Sublimation

Simply put, sublimation is a method of printing that transfers a design in to, not on a material using ink and heat.

The design is printed on to a special sublimation paper, and then heat pressed on the item.

The heat converts the ink in to a gaseous state, which then bonds with the material, permanently binding with it.

The effects are permanent as the ink is embedded in the fabric or substrate rather than simply printing on top of it.

This results in a full colour image that won’t crack, peel or wash away from the substrate.

Similarly on hard surfaces, the image will not fade from dishwashing, or cleaning.

The main “downside” is that the material has to have a high percentage of polyester for the chemical bonding to work.

Which means that to use sublimation for t-shirts, we use only 100% polyester shirts at this time, and as the colours pop most when the surface is bright coloured, we recommend mainly using white shirts, coffee mugs, mouse mats, etc. (But other light colours are possible, contact us for details)