Dye Sublimation

One of the hottest retreads in garment decorating technology is Dye Sublimation Printing.  Retreads you ask?  Yes, Dye Sublimation has been around for over 20 years.  The reason why it died off was because wearing polyester clothing became passe.

Nike, Adidas and Under Armour injected new life blood into Dye Sublimation Printing when they launched the concept of “Performance Fabrics” and “Moisture Management” or “Wicking”.

Dye Sublimation

The process of Dye Sublimation Printing involves specialized inks, industrial heat and pressure, experience and polyester fabrics or poly family members like Rayon, Nylon, Spandex, Satin etc …

Graphic artists design a T-Shirt in the computer.  This is then output to a special printer, loaded with special inks and transfer medium.  Once output, the image is then applied using intense heat and pressure.

Polyester fabrics soak up the design in brilliant detail and crisp, photo realistic fashion.  The result … nothing short of amazing and stunning.  Dye Sublimation Printing can produce a virtual 360 degree design wrapped around a T-Shirt.

Sublimation Printing typically takes on two forms.  The first is a cut and sew sublimation operation.  In this scenerio, fabric panels are cut, dye sublimated and then sewn into the finished garment.  This type of process ensures that no missing sublimation seams occur, and the results are virtually perfect.

The second method is performing sublimation on an existing garment like a T-Shirt or Hoodie.  This works, but there will always be creasing in the fabric that results in small areas of the finished garment remaining white.  These imperfections are usually around the arm pits and near the seams.

When designers, consumers or entrepreneurs consider the costs between cut and sew and already sewn sublimation, the small imperfections of post sewn sublimation are often acceptable results.

If you are interested in Dye Sublimation Printing, please consider giving us a call (908) 806-8337 or email us.

Dye Sublimation