Mike Edwards Blog » Sublimation

What you need to get started in sublimation printing.

mike — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:09:41 +0000

Printing technology is changing all the time, we are seeing extremely higher quality prints being obtainable with the better ink, higher print capabilities and improvements on heat presses, but the basics on sublimation printing stays the same. You will need a Computer, with as much memory as possible as this will give you plenty of space on your hard drive for all your images. The better the pc system your able to acquire the better it will be for you. Also some of the software you will require to uise will be either Photoshop or Corel Draw. There are many other software packages you can use like Macromedia Freehand and Illustrator etc. A good quality printer is also an essential item of equipment to have. Not all printing systems will work with dye sublimation, so please check carefully that your buying a suitable one. Epson sell a lot of high quality printers that are perfect for use with Sublimaton Printing. The next most important piece of equipment that you must buy is a Heat Press. There are many heat presses to choose from, all depending on your printing requirements. There are specialty presses, which are soley desinged to be used in printing Mugs, Tiles, Hats, Caps and Ceramic plates. These heat presses need to be selected carefully. There are some heat presses which are designed to be of multi use, so you need to decide on your budget and long term requirements before you buy.Always try and plan for the future and think about what product you could print on to. Go to www.printednovelties.com and check out the different products that are available. Last but certainly not least is the actual Dye. You will need sublimation ink and sublimation paper, for your printer. Sublimation ink differs greatly from the standard printer ink we use everyday so be sure to check that your buying the correct ink. There are also continuous ink supplies which can be incorporated with you printer system, please consider these systems although the initial price is much higher, these continuous systems will save you a fortune in ink costs in the long run. A final thing you should carefully consider is the actual paper you use for printing on to. Standard printer paper is not advised as it does not give a high quality print. Many people start of trying to save money by using standard paper, but i can assure you that the long term quality is no where near the same.You can buy a special sublimation paper for printing which is more expensive but highly recommended.

Printable items using Sublimation.

mike — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:56:48 +0000

Sublimation printing can be used on a huge variety of products as long as the surface is suitable for sublimation inks. Either hard or soft items are suitable in sublimation.

Hard items that can be printed onto include coated plaques, mugs, placemats, coasters, tiles, signs, metal and keyrings.
Some Soft products are polyester fabrics, polo shirts, umbrellas,bar mats, t-shirts, canvas prints, cushions, car sun screens and even doormats! To see a wide range of products that can be used visit www.printednovelties.com. A sublimation print on a suitable polyester fabric is permanent, feels like part of the fabric with no ‘hand’ and will not crack, peel or fade.
In fact With dye sublimation you can get print images onto any product which has a polyester content or surface, can withstand high temperature over 180 C and is white or light in colour.

Welcome to my blog.

mike — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:21:13 +0000

This is my guide to Sublimation printing.

I having been using Dye Sublimation for printing for over 2 years now. www.printednovelties.com

For those that dont know how this works here is a quick overview.
Sublimation is the printing process by which sublimation inks are applied to a surface and using some kind of heat press that will provide the necessary amount of heat, pressure and time which are altogether critical. These three variables all need to be monitored very carefully. This combination is what makes the ink to be transfered from a mere solid state to a gas like state and then enabling it to penetrate into the surface and then forming a permanent colour image . The inks penetrate into the surface on this item resulting in a colourful image which is far more long lasting. This is far more favourable than many printing methods out there that merely only print on surfaces of the products.

The process of Dye sublimation can only be used onto polyester or a polymer coated product. At a controlled temperature the dye then converts to a gaseous state without ever being a liquid. At this high temperature the polymer pores open and allowing the gaseos ink to enter. After the temperature reduces, the polymer pores then close then the gas then reverts back to a solid. Once this process is completed this has become apart of the products polymer. This is the reason why dye sublimation cant be applied onto natural type materials that are 100 percent cotton. These natural fibres and uncoated materials do not have pores that can open.

examples of this can be found at www.printednovelties.com