What is dye sublimation?
Dye sublimation is a process of thermal printing in which a Dye is transferred from the Color Roll to the Transfer Roll as a solid to a gas to a solid. The Dye never becomes liquid, only a gas. Thus it is not applied like an inkjet process in dots. The gas application allows the colors to blend better to produce a more photo realistic image.
(Q) What is “dye migration” or “dye sublimation?” Garments with a high polyester content are subject to a nasty little phenomenon called “dye migration” – also known as “dye sublimation.” Granted, it can occur with any type of fabric, even those with all-organic composition. By far however, the most problems are experienced with shirts woven together with polyester fabric. Dye migration can actually cause the imprint on your shirt to degrade and change colors. Worse yet, it might happen immediately – while the garment is still in our shop…or become noticeable a month after you have received the shirts. Of course, there is a chance, albeit a small one, the issue might not even arise. But in our experience, we would not gamble on it – as there is simply no way to predict when this problem will rear its ugly head. For instance, our last batch of 50/50 substrate involved printing a yellow tiger, with its details and outlines in black…on royal blue shirts. To make a long story short, the ti
