridges

When printing directly (not through the plastic)

To TOG Sublimation Coated Sheet Metal.

Design your graphics in your computer and or scan the image into your computer. When you get ready to print the image be sure to "flip or mirror image" the image so it will be a transfer. If you will design a hairline rectangular border 1/8 inch larger than your metal plate you wish to print and center all your graphics inside that border; it will help you center the graphics on the plate when you are ready to print. You will be printing the "border" with your graphics centered in the border.

It will take approximately 15 minutes for your heat press to get to printing temperature so turn it on ahead of time. Set the temperature to 350° to 360°F. This temperature is important. Any setting under 340° may cause the toner to stick too tightly to the metal and may cause gray printing. Any setting over 370° may cause the toner to "bleed" and the edges of your characters may be slightly distorted.

Remove the plastic protective covering from the metal plate. Preheat the bottom pad of your heat press for 5 or 6 seconds by closing the heat press without anything in it. Now lay your transfer "ink side up" on the warm pad of the heat press. This will pre-shrink the paper prior to printing. This will keep the image from blurring during the printing process. Center your cut metal plate inside the hairline rectangle you designed on your computer. Pull the handle of your heat press down until it locks in place. This process does not require heavy pressure. Set the timer for 20-25 seconds.

When the timer goes off, open the heat press. Immediately, while the metal is still in the heat press, separate the paper from the metal plate. The best way to do this is to pick up one edge of the paper and quickly turn the paper and the metal plate upside down. You will find the metal and the paper are stuck together. With your other hand (with a clean glove on or a clean heavy cloth wrapped around your finger) hold the metal plate down and pull the paper away from the metal. Do this quickly; you have a window of only a few seconds to separate the metal and the paper. Do not move your finger around on the metal as you may pick up some toner on your glove and double print the metal where the glove touches the metal the second time.

Now remove the metal from the heat press and lay in down on some object (that is heat resistant) to cool down or plunge it into a bucket of water as we do at the trade shows.

Once the plate has cooled to room temperature you can spray TOG Metal Cleaner on the plate. Do not use the Metal Cleaner while the plate is warm! The Metal Cleaner is a citrus based solvent which will break down the toner residue that is on the plate. Using a soft rag, wipe the Metal Cleaner off the plate. This will remove the toner residue. Next spray the plate with TOG Plaque Finish and clean the plate thoroughly with a clean cloth or soft paper towel. It is extremely important that you remove all traces of the Metal Cleaner. If you don't, then the solvent will continue to be a solvent. It will eat into the lacquer finish on the metal and can cause the lacquer to soften and the image to bleed and fade. So, do a good job of cleaning off the Metal Cleaner. TOG Plaque Finish will remove all the Metal Cleaner.

Once you have finished the metal with TOG Plaque Finish, you are ready to mount the plate. Do not get Plaque on the back side of your metal. It will be difficult to get double sided tape to stick over the area that has Plaque Finish on it.

The above procedure will deliver the highest quality sublimation printing. There is another way to print and that is called "printing through the plastic mask". The quality is not as sharp but there are times that it is acceptable. An example of this would be when you are printing 1" x 3" small trophy plates and they are going on $3.00 trophies. This method will be discussed on the next pages for those instructions.

Sublimation is an excellent process that will deliver high quality awards, save you a lot of time and is very economical to produce. Should you experience difficulty, please call us. The process is very fast and very easy, as long as you are following correct procedures.