Printing usingsublimation requires a unique type of transfer printing, which must becompleted in advance. After that, the print is heated and pressed onto thedesired material, which sublimates and bonds the ink that is contained withinthe print to produce the final product. On the other hand, direct-to-garment,or DTG, printing necessitates the pre-treatment of the fabric or material,after which it is printed directly through the printer. Because of this, theink is held firmly in place on the surface of the material.
A hot press processthat is very similar to the curing process is also used to cure the ink. Bothapproaches are effective in the production of high-quality goods that can satethe requirements of even the most particular buyers. However, keep in mind thatthe sublimation printing method is the superior choice when it comes toprinting photographs and designs with a high level of detail. On the otherhand, using this method requires more patience, and in addition to yoursublimation printer, paper, and other supplies, you will also need to purchasea heat press.
Direct-to-garmentprinters are a type of inkjet printer that was developed specifically forprinting on conventional cotton and blend t-shirts. If you want to take theoverall quality of your designs and the product you sell to the next level,dye-sublimation is a better option for your company than direct-to-garment(DTG) printing. Even though this is a more time-consuming process, the resultwill please the customer, and they will be pleased with how long the designslast. Another kind of digital printing is called sublimation. In this method,the designs are first printed on large sheets of transfer paper, then they aretransferred to white shirts made of 100% polyester using a heat press.
If the shirt is goingto be red, the design will have to be printed on red paper. The heat will thentransfer the color to the shirt, so the wearer won't be able to feel the coloron their hands. It is important to keep in mind that some areas will nottransfer completely, leaving white areas near the seams and the area under thearms. Printing directly onto garments, also known as direct-to-garmentprinting, has been around for almost ten years and is capable of producingexcellent color results on certain substrates. The process is most successfulwhen applied to garments made of cotton.
Pretreatment of thegarments or items to be treated must be done using either a manual sprayer or aspecialized piece of equipment. Printing on polyester in lighter colors, aswell as both dark and light cotton, is possible with DTG printing. On the otherhand, the DTG G4 can produce incredible prints on materials made of naturalfibers such as canvas, hemp, linen, and even denim. Although the DTG G4 iscapable of decorating some hard items, its capabilities do not compare to thoseof its sublimation and DigitalHeat FX counterparts.
The process ofprinting an image using sublimation involves first printing the image on aspecialized paper and then transferring it to the garment to be printed. Theearly systems for producing white ink gained a reputation for causing printheads to clog and dry out, which resulted in expensive repairs. You and yourclients will save money as a result of the fact that you can deliver prints ofhigh quality even though you are only printing a small number of copies.Sublimation and direct-to-garment (DTG) printing are two of the printingmethods that you should think about using for your company, regardless ofwhether you are just starting and looking for the most cost-effective method orwhether you are thinking about investing in new equipment to take your companyto the next level.
The majority of thetime, a direct-to-garment (DTG) printer will make use of an inkjet print headthat travels in a horizontal direction to apply an image directly to thesurface of a garment. The garment will be mounted on a platen that willgradually move the garment through the machine directly below the print head.In contrast to DTG, Digital Heat FX transfers allow for the printing ofmultiple designs at once and can be applied to even the most intricate parts ofgarments in a variety of different locations. When printing small runs of fewerthan 20 shirts, the sublimation printing method, which is very similar to theDTG printing method, is the most cost-effective option. The process is moretime-consuming than printing directly onto the garment because the design hasto be printed first on specialized transfer paper.
Direct to garment(DTG) printing and sublimation printing, which are currently the two mostcommon printing methods, each have several key differences that you should beaware of. Standard office printers are utilized for desktop printing withsublimation (fields up to approximately 13 inches by 19 inches), whereasprofessional printers are utilized for printing on larger formats. The processof adding images directly to a garment using a specialized printer is called"direct-to-garment printing," and it's exactly what it sounds like.It is possible to use it as a base layer for images that will be printed oncolored garments, and it is also possible to use it to recreate the color whiteon colored garments.
You can get aroundthis effect by first applying a base coat of white ink, which will prevent thebackground color from showing through. This will result in the image beingprinted on a white background rather than directly against the color of thegarment.
Direct to GarmentPrinting, also known as DTG printing, is quickly becoming one of the mostwidely used methods that garment printers have at their disposal for printingimages onto t-shirts and other items. Screen printing is an outdated methodthat transfers ink to the garment by forcing it through a mesh screen.Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, on the other hand, is comparable to printingon paper with an inkjet printer, except that instead of printing on paper, youprint directly onto the shirt using special water-based inks that are absorbedby the fabric.
You can print gorgeousimages onto shirts, sweatshirts, or other fabric items with just one pass, andbecause of this ability, you can do small print runs at a price that is moremanageable for most people.
Because of the expenseand amount of time required to create the artwork, burn the screens, and set upthe press, the majority of screen printers require a minimum order of at leastone hundred shirts before they will print an image that is both complex andcolorful.
You can get stunningimages from a straightforward DTG printer in a matter of minutes, whereas itwould take you several hours to set up and prepare a screen printer to printyour first shirt using the screen printing method. The ability to produceartwork of high quality and stunning aesthetic in a short amount of time and ata low cost is an excellent value to the customer for the proprietor of a smallbusiness.
One of the mostsignificant benefits of sublimation printing is that it makes it possible toprint in continuous tones. This means that the transition from one color to thenext will not be noticeable to the viewer.
Therefore, if you havedesigns that involve photography and you want the image that is printed on theshirt to best match the photo, sublimation is the printing method that youshould use.
While inkjet printingfor DTG can produce colorful images, it cannot match the smooth tones that canbe achieved with sublimation.
The print's ability tolast for a long time is yet another benefit of the sublimation printingprocess. Because printed dyes do not quickly fade and are embedded into thefibers, your image will be able to withstand repeated washings and continue tolook great for years, which will please your customers.
Similar todirect-to-garment (DTG) printing, sublimation printing can save you money ifyou only need to print a small run of fewer than 20 shirts at a time.
The disadvantage ofsublimation printing compared to direct-to-garment printing (DTG) is that theprocess is more time-consuming; first, the image must be printed onto transferpaper, and then the paper must be applied to the shirt.
If you want to takethe quality of the designs and the final product to the next level for yourcompany, dye sublimation is an excellent alternative to direct-to-garmentprinting (DTG). Even though it is a more time-consuming process, the resultwill please the customer, and they will be pleased with how long the designscontinue to look good.