How to Sublimate on Dark Shirt
People have a tendency to believe that sublimation can only be used on shirts with light colours since printing in dark colours is simply not possible with sublimation. This is because dark colours can’t be printed with sublimation. Because of recent technological advancements, you are now able to do sublimation on darker clothing using only a few simple techniques. Prepare yourself, because the information that you are about to learn regarding “how to sublimate on dark shirts” is going to blow your mind!
How to Sublimate on Dark Shirt?
Although we had to make a few adjustments, the procedure of sublimating dark shirts was basically the same as when we were working with white or light-colored shirts. Please put your faith in what I say, it’s not rocket science. Utilizing the glitter white heat transfer vinyl or EasySubli is the top-secret technique that is being used here. That is to say that rather than directly printing on the dark clothes, we are doing so through a process that is fairly indirect. In addition, we will be providing you with a list of things you should and should not do, so let’s get started.
How exactly do you envision us carrying out the sublimation process for the dark shirts?
The procedure that we have outlined for you here may be broken down into four distinct parts. But before you start the process, you need to check that you have all the tools and parts you need by looking at them.
T-shirt printer that uses sublimation technology
paper intended for sublimation use on dark cloth
Press vinyl with heat (glitter)
Lint roll
Press with heat
a shirt of a dark or black colour
After ensuring that everything is in place, let’s go on to the process of sublimating onto dark clothes.
- Get your design ready
The very first thing that you need to do is make a decision regarding “what design you want your prints on.” If you don’t already have any designs in mind, picking one out to use can be the most challenging part of the process. Nevertheless, you have the option of designing your own layout or using one of several websites, such as So Fontsy. When printing text, you need to ensure that your printer has the highest level of precision possible because there is no room for blurry designs. You can check out the best sublimation printer and purchase one that is tailored to your requirements if you have problems with precision. - (a) The process of sublimation, which involves the use of sublimation paper
While you are finishing up the design and giving it the final touches, prepare your printer for sublimation. We are going to go through a straightforward sublimation process here, but we are going to do it in a different manner, which means that the print will not appear on the front side of the paper. In addition, check to see that you are utilising an excellent quality of sublimation paper designed specifically for dark clothing. Instead, the prints will have a matte finish and a grainy appearance.
After you have it printed, you will need to transfer the design to a sticky tape sheet and then put it in the heat transfer for 15–20 seconds. In essence, we are transferring the design onto the adhesive sheet so that it may be adhered to the shirt as the very final stage in the process. In any case, once we have successfully pressed it onto the sheet, we will first remove the paper, and then we will put the adhesive print to the side while we prepare the black shirt for sublimation. - (b) Printing Sublimation Designs on Dark Shirts Using Sublimation Vinyl
Using heat transfer vinyl to sublimate dark shirts is a method that is more versatile but also more difficult. Glitter heat transfer vinyl is being used because it contains far more polyester than smooth transfer vinyl does. Because the pattern we require must be printed backwards, we will not be using the mirror printing option when we continue with the printing process. Therefore, within the options, we will select horizontal flip, and then we will print it. In addition, the printed material should be in its whole so that we do not have to go through the trouble of cutting and removing unwanted portions of the paper.
If we are talking about cutting, then certainly, that is the most challenging part! At this point, the excess vinyl will be cut away, and the only pieces that should be left are the ones with the pattern on them. In addition, you will just be trimming the adhesive side of the tape; the plastic side does not require any modification in any way. Now, let’s go on to the following stage. - Make sure the shirt is ready.
If you do not have a shirt that is dark or black in colour, we recommend that you use a shirt that is at least 75 percent polyester. If you do not have a shirt that is 100 percent polyester, you will need to get a shirt that is dark or black in colour and make sure that you are using a shirt that is 100 percent polyester. Having it pressed will eliminate any wrinkles, and lint rolling the garment will remove any loose fibres. Keep in mind that rolling the shirt in lint is the most critical stage in the preparation process. If you choose to ignore this step, you run the risk of lowering the overall quality of the printed product. - Press the clothing using heat.
At this point, all that’s left to do is lay the vinyl or the sublimation paper down onto the shirt. To begin, we will begin with the sublimation paper, during which we will adjust the temperature of the heat press, let it to become heated, then remove the design that we obtained by combining an adhesive sheet and sublimation paper and position it so that it is aligned with the transfer paper. After heating it for sixty seconds at a temperature of four hundred degrees Fahrenheit, we will remove the paper and the shirt, and jeez! The pattern is going to be printed on the garment.
In the case of vinyl, place the glitter sheet on the shirt, then peel off the plastic sheet, and then subject the shirt to a heat press for twenty seconds so that the glitter adheres to the shirt. Now, after ensuring that everything is aligned correctly, lay the design on top of it. Verify that there is not even a one percent error in that, because the glitter sheet and the sublimation print will come out differently if there is even a one percent inaccuracy.
Press the garment once more for a total of one minute once the heat press has been set to its maximum temperature. Take off the sublimation sheet, and there you have it! You have completed the process of sublimating the dark fabrics.
FAQS:
Are dark shirts suitable for the sublimation process?
Sublimating dark T-shirts is the same as sublimating any cotton shirts, even white.
I was wondering whether you could sublimate on a grey shirt?
The answer, in a word, is yes. You certainly can, but the outcomes may vary widely depending on your approach. Because it is a dye technique, sublimation does not produce white prints. I mean, if you actually put any thought into it, you’ll realise that there’s no way to colour something white in any case.
Conclusion:
Even though it takes some technical know-how and careful attention to detail to sublimate on dark shirts. So, remember all the steps you need to take, and don’t give in to the urge to skip any of them! The most important thing is to put in the time to practise, and we have no doubt that you will. Best of luck!