HEAT TRANSFER Vs. SUBLIMATION
HEAT TRANSFER Vs. SUBLIMATION | T-Shirt Printing & More
So in this blog of apparel will break down for you the key differences between a two-step heat transfer printing method and sublimation printing. And what are some key considerations to keep in mind so that you can make the right choice for your business. Although there are a lot more apparel decoration methods that involve printing out there we wanted to specifically cover these two types of printing methods because both of these methods can be done on the ricoma r550 white toner transfer printer.
What is heat transfer printing?
When we
talk about heat transfer printing we're talking specifically about a two-step
method so what do those two steps actually involve so step number one in this
two-step heat transfer printing method is actually printing a design onto a
transparent sheet of transfer paper, then in step two you actually transfer
that design that was printed on that transfer paper onto an adhesive paper
using a heat press, finally you peel away the adhesive sheet from the transfer
sheet and then you press the design onto the substrate such as a piece of
garment using a heat press.
After pressing
the garment you then peel away the actual paper and you're left with a design. That's
transferred onto the garment itself the white toner transfer printer uses this
very two-step heat transfer method. To apply designs onto various light and
dark color garments even onto hard surfaces such as wood aluminum or even metal.
What is Sublimation Printing?
So sublimation
printing involves a similar process where you're printing the design onto
regular copy paper or specialty sublimation paper and then using heat via a
heat press to transfer that printed design onto a substrate such as a piece of garment
the key difference lies in how sublimation works. The science behind it during
sublimation when the actual printed design is heated via a heat press the toner
on the transfer paper itself actually turns from a solid state into a gas state
and then it embeds itself into the fabric. When it cools it actually goes back
to being installed and then becomes a permanent part of the fabric. That means
unlike two-step heat transfer printing method sublimation actually adds no
additional layer of paper. On top of the fabric and you can't feel the
difference of the printed image and the rest of the fabric.
Durability and Feel
Between these
two methods the first topic that we're going to cover between these two methods
is durability and feel as briefly mentioned before. Sublimation does not add an
extra layer on top of your fabric versus a two-step heat transfer printing
method actually leaves a thin layer on top of your fabric so the feel is going
to be much different. So right off the bat you will feel a difference between
the printed design using these two methods now in terms of durability with a
heat transfer printed design it can last about 30 to 40 washes depending on how
large your design is and how it's actually being washed.
Now on
the other hand with sublimation because the ink or the toner is actually infused
inside, the fabric and becomes a part of the fabric it is a much more permanent
design onto the fabric and it can withstand a lot more. Washes in fact most sublimated
designs will last just as long as the actual fabric itself because you're not
leaving an extra layer of transfer on top of the fabric.
Variety
You're not
going to see any cracking after washes and the image is much less likely to
fade with sublimation, so in this category of durability and feel it is pretty
clear that sublimation wins out in this category because it can last a lot
longer and you don't feel the actual transfer image on top of the garment
alright the second item to consider between sublimation printing and heat transfer
printing is the variety of substrates that you can transfer images onto with
sublimation printing.
You are
much more limited in the variety of substrates that you can transfer images
onto this is because sublimation can only adhere to polyester coated materials
even if you use something that is 60 polyester and 40 cotton which is really
about the minimum amount of polyester. That you need in order to make sublimation
work in that 60/40 poly cotton blends.
Color Quality
You're not
going to get as much vibrancy in your transfer design versus 100 polyester with
sublimation. You also have to use only white colored substrates or very light colored
substrates that means you can't use sublimation on a black t-shirt or a dark
mug because the actual design won't show on the other hand with white toner
heat transfer printing. You can actually print on light and dark colored
garments and you're not limited to anything with polyester only in fact with
heat transfer printing you can heat transfer onto cotton onto polyester even
ceramic and other hard surfaces like wood and metal and therefore in this
category of variety of substrates you can transfer onto heat transfer
definitely wins out.
In this
one because of the variety of things that you can do finally let's go into the
category of the quality of the colors you can print using these two methods. First
off sublimation allows you to print full colors and this can be super helpful
when trying to sublimate a photo. For example or doing a particular job for a
customer that requires a very specific color such as one for a company logo you
can also achieve sharp vibrant designs using heat transfer paper.
If you're
printing your design using a white toner transfer, it really is a virtual tie in
this category between sublimation and heat transfer printing because you can achieve
full color vibrant designs with either method the real difference lies in the
durability and the feel of either method also the variety of substrates that
you can transfer onto but fortunately you can achieve the best of both worlds using
a white toner transfer.
Conclusion
Both printing
methods involve a similar process but yield very different results however in
sublimation printing the ink or toner actually permeates throughout the fabric
and becomes part of the fabric itself.
In two-step
heat transfer printing on the other hand the image simply becomes another layer
on top of the substrate thankfully the white toner transfer printing system can
achieve either method simply by swapping out the toner cartridge so make sure
you keep these considerations in mind when deciding which method to use to fulfill.
The needs
of your customers at the end of the day it really depends on what your customer
is looking for the type of material. They're looking to get printed on and that
will drive your decision on what is best for your customers. If you're looking
to get started in the heat transfer printing business or you're looking to add
on to your existing apparel decoration business make sure to check out the tonner.
Ultimately, which method you choose depends on what your customer is looking for and the type of material they want to print on.
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