Dye Definitions — definitions of dyes, pigments and dyeing terms from Apparel Search
A dye-sublimation printer is a computer printer that uses heat to transfer dye onto materials such as fabric, and the process is used to print on polyester or other synthetic fabrics for T-shirts, banners, table covers, ID cards, sportswear and flags. The image is first printed in reverse on coated heat-resistant transfer paper, then a heat press at around 180 to 210 C turns the dye to gas, which permeates the fabric and solidifies into its fibers, permanently dyeing it.
A dye-sublimation printer is a computer printer which uses heat to transfer dye onto materials such as a fabric.
The dye-sublimation printing process is used to print on polyester or other synthetic fabrics. It is used for applications such as T-shirts, banners, table covers, id cards, sportswear and flags. The original printers were an electrostatic technology using toners but now are generally large format inkjet printers using specially formulated inks. The dye sublimation inks are a disperse dye suspended in a liquid solvent, like water. The images are initially printed on coated heat-resistant transfer paper as a reverse image of the final design, which is then transferred onto polyester fabric in a heat press operating at a temperature around 180 to 210 C (375 F). Under high temperature and pressure, the dye turns into a gas and permeates the fabric and then solidifies into its fibers. The fabric is permanently dyed so it can be washed without damaging the quality of the image.
Colors can be extraordinarily brilliant due to the bonding of the dye to the transparent fibers of the synthetic fabric, truly continuous tones can be achieved that are equivalent to photographs, without the use special techniques such as half-screen printing, and the image can be printed all over the entire item, with no difficulty in printing all the way to the edges.
What is sublimation? The sublimation name was first applied because the dye was considered to make the transition between the solid and gas states without going through a liquid stage. This understanding of the process was later shown to be incorrect, as there is in fact some liquefying of the dye. After that discover, the proper name for the process became to be known as dye-diffusion. However, the discovery has not yet eliminated the original name from use in the textile or fashion industry. Many people still refer to the process as dye sublimation rather than dye-diffusion.
Many consumer and professional dye-sublimation printers are designed and used for producing photographic prints.
Advantages of dye-sublimation over other methods of textile printing: images are permanent and do not peel or fade, dye does not build up on the fabric.
Again sublimation dye is for "synthetic" fiber.
The first dye-sublimation printers were an electrostatic technology using toners. The machines used for apparel work today are generally large-format inkjet printers using specially formulated inks, printing wide transfer paper that is then matched to fabric panels or finished garments on a calendar or flatbed heat press. That two-step structure — print the paper, then press the fabric — is what makes the process so flexible for short runs: a design exists only as a digital file and a paper print until the moment it is pressed, so a shop can produce one custom jersey or a hundred banners from the same equipment without screens, plates or setup waste.
Sportswear is the process's showcase application because team kit is polyester, carries all-over graphics, names and numbers that change every season, and must survive hard washing. Because the dye sits inside the fiber rather than in a film on top of it, a sublimated panel has no raised print to crack, peel or block breathability, and the hand of the fabric is unchanged. The same properties suit flags and banners, where color must read on both sides of a light fabric, and table covers and ID cards, where photographic detail matters. The limits follow from the chemistry: the dye needs synthetic fiber to bond with, light-colored fabric shows the design best because the inks are transparent, and a garment that is already sewn can only be printed where the press can reach it flat — which is why all-over sublimation prints are usually pressed as cut panels before sewing.
Dye sublimation is used for polyester and other synthetic fabrics. The dye bonds to the transparent fibers of the synthetic fabric, which is why colors can be extraordinarily brilliant and why the process does not give the same result on untreated natural fibers.
The design is printed as a reverse image on coated heat-resistant transfer paper using disperse dye inks suspended in a liquid solvent. A heat press operating around 180 to 210 C (375 F) then transfers it: under heat and pressure the dye becomes a gas, permeates the fabric and solidifies into its fibers.
Yes. The fabric is permanently dyed, so it can be washed without damaging the quality of the image, and truly continuous tones equivalent to photographs can be achieved.