What is Dye-Sublimation?

The simplest answer is that dye-sublimation is a process for dyeing polyester or poly coated items with full color graphics or photos.  The poly fibers are actually being dyed not printed on, so it is permanent.  This is a very high quality way of branding a multitude of products with your logo, graphics, and ideas.

How is dye-sublimation done?

The first step is to print the graphics using a special ink/dye onto a special transfer paper, then apply heat and pressure for an alotted time to transfer the image to the product.  The heat and pressure turn the ink/dye into a gas which is absorbed at a cellular level into the poly fibers, dyeing it permanently.  The heat, pressure, and time vary dependent on the product being sublimated.

What kind of products can be dye-sublimated?

100% Polyester fabrics and items that have been coated with a clear poly. 

Fabrics include things like shirts (think of performance wear items with wicking properties, popular in athletics), towels, beverage insulators(koozies), baby bibs, mousepads, car flags, bags, jar openers, coasters, and stadium seat cushions.

Poly coated items include things like coffee mugs, travel mugs, aluminum water bottles, ceramic tile, license plates, license plate frames, trailer hitch covers, clipboards, plaques, awards, name badges, luggage tags, key chains, magnets, photo panels, picture frames, signs, cutting boards, coasters, puzzles, bookmarks, mini basketball goals, miniature hockey sticks, and many, many more products.

Are their limitations to the dye-sublimation process?

Yes, we are able to dye light colors darker, but we are not able to replace dark colors with lighter ones. (e.g. it would be difficult to dye a black shirt with beige graphics, but dyeing a beige shirt with black, blue or red graphics for example is no problem).

As mentioned above, dye-sublimation is designed to work on 100% polyester and poly coated products.  It will not work on cotton or other fabrics, and it won't work on just any non-fabric product, the product must be poly coated.  There are hundreds of products that have been designed for dye-sublimation and that have been poly coated for this process.  We do not coat products ourselves, we only buy them already coated from proven vendors.