Sublimation For Beginners

What is Sublimation Printing & Dye Sublimating Meaning?

True sublimation in printing is accomplished with special inks called sublimation ink dye. Simply print an image or pattern to a special printer that is filled with these sublimation dye inks. After the image or print is finished printing on the paper, that piece of paper is now called a sublimation transfer. That’s because it can now be “transferred” (aka: sublimated) onto an object, such as t-shirt or coffee mug.

How Long Does Sublimation Printing Last?

Theoretically, the sublimation bond is permanent. But it must have bonded with with polyester or polymers. So if you’re wondering why sublimation doesn’t last on bare wood or cotton, it’s because those are not polymers. Still, fading can happen even on a polymer.

What’s the difference between Screen print and Sublimation?

At the most basic level of explanation, screen printing uses a series of screens, paints, squeegees and dryers and sublimation uses printers, ink, paper and heat presses. From there, sublimation vs. screen prints are different in the transfer process, drying process and stretchability as follows: Color Transfer Process Screen printers transfer images to substrates one color at time.

What is Sublimation Vinyl?

There is regular heat transfer vinyl (HTV) and then there is Sublimation Vinyl For the most part, regular vinyl transfer involves a machine that cuts images out from vinyl sheets. Then, you peel (weed) the cut image out of the vinyl and transfer it to a t-shirt or mug using a heat press.