Sublimation Printing vs Heat Transfer Vinyl - Tshirts
Wanting to understand the difference between "Sublimation Printing" and "Heat Transfer Vinyl" when looking at Tshirt personalisation? Have a read through the below.
Sublimation Printing is a chemical process involving special paper and ink. We print an image onto sublimation paper using sublimation ink. The ink is then converted to a gas by using a high temperature heat press. This process transfers the image from the print, onto the shirt. The beauty of sublimation printing is that the image feels like it's part of the fabric because it is infused into the material fibers. Sublimation printing is brilliant for images which have lots of different colours or layers which we may not be able to achieve using Heat Transfer Vinyl. Sublimation printing does have its limitations though - it can only be done onto 100% polyester t-shirts and we can't sublimate onto black or dark coloured shirts (yet!). You can iron over the top of sublimation printing.
Sublimation Printing is a chemical process involving special paper and ink. We print an image onto sublimation paper using sublimation ink. The ink is then converted to a gas by using a high temperature heat press. This process transfers the image from the print, onto the shirt. The beauty of sublimation printing is that the image feels like it's part of the fabric because it is infused into the material fibers. Sublimation printing is brilliant for images which have lots of different colours or layers which we may not be able to achieve using Heat Transfer Vinyl. Sublimation printing does have its limitations though - it can only be done onto 100% polyester t-shirts and we can't sublimate onto black or dark coloured shirts (yet!). You can iron over the top of sublimation printing.
Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) images or text are exactly that....Heat Transfer Vinyl! We precision cut your image from vinyl and apply it to the shirt using a heat press. HTV is a great option for simple images and text. It can be layered, however this can get a bit fiddly at times. Unlike sublimation printing, you will be able to feel the difference between the shirt material and the image. We use very high quality vinyl and you'll hardly notice the different feeling when worn. The beauty of HTV is that it can be done onto almost any type of material. We can print onto black or dark coloured shirts using this method! Shirts with HTV should be ironed inside out (so the HTV doesn't stick to your iron!).
Still not sure?
If you're not sure which method is best suited to your needs, feel free to get in touch and we can make a recommendation for you and, if you need something we cannot provide - we'll point you in the direct of someone who can.