The print on demand market is evolving, so companies must continually work to attract new global suppliers to meet changing needs. Shoppers expect a steady stream of new products (like natural and organic clothing) and emotions (sustainable brands). The same generation Z, who, thanks to TikTok, became a kind of fashion ambassador, prefers unique and authentic things. For example, patterns and ornaments made across the entire surface of things are considered the best summer print. Therefore, it’s worth expanding the boundaries of cooperation and choosing several suppliers offering popular printing services to be in trend.
One of the most profitable areas of digital printing is all-over printing or sublimation. It’s the process of transferring a design onto the fabric using heat. This method has become so popular that the market is expected to grow to $14.57 billion by 2023. It allows all garments to be printed, in contrast to DTG, which has a smaller working area.
Introducing new products will help develop your online store and attract the audience's attention with its bright, persistent colors and fashionable capabilities. Let's discuss in more detail the principles of work, advantages, trends, and what do you need for sublimation printing.
What is sublimation printing and how does it work?
Sublimation printing is a technique that allows you to embed your design into the material of the selected product rather than overprinting it. If we talk about fabric, it’s only suitable for canvases where there is a synthetic component – with intense heating (350–400 ºF) and pressure, the material's structure becomes friable, and the ink penetrates the material the pores.
Note: for the pattern to hold tight, printing on textiles containing at least 60% polyester is worth printing. If you’re a sustainable brand and sell natural products, don't be upset – you can cover the surface with a special primer. Otherwise, the paint will quickly come off after 1-2 washes. An excellent example of printing design sublimation is on umbrellas – they withstand increased moisture and aren’t susceptible to mechanical damage.
Sublimation printing business directly depends on your supplier's equipment: please note that such printers are produced by well-known companies such as Canon, Mimaki, Mitsubishi, HP, Epson. Therefore, when discussing the terms of cooperation with the supplier, specify the brand and year of the equipment, respectively; the newer it is, the more progressive printing can reproduce. In addition, it’s worth considering the color gamut of the image. The colorants will differ depending on the material used.
Note! It’s impossible to sublimate white.
How to create your own sublimation design? Of course, use inks! Lomond inks produce brighter colors than InkTec; Durafos enhances the green gamut. In turn, the Lomond carrier will cope better with ceramics, but IST is perfect for canvases. Essentially, ink selection, material matching, and sample printing testing are part of the business process.
An understanding of sublimation printing processes makes many entrepreneurs suffer from losing control over them. Therefore, our developers have specially created one of the best print-on-demand PodZa frameworks for three business models, including POD, dropshipping, and W&F (warehousing and fulfillment). Its distinctive feature is the automation and management of operations, the execution of which can be easily tracked by setting up reporting.
If the product on which you want to embody the designs ideas of some non-standard shape, then heat presses designed for such printing are used:
- Flat ones are suitable for T-shirts, any textiles, ceramic and glass tiles, and even metal.
- Mugs and plates are also processed on a special ceramic press. So the heating temperature is relatively high, and there is a probability that the product will burst in the loading shaft; thus, it’s heated at the beginning.
- Baseball caps and any other hats usually have tiny graphics and logos, so an appropriate printer is best for them as well.
Note! The design may shift 2 inches during the sublimation process. Therefore, we don’t recommend using products where the exact placement of the image is required.
