Sublimation – Image Creations Inc.

Sublimation Blanks

At Image Creations it is our commitment to offer you the finest quality and best selection of sublimation and heat transfer products with the quickest service in the industry. Choose from our wide assortment of blanks in quantities of one, case, pallet or container.

What is Sublimation and how can it benefit your business

Whether you are a retail shop that produces personalized gifts, an organization creating products for fund-raising, or a business looking to increase your product line to offer customized products, we have a sublimation system to fit your needs. Without a doubt, full-color sublimated products have a lot to offer. The vibrant, photo-realistic graphics are unparalleled. Finished products can be easily personalized with no additional set-ups. And there’s a wide range of products to choose from. The term “sublimation” refers to the process of a solid substance transforming into a gaseous substance without passing through a liquid stage. We use the term “sublimation” to refer to a decorating process.

Here are the typical steps in the sublimation decorating process: Choose the image and item you will be decorating. Usually, you need to edit an image or graphic in a program such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw, or Sawgrass Creative Suite to size the image to the item you are decorating. The blank you are decorating must have a special polymer sublimation coating or be made of an appropriate plastic material like polyester.

• Print the image onto transfer paper using sublimation inks. You need to use color profiles and print drivers specific to the inks and printer you are using to get accurate color reproduction of your original image. Transfer paper is different from standard copier paper in the way inks sit on top of the transfer paper surface, rather than being absorbed into the paper, when the image is printed. This will allow more inks to be transferred from the paper to the sublimation coating giving you bolder more vivid printed colors.

• Apply the printed transfer to the blank. Usually this will require carefully aligning the transfer to your blank and affixing the transfer to the blank with heat tape to ensure that the transfer stays in place during the heat pressing process.

• Press the transfer to the sublimation blank using the appropriate mug or flat press. refer to the specific product for appropriate pressing times, temperatures and pressures.

• After pressing, carefully remove the transfer (the item will be quite hot) and allow your decorated item to cool (you may need to cool your decorated item by submerging it in water if the item is ceramic or porcelain as these materials tend to retain a high temperature after they have been removed from the heat press, sometimes causing your decoration to “run”. Never cool decorated glass in water after pressing – the drastic temperature change may cause the glass to crack).

During the decorating process mentioned above, the sublimation inks on the printed transfer pass from solids to gases when they are heated in the heat press. The gases embed themselves in the blank’s special sublimation coating. A sublimation coating is a special polymer coating that “opens” to accept colored dyes when heated to about 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and then “closes” to trap the dyes when cooled. Pressure is needed to keep the transfer pressed against the polymer coating in order for the dyes to embed themselves into the coating when they are temperature activated from the solid state into the gaseous state.

Sublimation’s greatest feature is its ability to help you grow your business. The market for full-color personalized products is tremendous. There are sales opportunities in several industries, including awards, and recognition, signs and name badges, apparel and gift products. And no matter what technology you’re using now to serve your customers, sublimation can help your business move forward.

Full-color personalized items can help you generate more revenue from existing customers and markets, or can be used to tap into entirely new revenue streams. We offer you a wide variety of equipment, accessories and imprintables to assist you in getting the job done

Your Image Transfer Specialists

Sublimation Blanks

What is Sublimation and how can it benefit your business

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