A Primer on Dye Sublimation Transfer

By Johnny Shell,

SGIA Vice President, Technical Services

The basic dye sublimation process uses special heat-sensitive dyes to print graphics and text onto special transfer paper. The paper is then placed on a "sublimatable" item and both are placed into a heat press.

When the heating cycle is completed, the image on the paper has been transferred to the item and has actually become a part of the surface. Run your finger across the surface of a sublimated plate and you will feel nothing.

The reason for this is that sublimation is always done on a polyester, polymer, or polymer-coated item. At high temperatures, the solid dye converts into a gas without ever becoming a liquid. The same high temperature opens the pores of the polymer and allows the gas to enter. When the temperature drops, the pores close and the gas reverts to a solid state. It has now become a part of the polymer.

This is why dye sublimation can’t be done on natural materials, such as 100% cotton. Natural fibers and non-coated materials have no "pores" to open.

A dye impregnates color into a material and, many times, this color change is permanent.

Sublimation refers to changes from the solid to the gaseous state without becoming liquid.

A polymer consists of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple molecules.

Dye sublimation refers to solid dye particles that are changed into gas using heat and pressure, which then bond with any polymers present and change back into a solid.

One print technology used for dye sublimation transfer uses inkjet printers. There is some confusion because we do not use "ink," per se. The fluid stored in the inkjet cartridge is just the carrier of the dye. The carrier stays on the paper; only the dye migrates from paper to the substrate. The dye has little or no color until heated, so what you see on the paper usually looks nothing like the final transferred image.

Other forms of dye sublimation transfers are done with thermal printers, offset printers, laser printers, and by screen printed transfers.

Dark materials cannot be used with this process. This is not ink. This is a dye. Adding small amounts of color to a dark doesn’t do much. If you have black ink and add a small amount of green, I doubt that you would be able to tell.

Garments decorated with a dye sublimation transfer cannot be removed like images on shirts decorated with screen printing. Again, this is not ink that sits on top of the fabric; it is a dye that penetrates the fiber of the fabric. If spots appear after transferring the image to the garment, chances are they cannot be removed if the garment is between 50% to 100% polyester. If you can, you are probably not transferring the images correctly … or there is something else wrong.

You can try bleach, but it shouldn’t work: if done correctly on polyester, dyes are permanent … as they have become part of the fabric.

One of the most frequent questions regarding dye sublimation is: "If dye sublimation only works with polyester, how does it work on ceramics, glass and metal?" All of these products need a coating, which is a special layer of polymer to which the dyes bond.

So why doesn’t it work on cotton?

The dye particles are designed to bond with polyester, and ignore everything else. It is like trying to mix oil and water with most natural materials. There are fabric enhancers, prep sheets, and sprays that can be added to non-polyester fabrics which add a layer of polyester to the shirt. This works better on 50/50 shirts, since the added polyester can bond with the polyester that is already part of the shirt.

What You Will Need

Computer: PC or MAC with as much memory as you can afford and plenty of disk space.

Graphics software: Either Adobe Photoshop or CorelDraw. Other packages – like Macromedia Freehand, Adobe Illustrator, etc. – work well for color correcting.

Printer: There are a variety of printers from which to choose, depending on your needs. The printer you choose must be compatible with the inks/toners/ribbons that are available – and not all printers will work with dye sublimation. Laser printers can also be used (there are dye sublimation cartridges for laser printers).

Heat: This refers to a heat press, of which there are several to choose – again, depending on your needs. The clam shell style will work on shirts, mouse pads and other flat items. A swinger type of press is better if you are going to be working on thicker items such as tiles, cultured marble, glass and wood products. A clam style press – usually priced between the fixed clam shell and the swinger – is adjustable to take the thicker items. There are specialty presses, which accommodate such substrates as mugs, plates, and hats … and are combo presses, which have interchangeable platens combining a flat press and specialty press into one.

Dye sublimation: Depending on your printer, you will need ink, ribbons or toners for your dye sublimation printer. If you have a printer that uses ribbons, there is usually only one choice; but if you are using a printer that takes toners or inks, there are a variety of choices. Toners are available in cartridges for many different laser printers. The difference in toners is in the colors themselves and the ability of the toner/printer combination to put this toner on the paper. For example, some black toners give a darker, more opaque black or may have an over abundance of "overspray" (e.g,. spray paint that gets onto areas where you don’t want it).

In my opinion, the differences in inks are much more extensive than in toners.

Paper: Start by using the paper recommended by the ink/toner/ribbon manufacturer. When you have experience with the process, you can then venture out and try different papers.

Blank Products: Check to make sure that the products you purchase are right for the type of sublimation you are doing – especially ceramic products.

In deciding if the dye sublimation business is right for you, first research to determine if you really can get a return from this business … and whether you are willing to invest the time, money, and effort needed to make it work. To answer that question, try talking to some people who have been in the business a while and don’t mind sharing their experiences.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------