These images are created using a process called Dye Sublimation.
The basic dye sublimation process uses special heat-sensitive dyes to print onto special transfer paper. The paper is then placed on a "sublimatable" item and both are placed into a heat press.
When the heating cycle is completed, the image on the paper has been transferred to the item and has actually reformed into or underneath the coated surface. Run your finger across the surface of a sublimated plate, mug,or any coated product and you will feel nothing.
The reason for this is that sublimation is always done on a polyester, polymer, or polymer-coated item. At high temperatures, the solid dye converts into a gas without ever becoming a liquid. The same high temperature opens the pores of the polymer and allows the gas to enter. When the temperature drops, the pores close and the gas reverts to a solid state. It has now become a part of the polymer.
This is why dye sublimation can’t be done on natural materials, such as 100% cotton. Natural fibers and non-coated materials which have no "pores" to open.
A dye impregnates color into a material and, many times, this color change is permanent. Sublimation refers to changes from the solid, to the gaseous state without becoming liquid. A polymer consists of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple molecules.
Dye sublimation refers to solid dye particles that are changed into gas using heat and pressure, which then bond with any polymers present and change back into a solid.
We have chosen to use the inkjet printer version of this technology. We made that decision because we believed that this medium would give us brighter colors. We do not use "ink," per se. The fluid is just the carrier of the dye. The carrier stays on the paper; only the dye migrates from paper to the substrate. The dye has little or no color until heated, so what you see on the paper usually looks nothing like the final transferred image.
Other forms of dye sublimation transfers are done with thermal printers, offset printers and laser printers.
Garments decorated with a dye sublimation transfer cannot be removed like images on shirts decorated with screen printing. Again, this is not ink that sits on top of the fabric; it is a dye that penetrates the fiber of the fabric. If spots appear after transferring the image to the garment, chances are they cannot be removed if the garment is between 50% to 100% polyester. If you can, you are probably not transferring the images correctly … or there is something else wrong.
You can try bleach, but it shouldn’t work: if done correctly on polyester, dyes are permanent … as they have become part of the fabric.
One of the most frequent questions regarding dye sublimation is:
"If dye sublimation only works with polyester, how does it work on ceramics, glass and metal?" All of these products need a coating, which is a special layer of polymer which when heated allow the dyes to go thru as a gas.
The dye particles are designed to bond with polyester, and ignore everything else. It is like trying to mix oil and water with most natural materials. There are fabric enhancers, prep sheets, and sprays that can be added to non-polyester fabrics which add a layer of polyester to the shirt. This works better on 50/50 shirts, since the added polyester can bond with the polyester that is already part of the shirt.
Our Photo Image Line
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