however, with an assortment of presses on the market, it can be difficult to determine which heat press is right for your needs. For many people, a sublimation heat press is an excellent option due to its long-lasting, beautiful results and ease of use. Read on to learn what exactly a sublimation heat press is, how it works and what it’s used for so you can start creating in no time at all.
What is a Sublimation Heat Press?
In short, a sublimation heat press transfers designs to your designs to a variety of surfaces, just like a regular heat press. However, the device has some key differences from regular heat presses, primarily that it needs to reach a much higher heat and does not press heat transfer vinyl (HTV). While a regular heat press puts the design on a piece of vinyl that is then directly applied to the item, a sublimation heat press infuses the item with ink. This creates long-lasting designs that aren’t subjected to chipping and cracking like vinyl.
How Does It Work?
A sublimation heat press works by infusing the item with ink while vinyl bonds at the top of the fabric. The high heat (between 350-400 F versus the 300-325 F used by other heat press systems) permanently dyes the fabric to ensure the design stays on for years to come and won’t lose its color with routine washing. Unlike other heat presses, the process takes a longer amount of time, ensuring the design sticks to the item in question. With a sublimation heat press, you will need a sublimation printer, inks, blanks, and transfer papers. Finally, it’s important to note that the sublimation process will work on polymer fabrics or items coated with a special polymer.
What Is It Used For?
A sublimation heat press can be used on a variety of items. Signs, mugs, cell phone cases, plates and other hard items are treated with a special polymer before printing that will allow the ink to bind to it while fabric items are made with polyester, spandex, nylon or other high polymer fabrics (although, you can use blends as well for a more comfortable item, like a t-shirt). The main thing to remember is that you will need to have an adequate amount of polymers on the surface to ensure a quality transfer.
When deciding on a heat press, it’s important to think about what you want the final results to look like as well as to which items you plan on transferring designs. A sublimation heat press is easy to use and delivers quality results to a variety of materials; however, if you plan on transferring to cotton or other natural materials, a sublimation heat press may not be the right option for you.
