Understanding Sublimation Printing

Posted by Jason Norman on December 28th, 2022

The process of printing photo-quality graphics, images and text onto garments and other materials using heat transfer is called sublimation printing. For this process, special sublimation ink is used because when it is heated it turns from its solid state into the gas state required without having to go through a liquid phase. The gas comes into contact with the polymer fibres of the fabric passing through them and dying them whether on a plain tshirt in Singapore or any other garment. In order for it to be effective the items need to be polymer-based or coated. Since anything can be coated it means you can use sublimation printing on pretty much anything which is why it is becoming a very popular method for printing.

Why choose sublimation printing

Reasons to choose this for tshirt printing Singapore needs or other printing purposes are as follows.

Advantages;

• You can print full colors of all types onto a hard surface thanks to the polymer coating used first.
• For a printer sublimation printing is easier than screen printing as there is no complicated process to learn, it is also not as messy and quicker to get done.
• The result is more permanent as the ink essentially becomes a part of the material it is used on.
• There is no extra cost to printing one or 100 so you do not have to worry about plain tshirt in Singapore minimal orders making it great for small businesses or personal tshirt printing.
• A customer can customise in detail since there are no special plates or screens it means they can get specific.
• It is a quick printing method so it is even possible to get same-day printing and pickup.
• It looks great and customers have more freedom on what they want on their tshirts or other items.
• The design is a lot crisper you do not have to put up with blurring or stretched lines.
• Great for photoshop designers who can get their design into the shirt and market them quickly without having to put a lot of money into it.

Disadvantages;

• As mentioned the items need to be coated in polymer or made from polymer fabrics for the printing to work.
• The inks are expensive compared to other printing inks.
• It works best on items that are light or white and does not work on very dark or black colors.
• While this type of tshirt printing Singapore does allow you to access the whole color spectrum it can be hard for the printer to manage a lot of colors.
• Creasing can happen leaving white lines if the garment is not laid out completely flat.
• Leaving moisture on the transfer paper can also cause white spots and lines.

Summary

For short-run printing sublimation printing is a great option. It is evolving as it develops to be easier to use and this gives it an advantage against other more traditional printing methods for a lot of people.