Sublimation print
The basic elements we need to equip to perform sublimation printing are:
Sublimation printer.
For sublimation, plotters or inkjet printers equipped with piezoelectric heads, e.g. from Epson, are most often used. The size of the device, the performance or the size of the paper I support is optional, it may be due to the user's needs. Quite an important aspect is the possibility of retrofitting a given printer with a permanent CISS power supply system or the so-called eternal cartridges. Both the first and second solutions are designed to bring sublimation ink to the head.
Print media.
The basic media necessary for sublimation printing is sublimation paper and sublimation ink. Depending on the type of printer, we have a choice of sublimation paper in rolls with a width of 21 to 162 cm and paper in sheets A3 and A4. The standard sublimation ink is four basic CMYK colors, but in many larger devices we can also deal with extended light type colors in a total number of, e.g. six or eight colors.
Thermo-sublimation press.
Depending on what gadgets we want to produce, standard presses are divided into flat presses, cup presses and combo presses with replaceable heating elements. There are a lot of models of presses on the market with different specifics in terms of size, additional equipment or quality and price. Another device also used to perform sublimation printing are ovens used for printing on cups and 3D presses, helpful e.g. in case printing.
In addition to additional accessories helpful in performing the transfer, such as a thermal tape that is designed to hold the print effectively, of course, we need the final element, i.e. the product on which we want to place our print and a properly prepared design.
To prepare a professional printing project, it is worth using professional graphic programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Draw. These are the most advanced programs on the market, allowing you to create and edit the project, and to properly format the file for printing.
- - Resolution 300 dpi or more
- - RGB color mode
- - Dimension 1: 1 (plus any bleeds)
- - Print in the mirror image
