# Sublimation sucks comment



## squeed (Dec 22, 2010)

I know a screen printer who turns down one of a kind jobs, they prefer to only do 12 pieces or more. So I asked them about sublimation for single piece orders, my thoughts being that if I'm going to start a sublimation business, and I know a printer who turns away single piece jobs, that it would be a great lead source for me to get started.

They commented that sublimation sucks, but didn't really elaborate.

I'm thinking quality?
Maybe the print heads get clogged all of the time?

Does anyone else agree that sublimation "sucks" or is it decent quality compared to screen printing?

-S


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

It's hard to say what the screen printer meant without asking him to elaborate 

One of the big issues with dye sublimation in comparison to screen printing is that dye sub can't be done on 100% cotton materials.

Most screen printing jobs are done on 100% cotton t-shirts, so the customer the screen printer is turning down may not turn out to be a good fit for dye sublimation if they are expecting to use a Gildan 2000 or Hanes Beefy Tee t-shirt (for example)

Dye sublimation also can't be done on dark colored t-shirts (no white ink), so that rules out another large percentage of screen printing customers.

When done on 100% polyester t-shirts, the quality of dye sublimation is great. The feel of 100% polyester t-shirts isn't as widely accepted as 100% cotton t-shirts though.


----------



## squeed (Dec 22, 2010)

But isn't Chromoblast ink also sublimation? I thought that you could sublimate on cotton T's with Chromoblast?

-S


----------



## DemoGrfx (Dec 14, 2010)

I bought a sublimation printer to add to my screen printing business about a month or so ago. I don't like the idea that it doesn't print white. I also don't like the idea that I have to print on just the lite garmets and 100% polyester.


----------



## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Dye sublimation is a niche market. As with any product you better understand where your revenue is going to come from before you invest in the business. The t-shirt market seems flooded with screen printers, DTG, and dye sublimation. All fighting over the same customers which reduces margin. Find a market that is profitable than find the best solution to meet the demand.


----------



## mn shutterbug (Mar 19, 2009)

DemoGrfx said:


> I bought a sublimation printer to add to my screen printing business about a month or so ago. I don't like the idea that it doesn't print white. I also don't like the idea that I have to print on just the lite garmets and 100% polyester.


Everything has it's pros and cons. 

Many golf shops have now gone to polyester shirts in their pro shops. Our local gold club sells them for $60, and they have very little printed on them. I think many people are starting to prefer them now due to their wicking capabilities.


----------



## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

I have been doing dye-sublimation for quite a while now - small, big and everything in between orders. 

As Rodney pointed out - sublimation doesn't work on cotton (or any other natural fabrics for this matter) and it doesn't work on dark fabrics: the design should always be darker, then the background. So, in this respect sublimation is not a substitute for screen printing when it comes to short runs.

If you will look at any sports code uniforms, swimsuits, workout apparel - most of it will be sublimated. All these cycling tops, netball dresses, basketball and soccer uniforms, etc. 

Sublimation is an ideal fit for moisture wicking performance fabrics - the print is dyed into the fabric so it doesn't impair breathibility, it will not crack or fade and you can't feel it on the surface of the garment.

Lately, there are a lot of sublimated garments in fashion industry as well - I see more and more girls tops and dresses with all-over sublimated prints in shopping malls and I get regular requests for custom made activewear for surf/skate/activewear lables. 
There are polyester fabrics that look like cotton, but perform like moisture-wicking sports wear wich makes them comfortable to wear out-and-about in hot weather, on the dance floor or anytime at all (like I do).

There is a great section dedicated to sublimation here on the forums, if you are interested. Apart from clothing, you can sublimate on wide variety of things - ceramics, wood, neoprene, metal (all of it should be professionaly polymer coated; there are a lot of vendors selling sublination blanks - check out Conde, for example)

If you are looking to print on very small runs of cotton t-shirts - DTG could be the way to go, but it's a very serious investement.


----------



## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

Chromablast is NOT sublimation....sublimation actually dyes the polyester fibers...will not bond to cotton. Chromablast is another transfer method for cotton....again only for white/lite pastels. The ink is just as expensive as sublimation and requires a dedicated printer just like sublimation..AND the paper is much more expensive than sublimation. Last I checked it was about 75 cents a sheet.

since you mentioned screen printing, you might want to check out this comparison:
Screenprint vs. ChromaBlast « SubliStuff


----------



## red514 (Jul 21, 2009)

I believe Chromoblast mislead allot of people to think it's equal to sublimation, but it's not the same thing.

Not sure why the printer would say 'sublimation sucks', sounds like he either is uneducated or just wanted to end the conversation because it's not an option for him.
comparing screen printing to sublimation isn't fair, they are completely different. There's allot of limitations with both but the big one for sublimation is non cotton materials and white ground only (if you have white in your design). so i could see the printer jsut not wanting to get into the discussion and saying 'sublimation sucks'.. too bad he didn't elaborate for you.


----------



## EnMartian (Feb 14, 2008)

charles95405 said:


> since you mentioned screen printing, you might want to check out this comparison:
> Screenprint vs. ChromaBlast « SubliStuff


Thanks for mentioning the SubliStuff blog, Charles! 

Sublimation can be a great technique if you do a lot of performance wear or uniforms for teams. Vapor Apparel makes a lot of great performance wear for sublimation. 

Sublimation is also a great option for those shops that want to expand beyond clothing. Doing mugs or mousepads or jigsaw puzzles or dog tags etc. can be a great way to create an additional profit center. 

The equipment used for sublimation doesn't seem, overall, to have any more issues than any other printing method. Like anything else, there is a learning curve and maintenance requirements to keep the printer running smoothly, but I don't think those requirements are excessive.


----------



## sister1 (Jun 16, 2008)

I'm primarily a screen printer, but started with sublimation about 3 years ago. I love it because it was inexpensive to get started with, and turned out to be a great alternative to screen printing one shirt (even with a screen prep charge, you lose money on single shirt orders). Yes, the light colored poly limitation is a drawback, but I have found that there is a definite age line, on one side of which are those of us who remember when polyester first came out and was torture to wear, and on the other side of which are those who could care less. The feel of polyester is so good now that I have had little problem convincing anyone to go with it for one-time "joke" shirts. 

Sublimation is also my bread and butter during the holiday season -- mugs, ornaments, photo panels, coasters, front license plates, clocks... in fact, when I first got into this, I was told that mugs were done, and I shouldn't depend on them to sell, but I sell them year round, even supplying 2 local restaurants with sublimated coffee mugs. They are my number one sublimation seller (followed, believe it or not, by coasters and mousepads). Sublimation makes it easy to personalize and customize. It's cheap to start up. It's easy to get good results. For my money, it is as far from sucking as you can get. If you want suck, go buy a boat anchor - er, I mean a DTG printer.


----------



## imeccentric (May 13, 2007)

I'm with Trudi. I'm primarily an embroiderer and digitizer. I bought a hybrid printer several years back that does chromoblast and dyesub. I thought it might generate a few bucks now and then. Boy was I wrong. While I sell a few t-shirts, I sell a lot of mousepads , coffee mugs, and ceramic tiles(usually murals used as coaster sets). For a while, I used to combine chromoblast with embroidery on cotton things, but have gotten away from that. Dyesub gives me options which is what any business needs, and as with any other business, it's all in the marketing.


----------



## uncletee (Feb 25, 2007)

find that niche market for your sublimation, lots of choices and the customization is a great. good luck uncletee.


----------



## Double Tees (Jan 1, 2010)

I have had very good luck with sublimation. You are limited on the shirts you can do, but your not limited on what you can put on the shirts that you can do. All my customers have been pleased with their products.


----------



## Rhinestones fun (Nov 4, 2009)

Yup and you can put rhinestones on the sublimated shirts as the rhinestone application temperature isn't high enough to affect the sublimated inks!


----------



## w2csa (Aug 3, 2007)

Chromablast may not be sublimation, cost a buck a sheet, and requires light colors but does have a nice feel.


----------



## Lionheart73 (May 13, 2010)

I must say that sublimation has made our business a killing doing sublimation on dri-fit shirts for sporting teams. 

It isn't the most forgiving process, with paper lines, press lines, and color palatte issues being tricky, but once you get enough experience and do some research on sublimation techniques, it becomes quite lucrative.

I used to say "sublimation sucks" until I worked out the kinks, but now sing its praises.


----------



## inker (Feb 1, 2008)

Are you interested in selling your sublimation equipment?


----------



## Fernando Vargas (Apr 4, 2011)

Hey, I manufacture sublimated swimwear in my factory in Mexico and I am having complaints that the fabric "peels" or creates a "peach fuzz" after a few wears.

Is there any "guru" that I can go to so he can tell me what am I doing wrong ??? Is there a Sublimation Industry Association ???

By the way, I got fined 4 months ago about this Manufacturers Registration crap and WE WON IN OUR HEARING !!!!


----------



## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Fernando Vargas said:


> Hey, I manufacture sublimated swimwear in my factory in Mexico and I am having complaints that the fabric "peels" or creates a "peach fuzz" after a few wears.
> 
> Is there any "guru" that I can go to so he can tell me what am I doing wrong ??? Is there a Sublimation Industry Association ???
> 
> By the way, I got fined 4 months ago about this Manufacturers Registration crap and WE WON IN OUR HEARING !!!!


Would have to see a picture to make sure we are talking about the same thing but it is most likely your fabric. The peach fuzz issue happens a lot with certain poly/lycra/spandex fabric. If I go out and help in the shop cutting fabric I make sure I do not wear a poly basketball or like shorts as leaning against the table over and over will create a the peach fuzz effect wear the shorts rub the table. I found the "dazzle" like poly fabric does not have this issue but a lot of the swimwear fabric is prone to this thus you will see the peach fuzz on the back side of the suit wear people are sitting.


----------



## Fernando Vargas (Apr 4, 2011)

Thank you very much Mark. I am attaching the picture here.

Question: We are sublimating in Mexico and this past month (when I started having this problems) has been raining A LOT. Do you think moisture has something to do with maybe damaging this fabric ???

Thank you


----------



## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Fernando Vargas said:


> Thank you very much Mark. I am attaching the picture here.
> 
> Question: We are sublimating in Mexico and this past month (when I started having this problems) has been raining A LOT. Do you think moisture has something to do with maybe damaging this fabric ???
> 
> Thank you


I am assuming that is a pic of the back (butt)? It looks like it is wear and tear. If there is not the amount of fuzzys on the front it would pretty much confirm the theory. As an example someone wearing a suit and sitting at pool on the concrete would get fuzzys on the butt but not the front. Moisture has nothing to do with it. Looks like typical fabric fuzzys from what I can see which is all a fabric issue.


----------



## LB (Jul 25, 2009)

I am posting this link as it may be of interest to the readers this thread.
http://www.t-shirtforums.com/dye-sublimation/t157013.html


----------



## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

What Mark said - it's not printing, but the fabric issue. You may want to look into different fabrics for swimsuits.


----------



## Fernando Vargas (Apr 4, 2011)

Thank you Mark. Unfortunately this fabric is a high end italian fabric that everybody uses (Speedo, TYR, Nike) so I will have to seek for another one that holds up better.

Regards,


----------



## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Be wary of what mills claim! There is zero way companies like Nike, Speedo are selling suits that will fuzz in just a couple wears. In time all like fabric will show wear but not that fast. Mills will claim anything to sell fabric. We always get a small sample before we buy rolls as we learned the hard way as you have that everything is not as it is claimed to be. If you have time post a few pics of your suits. Always fun to see something other than a t-shirt.


----------

