# Pre Treatment solution for Dye Sub



## Pride Apparel (Dec 22, 2011)

Hello All,
I am new to this forum as a member, although I have been reading it as I research the web for info on dye sublimation. I always end up here so I thought I would join. I have quite a few years in selling sports apparel through a company my friend and I started, but I want the company to mave in a new direction and take on dye sublimation as a primary medium for us. My partner is still hooked on screen printing but I see dye sub as the future for our products.
As I said, I am new so I wanted to ask my first question. Does anyone know of a company that sells a treatment solution for dye sublimation, so that I could avoid purchasing pre-treated fabrics (obviously at a much higher price than the fabrics I buy now).

Thanks and I have a lot of questions so I appreciate your tolerance if some may seem obvious to you.


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

What do you mean by pre-treated fabric?

Pretty much any type of polyester fabric is printable with dye-sub. 
Some synthetics like nylon, Lycra/Spandex blends, organza, require special attention as they can melt, shrink or bleed, but with most symthetic fabrics it's pretty straight forward.

If you are talking about pre-treating natural fabrics and dye-subbing them (I hope not!) - forget about it unless you want to produce an inferior product.

If you want to create "vintage" look - poly/cotton blends will work, just remember that the higher % of cotton is in the blend - the more washed out effect you'll get. I.e. if you have 50/50 blend - only 50% of your print will transfer onto the fabric.


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## Coastalrich (Jun 24, 2009)

Pride Apparel said:


> Hello All,
> I am new to this forum as a member, although I have been reading it as I research the web for info on dye sublimation. I always end up here so I thought I would join. I have quite a few years in selling sports apparel through a company my friend and I started, but I want the company to mave in a new direction and take on dye sublimation as a primary medium for us. My partner is still hooked on screen printing but I see dye sub as the future for our products.
> As I said, I am new so I wanted to ask my first question. Does anyone know of a company that sells a treatment solution for dye sublimation, so that I could avoid purchasing pre-treated fabrics (obviously at a much higher price than the fabrics I buy now).
> 
> Thanks and I have a lot of questions so I appreciate your tolerance if some may seem obvious to you.


For athletic wear you just need the moisture wicking polyester fabrics. There are many sources for them including Fisher Textiles, Pacific Coast fabrics and Vapor Apparel. 

If you are talking about fabrics that are treated for direct printing - Those fabrics are treated to keep the inks from absorbing so they can only be used for banners, flags, etc. Direct print sublimation will not work for comfortable apparel. You need to print the sublimation inks to paper and then transfer the dyes to the fabric. The standard sublimation process will not affect the performance of the athletic apparel.



Rich


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Pride Apparel said:


> Hello All,
> I am new to this forum as a member, although I have been reading it as I research the web for info on dye sublimation. I always end up here so I thought I would join. I have quite a few years in selling sports apparel through a company my friend and I started, but I want the company to mave in a new direction and take on dye sublimation as a primary medium for us. My partner is still hooked on screen printing but I see dye sub as the future for our products.
> As I said, I am new so I wanted to ask my first question. Does anyone know of a company that sells a treatment solution for dye sublimation, so that I could avoid purchasing pre-treated fabrics (obviously at a much higher price than the fabrics I buy now).
> 
> Thanks and I have a lot of questions so I appreciate your tolerance if some may seem obvious to you.


Search for "sublimation prep spray" or sublimation "prep sheets". Note that there are limitations with these products, but such "pre-treatments" do exist.

I'm not aware of anyone "pre-treating" garments for you though.

Some garments with "stain repellant" or similar chemicals from the factory can sub fairy well, the stain guard is clear polymer based, but eventually may lose it's effectivness after many washes.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

Tom...if you are wanting to apply a 'treatment' to a non polyester fabric ...like cotton, linen, etc...so you can sublimate...forget it. I have been into sublimation since 1997 and have yet to find ANY treatment such as that which works and is commercially viable...and yes I think I have tried them all...at least until about a year ago...just do what sublimation is meant for...or try another system...like chromablast for cotton


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

charles95405 said:


> Tom...if you are wanting to apply a 'treatment' to a non polyester fabric ...like cotton, linen, etc...so you can sublimate...forget it. I have been into sublimation since 1997 and have yet to find ANY treatment such as that which works and is commercially viable...and yes I think I have tried them all...at least until about a year ago...just do what sublimation is meant for...or try another system...like chromablast for cotton


I have tried some of the sprays too, not good results. 

But some of the polymer papers can work well, I used to use a good laser paper for 50/50 with sub toner and got excellent results, but there is white shirt color limitation.

Some here are reporting good results with inkjet polymer papers as a "prep sheet".

I use JPSS now with pigments and on white I don't have any background and hand is gone after the first wash. Using a prep sheet is basically for someone that is only sublimating and doesn't want to setup and dedicate a pigment printer. Otherwise a pigment ink and good inkjet paper as you mention make more sense.


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## Pride Apparel (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanks for the information. I guess that during my research, I had found companies like Digi-Fab offering Pre-Treatment services for fabrics and other companies selling pre-treated fabrics. right now, we have been working with moisture wicking fabrics, similar to Under Armour. Am I correct that these materials are already suited for sublimation due to their make up? I believe the contractor that has been doing our dye subs for athletic uniforms has been hitting us for pre-treatment. Since I was not really on the manufacturing side of the business, I never questioned it. I appreciate all of the feedback! Right now, I am experimenting with the process on a small scale, trying to educate myself and putting together a plan to expand our services and bring all the dye sub work in house. I thank you guys, once again, for taking the time to help.


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## Pride Apparel (Dec 22, 2011)

Coastalrich said:


> For athletic wear you just need the moisture wicking polyester fabrics. There are many sources for them including Fisher Textiles, Pacific Coast fabrics and Vapor Apparel.
> 
> If you are talking about fabrics that are treated for direct printing - Those fabrics are treated to keep the inks from absorbing so they can only be used for banners, flags, etc. Direct print sublimation will not work for comfortable apparel. You need to print the sublimation inks to paper and then transfer the dyes to the fabric. The standard sublimation process will not affect the performance of the athletic apparel.
> 
> ...


 Thanks Rich. I believe the information I read was in regard to direct printing. This is not the side of the business I planed to pursue. The process that you descibe is what I had in mind.
Another quick question: Can athletic mesh and Courdura be sublimated?


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## Coastalrich (Jun 24, 2009)

Pride Apparel said:


> Thanks Rich. I believe the information I read was in regard to direct printing. This is not the side of the business I planed to pursue. The process that you descibe is what I had in mind.
> Another quick question: Can athletic mesh and Courdura be sublimated?


Either fabric will work well with sublimation as long as the polyester content is high. If you have samples of those fabrics you can send them to us along with any image you choose and we can make you samples.

Rich


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