What does dye-sublimation (dye-sub) printing mean in simple terms?
In a nutshell, dye-sublimation printing involves embedding ink into a substrate rather than simply printing on the top layer. This term is most typically used in the event sector to describe the cloth graphics that are commonly seen in trade show booths. While this is an oversimplification, it is a concise distillation of what most people care about. The actual steps are listed here to help you better understand the dye-sublimation printing process.
How the dye-sublimation printing process works step-by-step:
1. The artwork is printed on a special transfer paper with liquid sublimation ink.
2. On the paper, the ink is allowed to dry.
3. After that, the transfer paper is placed on top of the appropriate substrate and aligned (poly-fabric)
4. A heat press is used to combine the transfer paper and the fabric.
5. The sublimation ink on the transfer paper vaporises into a gas while in the heat press.
6. The gas then moves from the paper to the fabric’s pores, where it bonds with the material underneath.
7. The design is taken out of the oven and the transfer paper is thrown away.
8. The finished product is a colourful, coloured fabric that is resistant to fading, running, and breaking once it has cooled.
Why use dye-sublimation printing?
Unlike a normal heat-pressed design, where the ink is simply pressed onto the surface of the cloth, dye-sublimation prints are completely absorbed into the fabric. Here are a few key advantages that you should consider.
Dye-Sublimation Benefits:
1. Instead of shattering, the art will stretch and move with the fabric.
2. The resulting image is practically impervious to fading.
3. Your graphic will not be shown.
4. In the art, you can use as many colours as you want.
5. The ink will not rub off or peel.
6. Many dye-sub graphics can be washed in the washing machine.
7. The images are long-lasting and colourful.
Dye-Sublimation vs Heat Press
Understanding the differences between these processes might be difficult because they appear to be almost identical from the outside. Despite the fact that the processes appear to be the same, they are not and produce different outputs.
Heat press graphics use their own heat transfer paper and ink that is more commonly found in inkjet or laser printers. The image is printed on transfer paper, then laid on the appropriate substrate (typically cloth) and heat pressed, just like with dye-sublimation printing. The art is pressed onto the material using heat transfer paper once it has been placed in the heat press.