Have you ever gazed wistfully at Etsy shops, Cafepress and the like, and wondered just how individuals are capable of creating products which look so darn professional? We’re living in quite a wonderful age, where the techniques which big manufacturers utilise are available even on a hobbyist level, and equipment is purchasable at a rate far below what you’d expect. Take Dye Sublimation Printing, for example.
Essentially, dye sublimation printing is something which was once quite restrictive in terms of the difficulty of the process (and being able to do a good job without a designated workshop), and the means available to individuals to use it were not very good. Little things like the cost of the machinery itself meant that that sublimation was inaccessible to all but the most dedicated. Nowadays, nothing could be much further from the truth. Getting started with Dye Sublimation Printing is a piece of cake for hobbyists and businesses both- but what exactly is it?
Dye Sublimation printing is a procedure that allows the transfer of a full colour graphic or photograph onto a specific object selected out of a large range of items. The objects include materials such as metal, glass, ceramics and unisub products – such as phone cases, coffee mugs, and so much more. These blank materials are given a special coating to allow them to become sublimation receptive.
There are also some certain synthetic fabrics that allow photographs or designs to be printed onto them. These include T-shirts, jigsaw puzzles, mousemats, metals, tiles, mugs, coasters, keyrings and more, however there are some materials that cannot be printed on, these include cotton fabric and garments because sublimation printing is always done on polyester, polymer or polymer coated products. Although it is not advisable to print on cotton it can actually be done however the image will wash out within a few washes.
The process is described as simple as there are not very many steps that are taken to produce the high quality goods. First, the customer designs the specific piece of artwork on their computer using any graphical design software they desire. The printer is then loaded with sublimation ink which prints onto Epson photo quality paper with 720dpi (dots per inch) giving the graphic a very high quality appearance. Sublimation inks are basically a formulation of a range of coloured dyes suspended in liquids that are able to pass through a digital printer.
A heat press is then used to transfer the image from the photo quality paper to the desired object, which is later recognised as the finished product. With the heat and pressure applied, the inks convert from a solid to a gas and penetrate into the substrates surface. This method used gives a much more durable finish compared to many other transfer methods used in the industry which simply applies to the chosen image to the surface of the wanted object.
The process is relatively quick and easy considering the quality of the end product. As the equipment is compact, only a small amount of working space is required.
The finished product results are vibrant, glossy, scratch resistance, photo realistic images on a very wide range of promotional goods and personal goods that anyone who receives them will love! These products make great gifts and have become very popular in recent years – and of course, should your passion be particularly well received – you can always turn it into a business.
With thanks to the Technology and Industrial News Blogger for their insight into the world of sublimation printing.
