Modern printing: what material can you sublimate on and design to choose?

Sublimation is a computer printing technique that makes use of heat to transfer the design onto a blank. It allows for the production of high-quality, colorful, and long-lasting printing results. You can sublimate on many materials. Lets discuss further!

 

 

Further processing of the material can be started immediately after the thermal transfer. With this method, the textiles will again retain their power and structure. If you decide to use sublimation printing, firstly you probably think about what material can you sublimate on.

The best variant of what material can you sublimate on

Sublimation ink only sticks to sublimation-ready surfaces. And the best of them are fabric, metal, wood, ceramic, and sheet materials. Print quality depends on how much work you are willing to do and the type of material.

Fabric for Dye-sublimation technology

The best sublimation materials include 100% of polyester. On this type of fabric, sublimation ink bonds well with polyester molecules. The quality of design transfer depends on the polyester purity. For the best printing result, you shouldn’t use low polyester count fabric. Also, you should know that sublimation ink doesn’t bond to the cotton fabric material.

If you need to sublimate on cotton, first you have to print the design on white glitter vinyl. Then an image on a piece of white glitter vinyl can be pressed on the cotton fabric. The image will stick to the vinyl without penetrating the natural cotton fibers.

Another fabric that you should take into consideration is felt. If a felt consist of polyester molecules is a good sublimation material. But using natural fibers such as wool, sublimation printing doesn’t work.

So, as you can understand, the dye sublimation printing process is less successful on natural fibers. It’s better to use for sublimation synthetic fibers such as nylon, viscose, lycra, spandex, etc.

You may also be interested: Can you sublimate on 100 cotton?

Sublimation paper for the printing process on a cotton shirt

As we said, sublimation on cotton is a difficult process. But follow the instructions, you could do this well.

You should use sublimation white glitter vinyl, sublimation paper, a cotton shirt, and a heat press machine. First, you need to print your design on sublimation paper or a vinyl sheet. The printing process includes heat transfer of the design from sublimation paper to sublimation blanks.

By properly applying sublimation coating to cotton, you can extend the life of the fabric.

 

Stages of sublimation transfer to fabrics

Special equipment and materials are required for application:

• thermal press;
• special inkjet printer;
• sublimation paints – ink;
• special paper;
• heat-resistant tape;
• blank.

At home, the transfer cannot be carried out. One of the disadvantages of the technology is the need to observe certain microclimatic conditions. But if it is done in specially equipped rooms, there is no such problem.

You may also be interested: Can you use sublimation ink for regular printing?

Stages of transferring the image to the fabric:

1. Print the required image and choose a temporary (intermediate) medium.
2. Attaching the impression to the selected workpiece.
3. Transferring the image using thermophoresis.
4. Receiving the finished product.

 

Ceramics for sublimation printed design

Ceramics is a great material for sublimation printing. Highly heat-resistant, this material ensures sublimation ink durability.

The design is applied to the ceramic blank, the sublimation ink won’t peel off or wash away.

Sublimation is usually used on flat surfaces for round objects such as mugs, plates, etc. To sublimate on a mug, you have to select the mode “mug press” in print settings.

Wood for dye sublimation printing process

Working on wood, you should protect it before the dye sublimation printing process. Using sublimation printing on wood, you have to coat the material with polymer paint three times and let it cure for 24 hours. Thermal lamination paper can also be used as a coating.

You can also buy pre-cured wood from craft stores.

Sublimation on metal

Sublimation printing on metal has the highest quality because this material is durable and has high-temperature resistance. But for sublimation, a metal must be covered with polymer paint as wood. Remember, the color printed on sublimation paper will not look the same on metal. So, it can be tricky working on color matching. For example, a dark color on metal will look much lighter or vice versa.

Fiberglass for sublimation

Fiberglass has two different meanings. It means a reinforced plastic material composed of glass fibers or a textile fabric made from woven glass filaments. Both materials work well with sublimation print.

Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic is made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibers. It resists high heat, making it a great material for sublimation. When the dye is infused within the fiberglass’s polymer matrix, it permanently becomes a part of its surface.

Fiberglass textile is made of woven glass fibers, which are bundled together and spooled to form a fabric-like structure. The glass fibers are reinforced with polymers, making fiberglass textile an excellent material for sublimation.

What material can you sublimate on except fabric, ceramic, wood, and metal?

You can also use plastic for dye sublimation printing. This material is used for creating discount cards, pens, wobblers, posters, phone grips, notebooks, business cards, phone cases, etc. You can print on white, color, or transparent plastic. It’s so difficult to process because the plastic may warp at high temperatures. So, this material must be polymer-coated.

Glass is also suitable for sublimation printing. You can easily start sublimate on glass right now.

Design for sublimation printing

Sublimation printing works well on original designs because it’s very popular to have unusual images on clothes or have a creative design of the business card.

Also, photography prints are very interesting. This type of design is good for sublimation printing. It allows filling the whole surface with the photo picture, not just placing it on the front of the garment in a rectangular form.

If you only need one slogan on fabric, sublimation isn’t the ideal way, as this technique is more expensive than direct-to-garment printing.

Using sublimation printing, you should know the limit of methods and design. The pros and cons and looking at the text above should help you to decide on what material you will use for sublimation.

Also read: Detailed and clear instructions on how to sublimate on wood

Conclusions

The technology of sublimation printing transfers another image on the intermediate wear – a special paper. After paper and fabric are passed through a special press, under the influence of high-temperature solid particles of dye pass into a gas-like mill (there is a phenomenon called sublimation) and penetrate the structure.

The advantages of printing by the sublimation method are that with this application you can make a product of ideal photo quality. The image, which is made by the sublimation method, is very stable – it does not wash out and does not fade in the sun. In addition, sublimation printing technology is considered one of the most environmentally friendly.

It is also important to responsibly approach the choice of a printer for sublimation.

You should know some facts about sublimation printing:

1. Dye sublimation integrates printing colors directly into the surface of a material.
2. Sublimation thermal transfer is well only on white or light surfaces (pale blue, pale yellow, nude, ivory, peach, powder blue, etc.). It will not work on black materials in this way because there is no white color in sublimation ink, this must be remembered. So, you can’t use dark color materials for sublimation printing.
3. Polyester and blanks with a special polymer coating work best.
4. You can use cotton fabric for sublimation printing only with white glitter vinyl or sublimation paper.
5. It’s better to use for sublimation synthetic fibers, not natural ones.
6. Ceramics is a great material for sublimation printing if you set up your printer.
7. Working on wood or metal, you should protect it before the dye sublimation printing process.
8. You should remember that dark colors on metal will look much lighter or vice versa.
9. Fiberglass works well with sublimation print.
10. With sublimation printing on plastic, you can produce discount cards, wobblers, posters, notebooks business cards, phone cases, etc. 

Remember, not all materials work well for sublimation. You should choose the materials that will fuse with sublimation ink on a molecular level.

Sublimation printing works well on original designs because it’s very popular to have unusual images on clothes or have a creative design of the business card.

Also, photography prints are very interesting. This type of design is good for sublimation printing. It allows filling the whole surface with the photo picture, not just placing it on the front of the garment in a rectangular form.

If you only need one slogan on fabric, sublimation isn’t the ideal way, as this technique is more expensive than direct-to-garment printing.

Using sublimation printing, you should know the limit of methods and design. The pros and cons and looking at the text above should help you to decide on what material you will use for sublimation.

Read also: What is the best shirt for sublimation?

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