Printed on 60% cotton, 40% polyester: Is it possible to use the Sublimation process on cotton? The answer is yes, and it is also possible to use transfer papers. But it is not easy, and the results may not be as good as you would like. Luckily, there are solutions for this problem. You can purchase special solutions to help your cotton garments sublimate better, but you can’t guarantee that you’ll get the results you’re looking for.
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Sublimation ink adheres well to polyester
Some fabrics are better suited to sublimation than others. If the fabric contains at least 60 percent polyester, the ink will adhere better. A blend of 60 percent polyester and 40 percent cotton will not produce as vivid results. However, cotton blends are more suitable for sublimation because cotton fibers allow dye molecules to attach to them and pull them into the fabric. This method works well with cotton blends and is suitable for shirts that are composed of more than 40% cotton.
In addition to cotton-based materials, cotton apparel is often suitable for sublimation. While the cotton-polyester blends are more prone to fading after multiple washings, they still retain some sublimation ink. The amount of fading will depend on the design and color saturation. If the blend is 50:50, the sublimation ink may appear more faded than the rest. In either case, the washout effect is not consistent throughout the design and some parts will remain bright and clear.
It creates a distressed look
You can use dyed shirts to create a distressed look on clothing. These garments are often made of polyester and cotton blends. The fabric needs to be dyed before it is assembled into a garment. It is more practical to dye polyester fabrics than cotton blends because the dye bonds with polyester fibers and fades away when it dries on cotton. In addition, it is easy to sublimate a design onto heathered fabric, which has 65% polyester content. This material weaves together different fibers and colors to create a speckled design. Grey t-shirts, for example, are an example.
One popular polyblend is a 65% polyester/35% cotton blend. Compared to a 50/50 blend, this material is more vivid and detailed. However, it does not produce the same dramatic colors as 100% polyester. However, many artists use these fabrics to create a vintage distressed look. It is recommended that you experiment with different fabrics to get the most desirable results. But be warned – a higher polyester content will make your sublimation results more vivid!
It is only suitable for white or light color garments
Sublimation is only suitable for white or very light colored garments, due to the fact that it dyes the fabric during the transfer process. Darker colors will have less contrast due to the absence of a white underbase. Sublimation can also have problems with dark colored fabrics because the ink used for printing on them is only compatible with polyester fibers. However, there are workarounds for this issue.
The type of fabric used to print the design also determines the final result. White garments are the easiest to print on because the image will be viewed through a white garment. The reason for this is that CMYK printing is not able to produce the color white. Consequently, white areas are “open” during the printing process. This means that if you print a design on a white shirt, the color will show through, but a yellow shirt will show a yellow color where white should be. Light-colored garments are suitable if no white is needed in the image.
