Sublimation is a really fun and useful crafting technique that creates vibrant, full-color objects, such as shirts, mugs, tumblers, signs, and so much more.
Sublimation refers to DYE sublimation which is a print and transfer method that can duplicate a high-quality and full-color design.
It’s called sublimation because we are changing the form, but not the essence, in the process. We heat the ink to a gaseous state, which soaks into our object, then cools back down into a solid state to create a permanent design.
Sublimation uses a special ink from dye-sublimation printers that can then be transferred to another object with a compatible coating. You first print a design with a sublimation printer — which uses special sublimation ink on special transfer paper — then use high temperatures and pressure to transfer the ink permanently to something else that has a coating that can absorb the ink, such as polyester T-shirts or a coated ceramic mugs.
After the sublimation cools, which happens quite quickly, the design becomes embedded right in the surface of the object, and won’t crack, peel, rub off, or wash away.
Sublimation will last as long as whatever surface you’re putting it onto, which is WAY cool. And you can’t feel it — it’s like it just becomes a part of the fabric or object, which it basically does.
The dye sublimation process can create beautiful full color designs with continuous tones that are really vibrant!
You can transfer dye-sublimation printing onto a LOT of things! You can sublimate gorgeous, full color designs into anything made of polyester or anything with a polyester coating.
