Dye-sublimation allows us to transfer high quality, vibrant artwork, designs or other types of colourful decorations onto all sorts of items. In simple terms it's a method of printing that transfers a design into a material or fabric using ink and heat allowing seam to seam designs. It's like a tattoo for your chosen product! A design is printed onto special paper. The inks on the paper go from a
solid phase to a gaseous phase when heat and pressure is applied. The heat of the press allows for the fibers of the material to expand which then enables the now gaseous ink particles to infuse into the fibers/substrate resulting in a permanent print that is less prone to fading. How is it different than screen printing? The ink is embedded into the fibers or substrate, rather than simply sitting on top. This results in a permanent full colour image that won't crack, peel, or wash away. What materials can be dye-sublimated? Sublimation printing is only suitable for 'man made' fabrics such as polyester or polyester blends. Sublimating onto cotton does not produce a permanent image, but if you wanted a vintage or distressed look then choosing a fabric with a lower polyester percentage would achieve this.
