How to Do Sublimation Printing On T-shirt Manufacture?

T-shirt print sublimation is such an amazing procedure! And it’s not quite as daunting as it might seem. In essence, heat is used to activate particular sublimation sheets and colors. In just a few seconds, the inks vaporize and color the surface. Furthermore, you cannot feel the printed motifs because they are woven into the fabric of the shirt.

How sublimation printing on t-shirts will be explained in this post. You’ll discover how to create a custom sublimation print on a t-shirt. Last but not least, there are hints on which printer and supplies to utilize for this operation.

Things you need for Sublimation Printing

To produce sublimation t-shirts, specific tools are required, including a sublimation printer, dyes, and transfer paper. Despite what could seem like an expensive initial expenditure, bear in mind that this kind of printing is quickly rising to the top of the market in terms of quality!

Let’s simplify it to the bare minimum needed to get started with this type of printing.

• To get started, you’ll need a sublimation printer. If you appreciate technology, you can also turn a regular inkjet printer into a sublimation printer. Most artists choose to get a printer like this one that is made to operate with sublimation dyes because the process might be a bit complicated for the average person.
• Without a heat press, sublimation prints are impossible. You cannot use your iron and ironing board for this, unlike other types of home printing, but if you only need to generate small sublimation designs, you can use a small press like the CricutEasyPress. Greater surface area and more expensive heat presses, but they are definitely worth the investment!
• Additionally, you need to transfer paper that has been treated with chemicals that aid in the dye particles evaporating into a gas. Ideally, you should choose a reasonably thick paper that resists wrinkling, like this particular type. The most important thing to understand about sublimation transfer paper is that it cannot under any circumstances be used in place of special sublimation paper for heat presses.
• You’ll also need dye refills as you get into the process. You can get refills reasonably priced, like this, because our sublimation printer just employs the digital primary colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.
• Making your own exclusive designs is likely what you should do if you want to start a t-shirt company. You’ll need to be proficient in a program for digital design for this, such as Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape.
• You’ll also need shirts to print on, but that’s not the only thing! Keep in mind that sublimation printing functions best on shirts made of 100% polyester for the time being; additional information about this will be provided later in this article.

Process of sublimation printing on a t-shirt:

You can quickly learn how to do sublimation printing on shirts if you have the necessary tools on hand. Simply follow these simple instructions to get going.

1. Selecting an image should be your first step. You can create your own designs, use photos you discover online, or use your own, and then print them using sublimation printers. It will appear drab when printed, and that is exactly how it should appear! Heat activates the dye, giving the color its vivid quality, the addition of a piece of butcher paper.
2. Then, in order to prevent the ink from bleeding through the back of your shirt or pillowcase, you must place butcher paper inside of them. It should be pressed to remove any creases if it is wrinkled. The sublimation dye will be uneven if there are any folds.
3. The shirt where the picture will be placed will then need to be thoroughly lint-rolled. A blemish will appear in the pattern if any pet or dust hair gets lodged underneath the image. With the picture facing down, position the sublimation transfer sheet. To prevent it from moving during the press and producing ghost pictures, You should tape it down using heat-resistant tape.
4. To sublimate a shirt, as previously said, you can use an EasyPress 2 or heat press (an iron won’t do!). You require steady, intense heat. If at all feasible, make sure the EasyPress is bigger than the image to allow you to press it all at once.
5. The sublimation paper you have should have instructions. Then change the settings on my EasyPress 2 in accordance with what the two I’m using said about using two different temps.
6. To protect your press, use a Teflon sheet or another piece of butcher paper on top of the sublimation paper before setting the press directly over the picture. Depending on what the directions for the brand you are using suggest, press for 30 seconds with medium to high pressure.
7. Remove the butcher paper first, followed by the transfer sheet, and then remove your press by lifting it straight up (to avoid moving things around). Sublimating a t-shirt is really as simple as that!

To examine the variations across sublimation paper brands and poly mixes, however, you can unquestionably delve further.

Final Words

Try sublimation printing if you’re looking for a durable, high-quality t-shirt design! In order to print on polyester fabric, a specific dye that can transform into a gas under extreme heat is used. Almost any design may be produced using this printing technique, including full-color photographs, but it only works on polyester or fabric that has a significant amount of polyester fibers in it.