Sublimation | Full sublimation
Sublimation printing probably offers the greatest freedom in the production and printing of clothing. It allows for full-surface and photorealistic printing.
Sublimation guarantees 100% functionality and 100% breathability.
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Sublimation printing
Full sublimation is a finishing process that allows for the complete printing of a textile surface.
Sublimation offers completely free design possibilities, enabling the creation of photorealistic motifs and gradients.
Advantages of full sublimation
Thanks to sublimation printing, any design can be easily and relatively inexpensively printed onto a textile. This allows, for example, very intricate images and photos to be transferred to the fabric with high sharpness and clarity.
Another advantage of full sublimation is that with this process you cannot feel the print, i.e. the applied color, on the textile, so it cannot fade or become brittle.
Washing sublimated textiles is also no problem. The sublimated textiles will not lose their color brilliance. The colors will not fade even under UV radiation. Since neither binders nor solvents are used in sublimation printing, it is also environmentally friendly.
How does textile sublimation work?
Sublimation is a physical process in which a solid substance transitions directly into a gaseous state without having been liquid beforehand. This process plays a crucial role in transferring your design. First, your design is printed in reverse onto transfer film/paper. The transfer is then placed onto a substrate and briefly heated using a heat press.
In this step, the dyes on the transfer paper sublimate due to the high temperature, allowing them to penetrate the fibers of the substrate in their gaseous state and adhere to them. Because the colors are embedded within the fabric during sublimation printing, no residue is perceptible in the sublimated area.
Sublimation designs do not alter the properties of your fabric; neither functionality nor breathability are affected in any way. Because the dye is embedded in the fabric and thus becomes part of the structure of the base material, your design will not fade, crack, or become brittle. Even after multiple washes, the quality of the sublimation remains virtually unchanged.
Substrate for sublimation printing
The most suitable material for sublimation printing on textiles is polyester, a fabric made of synthetic fibers. The substrate should contain at least 80% polyester to ensure optimal sublimation printing on the textile.
For example, if you want to decorate cotton textiles with sublimation printing, they must first be coated with polyester. This is done because otherwise the dye cannot penetrate the cotton sufficiently and the design would only be visible for a short time.
Polyester is therefore the ideal substrate for textile sublimation, as it opens its pores at high temperatures, allowing the gaseous dye to penetrate.
Textiles with a white or light-colored background are best suited. These polyester fabrics are therefore ideal for sublimation printing.