The emergence of new printing technologies can improve the quality of prints and makes their scope wider. Among them, the sublimation printing is especially distinguished, the essence of which is the application of the image on products made of ceramics, wood, textile and other materials.
What is sublimation?
Sublimation is the transfer of dye in a heated state to thermal paper. In the thermal printer, the ink evaporates, and the image is applied from the tape, which is located between the thermal paper and the element heating the ink. Thus, during sublimation there is no liquid phase of the paint, it immediately passes from the gaseous to the solid phase. Sublimation printing is similar to inkjet printing, but with the only difference being that in this case each dot is displayed on the applied surface, so the image is more realistic and stable.
Sublimation on fabric
This printing technology is used to apply images to various media. One such carrier is fabric. The most common sublimation print on t-shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts. Such clothes can be washed, ironed and even bleached. Sublimation printing on fabric is the transfer of an image that is printed on a large format printer onto fabric, while the image is bright, saturated and stable.
Where fabric sublimation is used
The transfer of images to clothes by sublimation is widely used by designers. Now it’s popular to make clothes for promotions: they put the company logo on T-shirts, blouses, ties. In addition, custom-made sublimation on clothes, scarves or scarves is a good souvenir.
Sublimation technology on fabric
The sublimation technology of printing on clothes is that first the image is transferred to paper. Then the paper, together with the fabric, is sent to a special device, which transfers the image from the paper to the fabric under pressure and high temperature. The paint, having passed into a gaseous state, penetrates into the fabric and passes into a solid state in its fibers. All this happens at temperatures above 180 degrees. The image becomes resistant due to the fact that the fibers of the fabric expand when heated and paint penetrates into them. Gradually, the temperature drops and the pores of the fibers close, so the paint remains inside the fabric and reliably protects from external influences. For sublimation printing, only synthetic fabrics are used, since natural ones do not have the ability to open and close their pores.
Printing on circles
Sublimation printing on circles allows you to get a high quality image. The technology for applying the image (usually photography) is the same as when applied to the fabric - first on paper, and then on a ceramic mug. In this case, the pixel borders are not visible even when viewed under a microscope. The colors are bright, and the transitions between them are smooth.
Sublimation printing is a great option for those who care about image quality, because most often such mugs or T-shirts are designed for gifts to relatives and business partners. Thanks to this printing method, the image is durable, and therefore memorable.