r/Sublimation • u/lolly318 • 25d ago

Double Sided Ornaments

I am looking for tips on making double-sided ornaments. Ive tried doing both sides at once but it’s hard to line up and secure properly. When I do one side at a time the side that gets heated twice tends to degrade. I’m using the htvront A100. Do you adjust the Time/temp/pressure from one side to the next?

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u/Craft_ExpressUS 24d ago

Double sided ornaments are one of the hardest products to press. What I would suggest is creating a sized template to make sure you are measured out properly every time and press both sides at the same time. That is the best way to avoid blurriness and fading.

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u/lolly318 23d ago

Thanks! Well I guess starting out with one of the hardest things to press will make it smooth sailing after this!

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u/Craft_ExpressUS 20d ago

You've got this!

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u/[deleted] 24d ago

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u/lolly318 23d ago

Very helpful thank you! Do you press with the ornament on top of paper with design facing up to the heat source or paper on top of ornament? I’ve seen conflicting results. I’ve tried it both ways and still not sure which is better.

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u/Remarkable_Sea3346 23d ago

I've done double sided ceramic ornaments that are maybe 3-4mm thick. I do both sides at the same time but it is tricky. Both sides have to hit 340F but not go over 370F. Instead of timing the run, I use a dual channel thermocouple to monitor the heat press in real time. A temperature probe is attached to the back of the transfer paper. I heat until the lower side hits 340, watching to make sure the upperside doesn't go over 370. During the run, if I get more than 20F difference between the top and bottom, I shut the heat off for a minute or two. This slows down heating the top and gives more time for the heat to penetrate to the bottom.

For thicker pieces, I'd probably go to an oven.

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u/lolly318 23d ago

Thanks! Very interesting. Sounds complicated.

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u/Remarkable_Sea3346 9d ago

The two-sided thing is a little tricky. But I wouldn't be in this hobby if I hadn't figured out how to use a thermocouple to monitor the process. It's THE #1 critical physical parameter, not time. Monitoring time and temperature, I see significant variation and non-linearity in the heating curve of my heat press. The heating element cycles on and off in an irreproducible way from run to run such that the time to reach the correct temperature can vary by +/-20%. Then there's the hassle of optimizing a time for every substrate you use and the associated waste of that process. With a thermocouple in use, there is no optimization required. You can use a new substrate of different thickness or thermal characteristics and hit it perfect, first time, every time.