So you want to sublimate the entire garment?

All you need to do is buy a large printer, a large heat press, inks, and paper. Sounds simple enough, right?

A full sublimation tshirt

Well, it is simple but there are a few things you need to consider when you decide to take the BIG step into wide format garment decoration.

The first and most important question: what is your market and can you create the demand for your unique products in your market to justify the expense and time to learn the production process? What will separate you from the other guys? Will the addition of wide format sublimation add the extra revenue to justify your investment? I am not going to get into the marketing in this blog, but you know your business and customers better than anyone so get that business and marketing plan together so you can realize the extra profits from your new garment decoration capability. Continue reading “So you want to sublimate the entire garment?”

The Basics of ArTainium and Sublijet Ink

Questions regarding the difference between the ArTainium and Sublijet brands of sublimation ink are asked continuously. So, here’s a simple explanation to differentiate between the two… Continue reading “The Basics of ArTainium and Sublijet Ink”

The Wonderful World of 3G Jet Opaque

3G JET-OPAQUE® Heat Transfer Paper was designed in 2009 to apply decoration to dark fabrics.  The thorough evaluation of prototypes, trial runs and finished products included evaluation on synthetic fiber t-shirts.  100% cotton, 50/50 blend and 100% synthetic fiber garments … Continue reading

3G JET-OPAQUE® Heat Transfer Paper was designed in 2009 to apply decoration to dark fabrics.  The thorough evaluation of prototypes, trial runs and finished products included evaluation on synthetic fiber t-shirts.  100% cotton, 50/50 blend and 100% synthetic fiber garments were used in the evaluation. Performance fabrics that contain lycra were not included since this is a film transfer and not designed to be breathable.

The dyes used for polyester fiber have a tendency to sublimate if they are heated very hot.  To reduce this, it is recommended that the application temperature be reduced and the dwell time be increased.  Since the amount of dye, type of dye and how readily it sublimes varies significantly across the number of products available we recommend starting with 350 F and working down in 25 degree increments until the dye no longer sublimes.  As the temperature decreases increase the dwell time from 30 seconds to insure that the transfer is bonded and will have good wash-durability.   Continue reading “The Wonderful World of 3G Jet Opaque”