What Is Sublimation Printing?

Image: Travel rounded tumbler; 600ml tumbler; Bluetooth 600ml tumbler.

You will have noticed on a lot of our products the term "sublimation". This is a specific process that firstly involves designing your memorable images. Secondly, your images are printed using specialised ink (sublimation ink) onto sublimation paper (paper with a synthetic coating), using a sublimation printer (not your average home printer). The image is then transferred onto your product of choice (a shirt, baby romper, mug, tumbler, keyring) using one of our various heat presses (different heat presses for different products). The ink is heated at high temperatures until it forms gas that permanently dyes the product, creating a smooth image or design.

The products need to have a special coating that allows the ink to adhere properly. For apparel, they need to be light colours, made with a high synthetic or polyester count to allow the ink to be absorbed. Light colours are needed because the ink will show any underlying colours and can alter the colour being printed. Unfortunately (for now), cotton will not allow sublimation ink to adhere permanently without the use of another product, for example, glitter vinyl or printable vinyl or other chemical.

Creative Lee has an import agreement with one of the largest manufacturer's of sublimation blanks in China. This removes the middle-man of retail for those artisans requiring sublimation blanks, saving our customers more in their hip-pockets. BestSub has over 8 factories, each specialising in over 8,000 different products; supplying to over 200 countries.

How to care for sublimated products

Sublimated products require minimal extra care to keep the images bright.

Ideally, you will hand-wash your product/s. Mugs and tumblers can go in the dishwasher, and images will still last for many years, but eventually, the heat will fade your image. A low heat, or placing your item on the top-shelf will also extend the life of any printed item. Like with any commercial product, images will fade over time. This is just normal wear and tear.

Included with all of our sublimated products is a care card with instructions on how to keep your images bright and vibrant.

What do I need to do Sublimation?

The following is a brief summary of what is needed:

• Sublimation printer (not an everyday printer, as the inks are much thicker than home/office printers).

• Sublimation Ink - these inks are thicker, and a specialty dye ink.

• Sublimation paper - specialty paper for printing your image, then transferring it.

• Heat press - this will depend on the product, as there are different presses for flat items, caps, and tumblers.

• Software for designing your image. Some printers come with their own software; while others will need a third-party software program.

• Sublimation product: products with a sublimation coating: tumblers, mugs, keyrings, apparel, and a lot more products.

  Note: you cannot print onto mugs and tumblers from a department store - these do not have the correct coating for sublimation printing.

  Apparel needs to be light in colour (preferrably white) with high-polyester count; the higher the better. 100% polyester will give you nice vibrant colours; 65% polyester will cause the colours to be somewhat muted/faded.

• Heat-resistant application tape; usual home/office sticky tape will mark your product and is not suitable.

"The Ultimate Guide to Sublimation - blog"

Follow our full blog on what you need to create your own sublimated products. Times, Temperatures, Settings, and pitfalls to watch out for are included in this blog.