
During the heat-pressing process, that logo - as well as the paper’s empty area - also transfers. Picture a rectangular sheet of transfer paper with a small logo printed in the center. However, with some products, the non-printed area’s coating also transfers to the shirt.

When applying an image with a heat press, the coating releases from the paper with the ink to bond it. Essentially, the entire sheet is coated when manufactured. However, all papers are not created equally thus, it’s important to test different products and evaluate the results.Īll of the currently availale papers use some form of polymer, providing a “go-between” link that enables sublimation to adhere to cotton. This process is similar to the standard, everyday sublimation process. The dye will transfer from the paper, along with chemical elements contained therein, onto the cotton shirt’s surface. Then, use a heat press to apply the design to the shirt. The concept of transfer papers means all you need to do is choose the correct option from all the choices available and print directly to it with your sublimation printer. Typically, they fall into one of two categories: transfer paper and printable material. Several new sublimation-to-cotton products have hit the streets during the past few months. But that’s not really a bad thing, considering traditional forms of cotton decorating - such as screen and direct-to-garment (DTG) printing - also have the same tendency. In the case of products that allow cotton sublimation, the resulting image will be on the surface instead of in the surface, and may crack, peel or fade over time. This is why true sublimation bonding results in dye will not crack, peel or fade when laundered. In the case of apparel, this means the chemistry happens below the surface rather than on the surface.

In the true sublimation-production process, the dye bonds at a molecular level with polymers. New developments in the marketplace have yielded products that can be used to apply sublimation dye to a cotton fabric’s surface.

Sublimation chemically bonds to polyester and polymers, not cotton however, that doesn’t mean you can’t apply it to cotton. If you’re a sublimator, you’ve undoubtedly heard - repeatedly - that this decoration process will not bond to cotton.
