Print Methods
Heat Transfer
Heat
Transfer printing, is the process of applying heat-applied materials to
various items with a heat press. Heat-applied materials contain a
heat-sensitive adhesive on one side; when heat is applied by a heat
press to the material, the material adheres to the substrate to which it
is being applied. The end result is a decorated garment.
Heat Transfer printing is ideal for short runs in either full colour or single colour.
Embroidery
There
are a number of fabrics and garments that are perfect for embroidery,
and you are not always limited to the basics. Certain types of
embroidery work better on certain materials, so check with an expert
when you're planning your project.
It is the preferred way to decorate a shirt with a logo by many
companies. Because thread has dimension, an embroidered logo ends up
being three dimensional. In addition, embroidery thread is coated and
therefore has a sheen that helps the colours pop to attention.
Logo embroidery is used most often for apparel that will be used for uniforms or promotions.
Direct to Garment printing (DTG)
Direct
to garment printing is a process by which garments are printed directly
from a computer using advanced inkjet technology. While the inks and
hardware are different than a desktop printer, the method of printing
from a PC is very similar. After adding all the colours and finishing
the design, a heat press cures the ink.
DTG printing is perfect for any kind of design as it can provide the
same level of detail that is produced from a PC inkjet printer, but onto
a garment.
Screen Printing
The
main advantage to screen printing is the unique visual result it
creates. The inks used are very durable, the colours are extremely
vivid, making this a unique printing technique. It is possible to
screen print on a large variety of products with little or no limitation
on the thickness and composition of the material being printed on.
For a larger volume of prints, screen printing continues to be the most effective and economical printing methodology around.
Sublimation
In
sublimation printing, unique sublimation dyes are transferred to sheets
of “transfer” paper via liquid gel ink. The ink is deposited on these
high-release inkjet papers, which are used for the next step of the
sublimation printing process. After the digital design is printed onto
sublimation transfer sheets, it is placed on a heat press along with the
garment to be sublimated.
In order to transfer the image from the paper to the garment, it
requires a heat press process that is a combination of time, temperate
and pressure. To be able to do sublimation printing you will need
polyester mix garments to sublimate to. You can also sublimate onto a
number of products and accessories including bags and caps.
The end result of the sublimation process is a high resolution, full
colour print. Because the dyes are infused into the substrate at the
molecular level, rather than applied at a topical level (such as with
screen printing and direct to garment printing), the prints will not
crack, fade or peel from the garment under normal conditions.
