DyeSubCast
By ColorCasters
DyeSubCastMay 27, 2022
DyeSubCast Episode 79: Goodbye DyeSubCast
We want to thank all of our listeners and guests for these 79 episodes. This isn't the end of Jim and Shelby, though! Next Friday we'll be launching the Jim & Shelby Show with both audio and video episodes. We hope to see you there!
DyeSubCast Episode 78: The Seasons of Business
Jim and Shelby talk about their experience and their clients' experience with handling both the busy season and the down season and what successful businesses do in each respective time period.
DyeSubCast Episode 77: Combating Competition
In this episode, Jim and Shelby talk about the very real threat of competition with your business, the different places it can come from, and how to deal with it. This episode was inspired a friend of Jim's who is closing the doors to his business after they just couldn't stay relevant in our rapidly changing world. This episode will briefly cover some unexpected forms of competition you may not even think about and also some tips on how you can get a slight edge to keep your dye sub business running.
DyeSubCast Episode 76: Substrates
In this quick episode, Jim and Shelby cover how to deal with different substrates as well as the supply chain issues going on with those substrates.
DyeSubCast Episode 75: Victoria Harris
A previous guest, Victoria Harris, joins us again to talk about what's going on in the world of textiles. As the senior textile segment specialist at Mimaki she is well-versed in how dye sublimation applies to the textile world. Her passion for the textile industry really shines through as she provides us with a lot of the advances made as dye sub became more mainstream. Victoria also asks Jim a great question at the end that sheds some light on his experience in the consulting space.
DyeSub 101: Chapter 5
In this final chapter of DyeSub 101, we talk to you about marketing and advertising for your new dye sublimation business. We give a lot of our own personal experience using social media as well as paid advertising options and also touch on which if these we think gives the best bang for your buck.
If you missed any of the previous chapters, please go back and watch those as well. We hope this short series helps you decide how to tackle your own dye sublimation business. Feel free to reach out on social media or through email if you have any more questions for us!
DyeSub 101: Chapter 4
Since we've covered the "What" and the "Why", it's only natural that we move on to "Where?"
This week's episode will be all about where you can sell your products. We will go over the different platforms that you can sell through as well as payment processing options with those platforms. This also includes the potential option to set up your own selling channel to build your brand. Multiple of these platforms can be used in tandem to help grow your business and we hope you do just that!
DyeSub 101: Chapter 3
Now that we have addressed the "Why" and the "What" we're going to start talking equipment. How do you decide what equipment to use, where do you get that equipment, and what other supplies will you need? We'll try to answer all of those questions for you in this chapter of DyeSub 101!
Here are the links to our favorite providers of Dye Sublimation supplies:
DyeSub 101: Chapter 2
Last week we got you thinking about WHY you should get into dye sublimation (Make sure you check out last week if you missed it). Today, we want you to think about WHAT you will use dye sublimation to create! This episode is a bit less directed because only you can answer this question. We provide you with some ideas as well as our own personal experiences deciding which products to create. Below are a few links to different substrate providers that might inspire you, as well as a very important instructional video on how to make grilled cheese on a heat press.
Grilled Cheese on a heat press
DyeSub 101: Chapter 1
This week we have the start of a new episodic series to complement the DyeSubCast. Welcome to DyeSub 101! Jim and Shelby will provide a step-by-step process for starting your own dye sublimation business while also outlining the process we went through to provide examples of what you should and, in some cases, should not do.
This episode will cover an obvious starting point: Why should you start a dye sub business?
DyeSubCast Episode 69: Ray Weiss at WrapsCon
This episode contains a brief conversation with Ray Weiss from Printing United Alliance, who Jim had the chance to talk to at WrapsCon. Ray talked to Jim about a committee that has been formed to expand on textile printing in the International Standards Organization. This should be a big step forward for color verification on textiles.
DyeSubCast Episode 68: Jim at WrapsCon
Jim shares his experience at the WrapsCon trade show in Indianapolis this week. The show is centered around vinyl wraps, as the name implies, so it isn't exactly dye sub related. However, the printing industry is ubiquitous enough that we always seem learn things applicable in one field can be transferred to others.
DyeSubCast Episode 67: Bruce Myers and Bill Pope
DyeSubCast Episode 66: Mark Heimerl
In today's installment of the DyeSubCast Jim and Shelby interview Mark Heimerl, the sales director at Serigraph. They met at ISA, though Mark coincidentally is based in Wisconsin like Jim. Mark talks about a variety of different substrates in addition to the capabilities and applications of these substrates.
DyeSubCast Episode 65: The ISA Expo
Jim and Shelby share their impressions of the International Sign Expo (ISA) in Atlanta, GA that they attended this week. In this short and sweet episode, you'll hear their takeaways from this show and what to expect in the future.
DyeSubCast Episode 64: Vik Patel 2
Jim and Shelby bring back the podcast's second ever guest, Vik Patel. When we talked to him in January of 2021 he was a marketing director, but now he started his own company called Craft Express. Vik's new company focuses specifically on dye sublimation by selling both heat presses and blank substrates. This week's episode is one we're very happy with. We hope you'll take the time to listen to all of the excellent information that Vik shares with us about dye sublimation substrates and personalization as an important industry trend.
DyeSubCast Episode 63: Gabriel Conti
On this episode, Jim and Shelby share a conversation that they had with Gabriel Conti, the CEO of Kover. They mainly cover UV inks, as that is Gabriel's area of expertise.
DyeSubCast Episode 62: Importance of Certification
In today's installment of the DyeSubCast, Jim and Shelby discuss how certifications programs are important for both competency with their subject material, but also branching out and growing your business through certification. This is a subject that Jim has dealt with throughout his entire career and is the reason that ColorCasters exists as a business today.
DyeSubCast Episode 61: Myrna Gutierrez
Jim and Shelby speak to Myrna Gutierrez, the founder of M A ^ E N Studio.
DyeSubCast Episode 60: Continuous Improvement Conference with Bill Pope
This episode mainly revolves around the upcoming Continuous Improvement Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. We talk to a previous guest of ours, Bill Pope with Printing United Alliance. Bill gives an overview of what sets this conference apart and what attendees can expect from the conference in May.
DyeSubCast Episode 59: Dan Uress & Scott Adams
This episode is another interview from Jim & Shelby's Print Geeks series that we thought translated well to our listeners here. It is all about color management becoming more accessible through mobile apps and inexpensive devices for measuring color. Dan Uress is from the aptly named MeasureColor, and his company has recently started working on mobile solutions in the last few years. Scott Adams works for an ink manufacturer called JM Fry Printing Inks. Scott believes that having a streamlined mobile option to use across multiple locations would be a big step forward for the industry and shares his thoughts on the how and the why he feels that way.
DyeSubCast Episode 58: Jason Ahart
Today Jim and Shelby are joined by Jason Ahart, the Vice President of Production Operations at Moss. Things start out by coincidentally tying back to last week's episode with some talk about dye sublimation out in everyday life. Then the conversation shifts to some important tips for the ideal conditions for dye sublimation and how to overcome challenges associated with temperature and humidity.
DyeSubCast Episode 57: Jim Looks for DyeSub on a Cruise Ship
Jim's on vacation, but that doesn't mean he can't look for the impact of Dye Sublimation on the world! Shelby asks Jim about the different applications of dye sublimation aboard his cruise ship and Jim shares how his findings might impact print shops both large and small.
Here's the link to Jim being the Superman of Color: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtNh_x1Rwls
DyeSubCast Episode 56: Kristen Dettoni
Today's interview is another crossover with Jim & Shelby's Print Geeks show that they do. This one is with Kristen Dettoni, who has been all over different industries doing textile design for office furniture, hospitality, automotive, and residential with textile mills. We felt like this episode might resonate with some of our DyeSubCast listeners who are also their own designers because Kristen shares her process for creating her designs, as well as a very interesting story about her favorite patterns she's ever designed.
DyeSubCast Episode 55: Pantone Libraries Leaving Adobe
Jim and Shelby share their thoughts on Adobe and Pantone parting ways while presenting a few short term solutions and work around while you prepare for the future.
DyeSubCast Episode 54: Matthew Sheridan
This episode uses an interview from our Print Geeks interview with Matthew Sheridan, but we thought this was a fitting episode for the DyeSubCast. While the conversation does get pretty geeky, the focus of Matthew as the founder of Nix Sensors was to make a color measurement device that is accessible for the average person who doesn't have a lot of knowledge about color management. This makes it a perfect fit for a lot of small startups in dye sublimation that can't afford instruments that cost thousands of dollars to lock in their color.
DyeSubCast Episode 53: Show Up. Do the Work. Stick Around for the Results.
In this short but sweet episode, Jim shares some quick thoughts about how he approaches his work and how that approach has panned out for the first year of the DyeSubCast. We'd like to thank all of our listeners and podcast guests for sticking around, and we hope that you stay with us through 2022 to see what comes next!
DyeSubCast Episode 52: Mike Ruff
Mike Ruff is a colleague of Jim & Shelby's who shares in their profession of Color Management Consulting. He has some extensive knowledge of dye sublimation as well as screen printing. Mike shares his own personal experience consulting with a previous podcast guest, John Whitt, and some of the specific challenges that they worked through together.
DyeSubCast Episode 51: Elmer Martinez
Jim and Shelby sit down with an old friend of theirs, Elmer Martinez. Elmer is the owner of Gryphon Media and GMediaWraps.com and he specializes in vehicle wraps and signage. We ask him about the challenges involved with these less conventional forms of media as well as the considerations when designing for an atypical space like a vehicle wrap.
DyeSubCast Episode 50: Pattern Room
On this episode of The DyeSubCast we have a chat with Daniel Watts and Julia Van Der Sommen from an Australian-based company called Pattern Room. They share some incredible information about their company and the intricacies of the garment industry - specifically their patterned garments as well as consistency in clothing sizes.
You can learn more about Pattern Room here: https://www.patternroom.com/
DyeSubCast Episode 49: Ray Cheydleur
In today's podcast, Jim talks to Ray Cheydleur from X-Rite about what has been happening in color standards and instrumentation as well as looking forward to the upcoming PRINTING United Alliance Color22 conference, to be held in La Jolla, California from January 22–25.
DyeSubCast Episode 48: Joe Marin
We start the new year by talking to Joe Marin from Printing United Alliance (PrUA). He is the Senior Vice President of Education and Training at PrUA and is also organizing the upcoming Color22 conference which Jim and Shelby will be attending.
DyeSubCast Episode 47: Looking Back at 2021
Jim and Shelby return from their brief hiatus with a top-down view of their podcasting journey through 2021.
DyeSubCast Episode 46: In a Cab with Jim & Shelby
Jim and Shelby discuss everything that they learned at the Digital Textile Printing Conference in Durham, NC from the back of a cab. Includes all the charming road noise you would expect.
DyeSubCast Episode 45: Shoshana Burgett
On today's episode we talk to Shoshana Burgett, the founder of Colorkarma and Pink Elephant Productions. Shoshana has a background similar to ours with color management and building color profiles. She is going to be a panelist at the upcoming Digital Textile Printing Conference due to her wide array of know-how within the industry.
Click here for the "Luscious" video that was referenced during the Podcast
DyeSubCast Episode 44: Vegas Trade Shows
After missing a week and some change, we're back with a podcast about the trade shows that we attended in Las Vegas that caused us to miss a week.
You can learn more about SpeckCheck Mobile by clicking here!
DyeSubCast Episode 43: Ray Weiss 2
Jim and Shelby speak to Ray Weiss from Printing United Alliance (PrUA). Ray was on one of our previous episodes, but today he is back because there is an upcoming Digital Textile Printing Conference that we wanted to hear from him about.
You can learn more about the conference by clicking here.
You can learn more about SpeckCheck at ColorCasters.com/SpeckCheck
DyeSubCast Episode 42: Visiting Just Vision It
Jim and Shelby recount their recent visit to a large scale custom dye sublimation producer. They share what they learned within the dye sublimation space as well as business advice to go along with it.
DyeSubCast Episode 41: Bitcoin in the Print Industry!
If you're a fan of Bitcoin then this is the episode for you. Jim and Shelby talk about how cryptocurrency, Bitcoin in particular, are impacting many industries as a form of payment. They also share Shelby's journey to becoming a believer in Bitcoin and plans to incorporate Bitcoin into their business in the near future.
The article referenced in this podcast: https://graphics-pro.com/news/out-the-bleau-now-accepting-cryptocurrency-payment-methods/
DyeSubCast Episode 40: Creating Test Prints
Jim and Shelby discuss the thought that goes into creating a test image in order to match colors and the thought process that goes into selecting the right image for the job.
The link that Shelby mentions is a great resource and can be found here: https://www.wideformatimpressions.com/post/using-a-custom-test-print-to-evaluate-color-quality/
To learn more about SpeckCheck, go to colorcasters.com/SpeckCheck
DyeSubCast Episode 39: Gabriel Conti
Today's guest, Gabriel Conti, is the United States director of NUtec Digital Ink: a dye sublimation ink manufacturer located in Miami. Gabriel has been in the dye sub business pretty much since the beginning and has watched the industry shape and evolve over time. He shares his story about how he got started in dye sub and then provides his seemingly endless knowledge on how dye sublimation inks work in different conditions.
Go to colorcasters.com/speckcheck to learn more about the new SpeckCheck Mobile app!
DyeSubCast Episode 38: Social Media Marketing
Today's episode is a shorter feature about using social media to create opportunities for your dye sublimation business based on our own personal success doing so.
DyeSubCast Episode 37: John Whitt
On today's DyeSubCast, we speak to John Whitt. John is the Chief Operating Officer at Just Vision It, a large-scale dye sublimation company located near Kansas City, MO. John shares his unorthodox method to building his business that has allowed him to continually scale up operations to the point where Just Vision It is now capable of massive production volume and has won multiple awards for their printing and designs. He sells his business model so effectively that Shelby signs up during the podcast. We also touch on the best BBQ in Kansas City, so if you're in the area you can take John Witt's advice.
DyeSubCast Episode 36: Bill Pope
Today's episode is actually an interview that we did with Bill Pope for a video series we have been doing with WhatTheyThink called Print Geeks. It is less focused on dye sublimation in particular and more the print industry as a whole. Bill is the Vice President of Technical Services at Printing United Alliance, and also an old friend of ours. We spend a lot of time discussing the importance of print and why less people seem to be entering the print industry, at least at the start of their careers. Near the end of the episode, Bill shares a personal anecdote about a lack of color consistency in a card game. The image for this episode shows the cards that he is referencing.
You can see more of Print Geeks by WhatTheyThink here: https://whattheythink.com/print-geeks/
DyeSubCast Episode 35: Joshua Carruth
Today, Joshua Carruth from Decorated Apparel at Printing United Alliance joins us to discuss the advantages of using dye sublimation in the apparel space, and in the printing industry at large.
DyeSubCast Episode 34: Victoria Harris
Today we sit down with Victoria Harris, the Senior Textile Segment Specialist at Mimaki. With Victoria we are able to discuss how dye sublimation and fabric have both changed over time and how technology has changed with them. Then we talk about Mimaki's hardware and software solutions related to dye sublimation as well as acid and reactive printers.
DyeSubCast Episode 33: Ford Bowers
Today we talk to Ford Bowers, the CEO of Printing United Alliance. Ford had a lot of experience managing printing departments before getting involved with Printing United Alliance and provides us with a lot of invaluable top-level knowledge about the printing industry as a whole.
To learn more about our upcoming PrUA Color Management Boot Camp go to:
DyeSubCast Episode 32: Jim Raffel
Today's episode is a short solo feature with Jim explaining the concept of "messy success". Sometimes your success won't look how you think it should, but that's okay.
DyeSubCast Eipsode 31: Viktor Lazzeri
In this episode Jim speaks to Viktor Lazzeri. Viktor has over 10 years of experience at Barbieri, an industry leader in color measurement data. The majority of this episode deals with the importance of good measurements leading to good profiles leading to quality prints. This all relates to dye sublimation because profiles are paramount achieving quality prints.
To learn more about our upcoming Color Management Boot Camp, go to https://colorcasters.com/miami
DyeSubCast Episode 30: Behind the Curtain
Today, our planned guest had a scheduling conflict, so we spoke to the third ColorCasters employee and editor of the podcast, Jacob. He has experience with dye sublimation, building color profiles, and a little bit of design.
If you want to learn about building profiles just like Jacob did, you can sign up for a Color Management Boot Camp here before all the slots are full: