 We just did some Christmas ornament sublimation testing on five different substrates. We tried wood, MDF, metal, and ceramic. And we'll show you what we found right now. What is up? A welcome back. Deal it to do a build and I'll make it so do we. And we have a new video each week. This week we're still in Christmas in July. It is right around the corner with a short 155 days. Yeah, and that might sound like a long time, but if you're a crafter looking to bring something to your craft show or farmer's market, tickety-tock, there's not much time. We got to get that stuff made and have it available in late fall. So this week we're looking at making some ornaments. Ornaments are hot sellers at any craft show and farmer's market. So we're going to make five different kinds of ornaments using five different bases. It's the same ornament, five different ways. Yes, five different bases, but we're going to sublimate them all. So as you know, we got this new Eco Tank printer, this Epson Eco Tank printer this year. And we really think we could do some cool designs with sublimation. And we want to put those on some ornaments. So we're going to try that today. Step one, we're going to gather all of our supplies. We needed the Epson Eco Tank printer that we converted to sublimation. We needed some sublimation paper. We needed a heat press. So we have our Cricut EasyPress 2. Then for the bases or the substrates, we have some eighth inch birch. We're going to put some polyacrylic on some. And then some we're just going to use plain birch. We have some eighth inch hardboard with dry erase on it. We heard we could sublimate on it. See this side's dark, light? Uh-huh. Then we have some whiteboard that is on quarter inch MDF. We're going to try that too. And we're going to use these metal plates so you can hear them. And these are coaster size, but we think we're going to turn them into this diamond shape and put a little hole at the top and make them an ornament. And we're going to use two different types of tile. These tiles were really popular last year and I look forward to trying to sublimate on these. We didn't have this option last year, so I really look forward to adding a cool design on these. I have two different sizes. One is four and a half by five and a half and this one's three and a half by four and a half. So this one is just plain white and the other one has a gray look to it and a kind of a crackle finish. Crackle finish to it. Yeah, we'll show you that one up close. I'm really excited about the tiles and doing those. We haven't seen what any of this looks like yet. Yeah, so come along for the ride. We're excited. I'm excited. Step two, we're going to make all of our cuts. I'm going to bring all the substrates over to the glow forge and cut out a design that's similar to the tile so that they all look alike. Yes, we're going to use that. Only the metal one will look a little bit different. I don't know how to cut the metal. Yeah, I don't have that cool tool yet. That's when we decided it was the best hand motion for printing because it was like a printer. I try to have a couple of different ones. He did. I try to have this one, this one, but this one felt most like a printer. All right, we digress. Good. If you remember, we converted this Epson Eco Tank printer into a sublimation printer. We're just using this and some A-sub paper. There's some writing on the back of each of the pages. It's gray, like a gray watermark. That goes in the back and you print on the side that's blank. And we've created our own sublimation design for this one. I think it's super cute, but that's what we're trying to do is start to create some news. We've got all these SVGs, so we're trying to create some sublimation images. I think we've got a cute one for this winter. So we're going to use that same image on everything and do a little comparison. I think it's a good image to show the colors and the bleeding of the colors. Overlapping patterns. Overlapping patterns. Yeah, things you just can't do with a Glowforge or Cricut. The only way you can do it is through sublimation. It's time for the sublimator. Are you going to do it? Because he was doing it downstairs earlier. Time for the sublimator. It's time for the sublimator. We're going to start with what we think will work the worst and work our way to what we think will be the best. So we're going to start with the untreated Baltic Birch. There's one. We have our images. Yes. We're all set and we're all ready. I'm stoked. Well, I'm not stoked on this one. I'm really stoked to see the hard board. But, you know, this one would be super easy. Yeah. We are using a piece of half inch plywood to protect our table so that it doesn't get a little warpy. I think. Do you want me to take that down? We'll take it to the plywood. Okay. You good? Yeah. I think so. I think it's good. Go ahead. I know you're playing it in your head. It's time for the percolator. It's time for the sublimator. All right. So I think all of these will be at 400 degrees. I think so. They're just different times for different materials. So for the birch, we're going in at 60 seconds, 400 degrees, 60 seconds. 400 degrees, 60 seconds, and we're in. You didn't put your meat hugger paper on there. Oh, I forgot the meat hugger paper. We're back out. You're going to have to use your, what is it, butcher paper. We only call it meat hugger now. That's the brand we got. It's hilarious. It's kind of like Q-tips or Kleenex or Pampers. Well, it didn't actually unfold, but that works. Going back in, 460 seconds. I'm not going to lean on it. I'm just going to give it a little pressure. Heavy pressure or medium pressure? It's like medium pressure. Right. She battled somebody. Oh, you have to wait for the story. All right, we're ready? Ready. How do you think this did? I think it did the worst. I think it did pretty good. Not bad. Not impressed, but not bad. All right, let's do the next one. You know what? It did. If you had a really rustic looking image, I think it came out. I think a good red and black buffalo plaid on there. Something real woodsy, rustic-y. Yeah, you could even throw the buffalo plaid and then some vinyl over top. That might look good. All right, let's do one that was treated. All right. This one we sprayed with some polycrylic. Just regular old polycrylic spray that we put over all of our signs after we paint them. The acrylic in the polyacrylic is supposed to sublimate. So let's see how this does and hold it down. Got it. I think this will do better. I think it'll pop a little more. It's my prediction. Make predictions. All right, back with it. That's the plan. That's what we've read. That's what research has told us. Let's see. Same 400, same 60 seconds going in. Same pressure. So what story was I telling? Wow. That's your trash talk right there. Favorite came with it. All right. How do you think this one did? Better? I hope. I think the yellows came out a little better. All right. That's a little hot. Hot, hot, hot. Maybe just... There you go. All right. So this is the one with the poly. This is the no poly. What do you think? I think this one is a little bit darker. Well, it's just yellowed. I feel like it yellowed. I mean, I would prefer... I think the reds came out a little redder. Yeah. A little more red. Yeah. And the whites came out. Look at that white. You can't really see the white on this one. I think that might be leftover from some of the paper off. I think it's stuck to the poly. All right. We'll look at it when we're done. Here's the first one. There's the second one. I think the quarter-inch melamine will do next best. Next best. Let's see. Now, you guys have seen a sublimate on the quarter-inch melamine before. And we know that that works. Except this is a little bit different melamine. So what we used before was what you would get at Home Depot and Lowe's, which is melamine on front and chalkboard on the back. This comes from our wood supplier, Worthwood. And it's more of a... It's less shiny. Yeah. It feels more like a paper or a plastic coating. Yes. So... And it does not have chalkboard on the back. So we're just going to see how this one looks. All right. 460 seconds. Third verse. Same as the first and second. All right. I think this one is going to pop. Oh, that one's toasty. I don't know. Oh, yeah. That thing is still smoking. I think so. And then look at that. Is that just from the steam going down to the... No. I think it's from the previous ornament. Oh, right, right. There's a ghosting on the board. Okay. Don't wiggle it. Don't wiggle it. It's stuck. Oh. Too hot. Too hot? Too long? Not to handle. Too cold to hold. It's pretty stuck. It is pulling the paper up. The melamine up. Okay. Dead. Oh, there's nothing on here. I think... That's hot. All right. So we think some of the film from the paper is left on the melamine. I'm going to try to use this dry eraser. Magic eraser. Really? I'm going to try to use this magic eraser to wipe it off. Yes, it's definitely working. Hold it up. Yeah. All right. That looks pretty good. It peeled up the melamine right there a little bit. It's stuck to it. It's like plasticky. So it was either too hot or too long. I think maybe less time. Yeah. Maybe. I don't think it was stuck. But it looks good. It looks good. It does. Those reds really pop. And the white really came through. I like it. All right. I got my hopes up for this eighth inch hard board. I think it's going to look the best out of the things that we cut on the blow forge. What is this? Same 400? Same 60 seconds? Yes. Same 60 seconds. Same bat time. Same bat channel. Bam. All right. You ready? I'm ready. Cho. Woo. I knew it. That looks good. And that thing came off super easy. Yeah. That's better. Woo. Woo. That's hot. Woo. Check that out. I mean, I had high hopes and this thing really came through. That looks good. Let's compare it. Here's the quarter inch and eighth inch hard board. What do you think? Yeah. What do you think? I think, yeah. That looks great. The image, yes. Yeah. All right. Now do you want to try one of these tiles? Yes. So these are still on. You think the gray tile will do worse than the white tile? I do. Okay. Can you get it up? I don't know. Does it stuck? It's peeling off. I just don't want to break anything. I got it. I got it. I got it. All right. That's cool. Let's give this a little wipe. Show that close up to one of your cameras here so you can really see what it looks like. See all the crackles in it. I think that's going to look really antique-ish. Really bring out the crackles in the leopard print. Yeah. I don't know if the leopard print needs crackles, but the tile is really pretty. All right. Ask me how long for this one? How long for this one? Is it 400? It is 400. 400. Or six minutes? Six minutes. Yes, Dougie Fresh. Six minutes. Wow. That's a long time. Are you sure? I mean, that's what the A-sub paper, so A-sub comes with a heat guide, a materials guide, and heat recommendations and settings and times, and that's what it says for ceramics, right? That's what this would be. Yes, ceramics. Six minutes, huh? Six minutes plus or minus one minute. Plus or minus one minute. That is a long... That is a big window. That's like a two-minute window. Did you change your timer? A lot could happen. No, I was just going to count six times. Swing! Oh, it looks weird on the outside already. All right, you ready? Yeah. Oh my God, this thing is going to be so hot. Don't want to pick it up, Garrett. Hold on. Use your tweezers. That didn't work at all. Even where it did hit really well. Yeah, I'm not going to pick that up and show you right now. I will show you later. All right, what's this one? Number five? Oh, this is actually number six. Small tile. This one's just white ceramic. Hold on. My spirits are down from the last one. I was on a high. I was rolling on a high with the hard board. And that last one really took the wind out of me. Hold on, I need a minute. All right, so this is four. Whoa, that was just a paper. I scared myself. I'm such a wimp. All right, we're still going in six minutes. It's still tile. Six minutes, 400. All right, six minutes, 400. I think I'll lean on it this time. Oh, even, even. Whoa. You got two. Yeah. Okay. All right, I'm here. I'm here now. I'm just going to take a nap. We lost Garrett halfway through. He couldn't keep the pressure. He couldn't stand still. I hired some help. We still got a whole other minute. Good things. I could have been warming up for the jump rope contest. Six minutes. Ooh, it is steaming. Uh-oh. Looks the same as the other one. You don't know yet. Here, this, this right here. Right here, right here, right here. This is, oh. He's so disappointed. Hit me in the chops twice now. Me too. I was super stoked on the tile. I thought those were really going to do really well. I mean, I was still, I was still kind of remembering the high that I got from the eighth inch. And I thought I would relive it through this last tile, but it didn't happen. All right, so now our safety net here. This is a sublimation piece of aluminum. It's got the sublimation coating on it. Picked it up from Amazon. This is like our control. This will be what sublimation is supposed to look like. All right, this one is 400 for 60 seconds. Oh, 60 seconds? 90 seconds. 490 seconds. And I'm in. Is that 24? You want some tweezers? That metal is going to be hot. I'll just grab the tape. Ooh, maybe I get some tweezers. Oh. Looks pretty good. I don't know, man. I think the, yeah. The hardware gave this a run for its money. I think it looks very similar. I can't pick this up right now. It is way too hot. It is like 400 degrees. Oh, that's a good idea. Here, I'm going to slide it through there. Hold it, hold it. Who guesses it's going to get burnt? All right, there you go. This is on the sublimation. Ow, that hurt. Going back in though. So the plain birch came out okay. It's got that rustic look. Right. With no, it's been not been treated with anything. So with no added effort to it, I think sublimating on just the plain wood gives it that rustic feel. So if you had a really rustic image, I think it might not look too bad. I also like how the birch looks with the polyacrylic. It makes those blacks just a little blacker. It does. The colors are a little more vibrant, but I feel like it's made it a little more yellow. So maybe if you had more color in your image, the polyacrylic would make it a little more vibrant. But it still gives it that wood grain look behind it. I think this quarter inch melamine that we got from Worthwood, it looks pretty good. I think it sublimated well and it's got a pretty vibrant image. But if you look at it next to the melamine hardboard that we picked up from Lowe's, I think we picked up this one up from Lowe's, but it's definitely not as bright as the hardboard. And I think the hardboard... The hardboard definitely has my vote for cheapest, easiest, and best looking. Yeah. It definitely, I think that one came out the best for a wood. I think it actually looks better than the sublimated tin, the aluminum piece. No. I think the, actually I think the picture looks the same on both of them. It looks a little brighter on the MDF. Yeah, I guess, I hear you. Yeah. Yeah, I hear you. I think it does too. And the tiles were a total disappointment. I love the shape of the tiles. I love the, you know, the concept of these tiles. But for sublimation, we couldn't get these to do what we wanted them to do. I think we'll go with the hardboard. And I think I'll come up with a bunch of different shapes to try. Yeah. We'll put packs of these in our store. So if anyone wants to purchase these packs, you could just pick them up in our store and do your own sublimation on them. All right. Looks like we're about out of time. So if you're not going to join us for the patron after show, wheel over our patrons. We will see you next week where we'll do it, build it, and make it again. What do you think? I'll balance one of these little things. Oh, why don't you balance a tile? I can't imagine that you wouldn't do that. Yeah, it's probably easy. And it will break. All right. I'm in. Let's see. Shoot. And you broke it. Well, I did break the one that I dropped. I broke the kind of good one. I was going to break it. I'll show you.