# Sublimation on Hemp fabric



## mod3rn mov3ment (Jul 3, 2013)

I recently spoke with a designer friend of mine that told me that you can sublimate onto a hemp/cotton blend. Is this possible? He says that the print comes out very nice and still has the vintage look but does NOT wash out at all like how the poly cotton blends are. 

He also said that it is Illegal in the US to print on hemp. He says he gets the fabric imported from china and is just making samples as of now to get ahead of the game. He says its gonna be legal to print in a few years or so. 

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Very interesting to me as printing shirts on hemp fabric would be really cool in my opinion..

Thanks

-Z


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

It would be cool to smoke your shirt.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

I don't think sublimation will bond with any natural fiber like cotton or hemp


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

Charles, That is why smoking them will be a great concept.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

Your friend has some curious notions.

Subbing onto hemp will have the same result as it does with cotton. The dye will transfer, but it's a synthetic dye and will not couple with natural fibers. So it'll just wash out. You might be able to pre-treat the fabric with a mordant, which is how these poly sprays work, but the results vary.

It is not illegal to import finished products made from hemp as long as the source is on an approved list, and this varies state to state. There is no prohibition regarding printing on it. There is nothing in properly processed hemp (that is, no residual seeds) that makes it illegal. I would question some Chinese sources, where the fabric may not have been fully or properly combed.

There is a big (and legal) business in providing articles of clothing and accessories made of hemp. You can find wallets, belts, shirts, hats, and everything else -- and much of it is printed. The most common printing process is silk screen, just as it is with cotton.


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## mod3rn mov3ment (Jul 3, 2013)

Thanks @GordonM. This guy is a high end fashion designer, he was featured in the LA and NY fashion week for his womans cut and sew line. I am going to talk further with him about this because he seemed pretty confident in what he was saying. Of course I was super suprised tho when I heard it. I will meet with him and see some samples of what he says he has printed and take some photos.


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

If you do a Web search you'll find hundreds of legitimate sites selling hemp products that have been printed. Lots of t-shirts. Here's just one of them from a long Google list:

Hemp T-shirts With Hemp Slogans by Shirt Magic

Over the years, we've bought our son (now an adult) numerous 100% and blend hemp items that have been printed. He still has the decorated hemp wallet we bought him years ago. They last forever.

Maybe your friend was talking about something else.


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## missfit (Jul 30, 2015)

you cant smoke hemp dummy


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## missfit (Jul 30, 2015)

You dont smoke hemp dummy.
SMH


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## Printor (Apr 16, 2015)

mod3rn mov3ment said:


> Thanks @GordonM. This guy is a high end fashion designer, he was featured in the LA and NY fashion week for his womans cut and sew line. I am going to talk further with him about this because he seemed pretty confident in what he was saying. Of course I was super suprised tho when I heard it. I will meet with him and see some samples of what he says he has printed and take some photos.


Confident has nothing to do with being correct In this industry you'll get 100 false tips from confident people for every 1 correct piece of info. That's why I love TSF. If some one pukes out some bad info, You'll hear from the Vets real quick And I dare anyone to try smoking pure hemp. It will be funny, for everyone but the smoker.


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## Recreator (Feb 24, 2013)

My company does a lot of DTG and some screen-printing onto hemp blends with organic cotton. We have some recycled poly blends that we would be willing to attempt a dye sublimation print onto. Otherwise, we are using direct-to-fabric.


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