What is dye sublimation printing ?
The sublimation process is a process in which a substrate (usually paper) is imaged using conventional printing processes with dyes and then transferred to another substrate (usually synthetic material) using heat and pressure. The inks are special sublimation inks, which contain dye. The original substrate (hereafter, printed transfer) is placed against the synthetic material. When heat and pressure is applied the dyes within the ink of the printed transfer turn into a gas and chemically bond with the synthetic material. When the printed transfer and synthetic material are separated the synthetic material ends up with a reverse image of the printed transfer. The printed transfer can only be used once. The printed transfers are usually imaged using the offset or silk screen process. Offset is the highest quality method of producing the transfers.
Sublimation (as defined by chemistry) – “To cause (a solid or gas) to change state without becoming liquid”. The sublimation process imprints images into synthetic man-made fabrics by applying dyes that turn from a solid to gas when heated. When the sublimation dye is placed next to polyester and heated, at approximately 400 degrees the polyester molecules open. The sublimation dye, which at this time is a gas, will then be able to penetrate the surface of the polyester. After the heat is removed, the polyester molecules will close and permanently trap the sublimation dyes producing the image and becoming a part of that sublimated surface making the design permanent.
