What Is Full Sublimation Printing? What Are The Characteristics?

Full Sublimation Printing is a kind of digital printing technology, also known as heat transfer printing. The technology prints on sublimation paper by sublimation ink, and then transfers the pattern to paper or other materials by heat pressing.

Can a sublimation printer sublimate onto anything?

To achieve the best sublimation printing results, it is greatest used with polyester materials. It can be used with a range of materials with specialized polymer coatings, such as those on mouse pads, coasters, tablecloths, etc.

What are the limitations of dye sublimation printing?

Besides the materials that can be used for sublimation, one of the core limitations of sublimation is the color of any materials. Because sublimation is essentially a dyeing process, you can get the greatest results when the fabric is white or light-colored. If you want to print on a black shirt or darker material, then it is best to use a digital printing solutions. Sublimation printing does not last long on natural materials such as cotton shirts or silk. While polyester or polyester coatings provide an ideal surface for heat transfer.

How to choose between sublimation and silk screen printing?

While both printing methods have their own advantages, there are a few things to know when deciding which process to use:

One of the most notable limitations of silk screen printing is that only one color can be applied to the substrate at any time. There is also an additional issue of alignment of different color layers. Therefore, when more than one color is involved, silk screen printing setup time can be long. On the other hand, with sublimation, there is no need to worry about the alignment of individual colors. Because sublimation printing will print all colors at once. It is easier to customize the design, just need to change the design draft, unlike silk screen printing. Which still needs to make a plate.

Material selection

Each printing process has advantages and disadvantages, and as we have just introduced. Many factors will determine whether sublimation is the best, or alternatives should be considered. Such as silk screen printing, thermal transfer printing, or direct-to-garment printing.

The above is a detailed introduction to thermal sublimation printing, I hope it will be helpful to everyone.