If you need fabric displays or banners printed, fabric sublimation is a perfect choice. Even though it takes a little longer than most other printing processes created this way, your custom business signs will be UV, water, and scratch resistant, and they won’t peel or fade.
Ultimately, your custom business signs will be cheaper, will last longer, and will be more sustainable than signs made using other printing methods.
About Fabric Sublimation
Fabric sublimation printing is a form of digital printing, which is rapidly replacing old, traditional printing methods largely due to flexibility and cost efficiency.
Fabric sublimation printing commonly utilizes heat to transfer solid CMYO dyes to materials including synthetic fabrics, plastic, vinyl, and paper. Unlike CMYK printing that uses inks in the four standard colors – cyan, magenta, yellow, and black – CMYO dyes do not contain black. Instead, equal amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow are combined to create “black”. Lighter than true black, the black color created in CMYO printing is lighter, less dense, and more like a dark gray or charcoal.
However, there are also dye sublimation printers that do print using CMYK and even CMYK plus four additional colors, orange and violet, as well as a light magenta (Lm) and light cyan (Lc). For these, ink is often used together with transfer paper. The transfer paper used for this form of high-quality fabric sublimation printing has a particularly high ink absorption. It releases the ink when it is heated, and the ink dries very quickly. Some don’t even use the transfer method. Instead, they print directly onto suitable material (especially coated fabrics) and then use heat to “set” the print or image.
The ink or dye used for fabric sublimation printing literally becomes part of the structure of the synthetic medium it is printed on, which is why it doesn’t scratch or fade. Because it is resistant to the elements, fabric sublimation printing is perfect for many outdoor custom business signs. This also ensures that signage is durable.
There isn’t any build-up of dye on the material being printed and once the dye bonds with it and dries, the color become incredibly intense and beautifully bright. This not only looks attractive but is eye-catching and impressive, which is just what you want for an outdoor custom business sign to draw attention to potential customers.
The fact that it works on a range of different materials is also an advantage. It is ideal for fabric banners, flags, displays, and other custom business signs.
Digital sublimation printing is also ideal for shorter production runs, as well as signs that are designed with multiple colors and those that incorporate photographic images.
Customized flexible fabric frame systems make fabric sublimation printing even more versatile. Not only do they create a lovely clean and finished look, but the printed fabrics can be easily switched to match a new marketing campaign or a different look. These framing systems can be lit from the back or front, depending on where the custom business signs are to be used.
If you are interested in finding out more about fabric sublimation printing for your business, call us at Wallace Graphics today to find out what options we offer.
