SUBLIMATION TRANSFER PRINTING
Sublimation transfer printing, which is the most popular production method in personalized gift printing, is also the system that provides the most economical conditions in terms of starting costs for people who will start a new business. Simply a sublimation printer and transfer printing press are sufficient for a newly established personalized gift production or promotional printing business. We run a business of sublimation printing in Dallas so lets discover this printing method.
What is sublimation transfer printing?
Sublimation transfer printing system can basically be explained as transferring the output taken from the sublimation printer with sublimation ink on the sublimation transfer paper to the surface to be printed by evaporating under the temperature and pressure created by a heat press.
In order for the print to adhere to the surface where sublimation printing is applied, there must be a certain polymer structure. For example, if printing is to be done on mugs , a sublimation mug with sublimation coating should be used, or if printing is to be done on a t-shirt , a t-shirt made of uniform polyester fabric should be preferred.
How is sublimation printing done?
If we need to explain this process through a t-shirt printing example; Sublimation printing on a t-shirt first begins with graphic preparation. The prepared graphic is printed on sublimation transfer paper with an Epson printer loaded with sublimation ink. The output is placed on the t-shirt in the heat press. It is pressed under high pressure at 185°C for 60 seconds. During printing, the sublimation ink on the transfer paper evaporates under the heat and pressure applied in the heat press before turning into a liquid and adheres to the polyester thread on the surface of the printed T-shirt, allowing it to be dyed, thus sublimation transfer printing takes place.
WHAT IS REQUIRED TO DO SUBLIMATION PRINTING?
Computer and software;
You may need to make changes to your graphic or photo depending on the physical properties of the product to be printed and in line with the request from your customer. For these works, you can use some photo editor software such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw and even Paint 3D. This preparation stage should also be adjusted according to the printing instructions of the product. At this stage before output, the image is adjusted according to whether the print should be a mirror image (reverse) or flat,
Sublimation Printer;
A sublimation printer should be selected in line with the product group intended to be printed. Sublimation printers work on Piezo print head technology developed by the Epson brand. For this reason, printers such as Canon, HP and Lexmark that use thermal heads cannot be used in sublimation printing. The first criterion when choosing a sublimation printer should be A4 or A3 based on size. If A3 puzzle or if large size metal printing is needed, an A3 printer is required. It is not possible to print on A3 product by combining A4 prints. The second criterion is the number of colors. Among Epson printers, 4-color printers are mostly office type products. 6-color printers, on the other hand, are products aimed at photo printing that are more professional and provide better quality printing. Our recommendation is 6-color printers. The lifespan and print quality of these devices are much better than 4-color products.
Sublimation Ink;
Sublimation ink is a water-based product. The quality of the sublimation ink used when printing not only determines the life and efficiency of the printer used, but also affects the final printing result. Euroink sublimation inks imported by our company are transfer inks formulated to provide vivid colors in printing and not to cause problems such as head clogging and bleeding in the printing printer. Thanks to the high pigment concentration, you can capture vibrant colors even in economical modes. This allows you to get stable and high quality printing in fast printing modes that save you time.
Sublimation Transfer Paper;
Sublimation transfer printing papers have a special coating on the printing surfaces that will facilitate the transfer of transfer ink. If the transfer process is attempted with papers that do not have this coating, the printing result will be inefficient. In accordance with the characteristics of the product you will use for printing, we import hard surface transfer paper in A4 and A3 sizes under the Subli-T brand, which you can use on hard surfaces such as mugs and metal , as well as textile transfer paper, which transfers most of the ink on surfaces such as t-shirts or mousepads. It should not be forgotten that the quality of the transfer paper is one of the most important factors in the printing quality of the final product, which regulates the transfer of more or less ink.
Sublimation Transfer Printing Press;
Sublimation presses are printing machines that distribute heat and pressure evenly over the printed material. Our company has been distributing Sublimation Printing Dallas brand heat presses for many years.
Sublimation presses vary according to the qualities of the products they will print.
Sublimation Flat press: These are printing machines suitable for printing on flat surface products. Products such as sublimation t-shirts , plaques , medals , metal labels, mouse pads, glass clocks, puzzles, sublimation transfer papers , pillow cases , kitchen aprons, table flags , wooden clocks , coasters , necklaces and mirrors are printed on this type of press.
Sublimation Mug Press: Mug presses are used for printing on sublimation ceramic mugs , porcelain mugs and even coffee cups. Single, double and quintuple cup presses are available depending on the capacity you need in your business. Especially companies that produce promotional printing or wholesale sublimation mug cups should prefer mug machines that print more than one mug at the same time, such as a five-cup mug press.
Sublimation Hat press: They are used for sublimation printing on sublimation hats or laser transfer printing or baskes printing on cotton hats. Textile businesses sometimes use this press for logo printing.
3D Vacuum Press: These are heat presses that can print products such as mobile phone covers and plates with curved surfaces, thanks to the silicone membrane and vacuum pump on themPrinting can also be done on mugs with some additional equipment. However, printing on textiles with this type of press is not recommended.
Sublimation Plate Press: These are presses that can press the cores of sublimation plates . Plate cores of different sizes can be printed with varying heater pads.
Sublimation Pen Press: These are presses that can transfer print on pens with a sublimation surface or on plastic pens with laser transfer paper.
Sublimation Ball Press: These are presses that can print on ball surfaces with textile foil or laser transfer paper. In some models, printing can also be done on the hat with additional equipment.
Sublimation Auxiliary Materials;
Some of the materials you will use during the preparation phase for sublimation printing, during printing and after printing will provide you with great convenience in carrying out your work. For example thermal tape The transfer paper you will fix with the help of the transfer paper will prevent the paper from slipping while placing the product into the press and preventing faulty printing on the product, that is, both material wastage and time loss. Likewise, a Teflon cloth or baking paper that you can put on both the gold and the top of the printed product during printing prevents the ink from smearing on the silicone pad and the press ceiling during the transfer. In this way, you will not waste material or struggle to clean the press, as there will be no contamination on subsequent prints. Oven gloves will prevent you from getting burned and suffering personal injuries when placing the product into the hot press or taking the finished product from the hot press.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF SUBLIMATION TRANSFER PRINTING COMPARED TO OTHER PRINTING METHODS?
1) Low investment cost; Sublimation printing is the most affordable among digital printing systems in terms of investment cost. As we explained at the beginning, you can start production immediately with a desktop Epson printer and a 38×38 or 40×50 press. However, the initial investment costs of digital printing devices, such as a UV printer and a direct-to-T-shirt printer, and operating expenses such as maintenance and personnel are quite high.
2) High quality printing result; It is very easy to obtain photo quality printing results with sublimation printing. However, it is not possible to achieve this quality result with traditional printing methods such as screen printing.
3) Lifespan of the printed product; When you print on a t-shirt or textile product suitable for sublimation printing, it is not possible to deform the print by washing or using this product again. Some products, such as mugs, are available for washing in a dishwasher up to 3500 times.
4) Variety of transferable products; Sublimation transfer printing is a system that allows you to print on dozens of different products, including necklaces, mirrors, t-shirts, lighters, crystal plaques, metal labels, mouse pads, mugs, medals, puzzles, hats, magnets, name tags and even night lamps. Thanks to the wide variety of products that can be printed, you can appeal to a wide range of consumers.
5) Sublimation printing does not use a mold system as in traditional printing methods. Therefore, while it is possible to produce one product as a personalized product, you can even produce a thousand units for promotional purposes if you wish. You will not incur any mold costs for this process.
