After all what sublimation is, sublimation is a printing technique that aims to print fabrics by passing the ink from the solid state to the gaseous state.
To learn a little more about this subject, what sublimation actually is and how it works, read this post until the end. Stay tuned for some details.
What is sublimation?
In technical and chemical terms, sublimation means the passage of something in a solid state to a gaseous state, without the substance passing through the liquid state.
The sublimatic ink goes from solid to gaseous state straight to the personalized t-shirt , that’s why it received that name. It is a revolutionary technique created by stamping, which brought countless possibilities!
How does sublimation work?
To do this type of work, you need to have specific equipment that has been designed for this purpose or that supports this technology.
There are two ways through which we carry out sublimation printing in Dallas: the first is thermal transfer and the second is direct printing.
Thermal Transfer
Thermal transfer is an older and more widely used technique for sublimation. It consists of using a special paper that receives the print and is placed on the shirt to be personalized, where the image is transferred to the shirt through heat and pressure.
Direct Printing
This second sublimation option takes more time and is also more labor intensive. In addition, it only works with natural fibers — such as silk and cotton — and, for this reason, it is a slightly more expensive process.
Because the fabric has to go through a pre-treatment to absorb the ink and also receives a post-treatment for its permanence. This procedure consumes a lot of water and requires specific machines, which is why its cost is higher.
What equipment and materials are used?
- Computer;
- Specific or adapted inkjet printer;
- Heat press or an oven.
The sublimatic printer is nothing more than a common equipment that was adapted for this purpose.
It is adapted with a Bulk Ink system that will use sublimatic ink instead of cartridges for printing on paper. Several printer models can be used for sublimation, but the most used in the market are the Epson brand .
Together with sublimatic paper, which is also specific for this process. It has a thin layer of polyester resin to make the image transfer to the fabric properly.
In this way, there is the sublimatic ink, which is also different from the normal one for printing.
This is a specific type of dye that, when heated, protects the ink particles in sublimation paper. The higher its quality, the better your printout will be.
What types of products can receive it?
Polyester is the ideal surface to receive sublimation and make personalized t-shirts. However, other options such as satin, crepe, helanca, microfiber, muslin and organza can also go through this process.
It is always necessary to verify beforehand that the fabric has at least 60% synthetic fiber for the sublimation to be successful. There are also other materials that can receive this procedure, such as glass, plastic and metal.
On the other hand, knowing a little more about this sublimation technique, we can understand why some pieces are so well-made and others with such low quality, right? It all depends on the right material to be used!
