Five Do’s and Don’ts of Sublimation
Sublimation for custom clothing is in high demand these days and is a process that demands extra care at every step. That’s why “do’s and don’ts” must be taken to heart to acquire astonishing customized print results on fabric.
Five Do’s of Sublimation
A High-Resolution Design Never Disappoints
The first and the most vital step of sublimation you need to do is creating a design that is going to be imprinted on the fabric. A high-resolution design is the ultimate need of your perfect sublimation. When you are using low-quality photos for sublimation then burst out pixels are the possible consequence. You must be concerned that why we are forcing high-resolution design? The sole purpose is to ensure clarity in printing and don’t let the sublimation fail with blurry pixels.
Heat Press is a Savior in Sublimation
The step which demands your complete attention is the heat press. 80-90% of success in sublimation is achieved through accuracy in a heat press. Yes, you read it right: heat press lies above all other steps during sublimation printing of shirts. Heating with a temperature of 400 ̊F for 45 to 55 seconds leads to unrivaled sublimation printing. Cutting-edge press machines let you acquire exquisite sublimation printing.
Cooling is as Important as Heating
Following the heat press, give some time to the fabric so that it cools down properly. If you handle the sublimation print hurriedly without letting it cool down, you are offering a complete mess to the print. A messy print then leads to the waste of fabric, press heat, and time. It is better to allow the cooling down of fabric than to create a mess.
Prefer Print a Larger Print
Sublimation printing is not devoid of errors many times. You must be concerned about how to avoid these errors? Always obtain a print larger than the required size to avoid the miss print or any other errors on edges. Errors are always less noticeable on the bigger prints. If an image is printed in a smaller size even the minor error gets prominent and diminishes the value of a customized printed shirt. If the sublimation print is smaller in size, then you offer a lot of white space on the fabric which does not seem pleasant to the sight.
Always Look for Clog in Printer Before You Process
Banding in the final print is the major issue that can distort the quality of sublimated print. If you have achieved accurate printing paper and an efficient heat press machine, then you must look for the clog in the printer. The most usual location of the clog is the printer’s nozzle. At first, go for cleaning the nozzle and remove the clog. The banding issue in the final printing would be automatically resolved. This will lead to a crystal clear print devoid of any lines or blurriness.
Five Don’ts of Sublimation Printing
Never Print on Cotton/Silk Fabric
Sublimation printing is never favorable for cotton, silk, or any other natural fabric. Print never turns out to be perfect on these fabrics with natural fibers. If you are fond of sublimation printing you must go for best fabrics for sublimation such as:
Polyester (synthetic fibers)
Rayon (Sublimation friendly)
Lycra Fabric
Spandex
Always do a test print on the new fabric before moving to the actual sublimation printing process. Different fabrics react differently to sublimation inks; a little test is always better than wasting the whole valuable fabric.
Never Allow Movement
Ghosting is the enemy of sublimation and you must be concerned about where did it come from? Ghosting always rises from movement. Whenever the sublimation print is transferred to the required subject and the print moves. The result is duplicate prints on the fabric and the ultimate consequence is ghosting. Movement is the biggest supporter of ghosting which need to be eradicated. Once sublimation printing is achieved without movement, a clear print awaits you.
Never go for Sublimation on Moisture Surface
Moisture does greater damage to sublimation printing than anything else. It does not allow the ink to be absorbed evenly and completely. This leads to blank spaces in the print thus diminishing the overall value and outlook of the print.
To overcome this issue, pre-heating at the moisture or the whole surface excludes the moisture. Thus, a perfectly detailed print is possible to acquire.
Never Apply Prolonged Heat Press
As we all are well aware of the proverb “Excess of everything is bad”. The same is the case with the longer application of temperature and pressure during sublimation printing. Never go too far during the sublimation process and apply every step with enhanced care.
When heat press is carried out for a longer time the print ultimately fades out and it never comes out as required. A faded print is never valued as the prominent print on t-shirts.
Never Compromise on Vibrancy of Image
Mismatch of color in the computer and printer’s setting is a dilemma that can happen during the sublimation process. This happens due to RCB color mode on a computer which depicts different colors of the print on a computer screen. But the printer a has CMYK setting which allows a different display of colors when it is printed.
This issue can be avoided by pre-setting of printer which aligns with the computer setting. A software “RIP Software” is available for color checking and guards against the color mismatch. This software detects the colored spots. Thus, depicts a print that lacks any mismatch in sublimated print. Hence, an astonishingly colored print is achieved. This mismatch does not affect the print’s quality. But it delivers odd color combinations which devalue the fabric.
In conclusion this blog covers the critical steps during the sublimation printing process. The blog is concerned with steps that are strictly needed to be followed during sublimation and steps which are avoided.