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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What is sublimation?
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Sublimation is a heat activated dye that upon heating vaporizes and penetrates into various polymer coated materials. Because the dye is infused into the surface and not on it, it is extremely durable and scratch resistant. It also has a very unique beauty to it. The most common method for creating sublimation transfers is with an Epson printer using sublimation dyes.
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What materials can be sublimated?
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Sublimation can be used to custom imprint a variety of items, including ceramic mugs, tiles, metal award plaques, plastic name badges, polyester T-shirts, mouse pads, banners and a host of other personalized gifts. Most items used with sublimation are coated specifically for this type of imprinting with a special polymer, lacquer or epoxy. However, polyester fabrics need no special coating and the sublimation dyes make very vibrant imprints that will never wash out. Modern high performance sportswear like the brightly colored biker's shirts and marathon shirts, are usually imprinted with sublimation. Sublimation is ideal for this type of application since there is no feel to the imprint, breathability is superior, and the vibrant colors will not wash out. Another very popular use of sublimation is for custom imprinting the special Soft L'ink T-shirts by Hanes. Only white and light colored materials can be effectively sublimated.
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Can I sublimate dark colored T-shirts?
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No. Only white and light colored materials can be effectively sublimated. However, patch materials are available like our Black Magic Patch that can be imprinted with sublimation and then heat set into a dark garment. There is no white sublimation ink.
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Can I sublimate onto any metal?
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No. Sublimation metal has a special coating applied to it to accept the sublimation dyes. Some engraving metals will sublimate to a limited degree, but the thin lacquer coating that is usually used on engraving metals will result in a washed-out transfer.
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Can I sublimate onto any mug or tile?
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No. Ceramic mugs and tiles used for sublimation have a special polymer coating.
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What computer specifications do I need?
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Any computer that you purchase today is adequate for running a sublimation printer. If you are going to be imprinting photos, it would be very useful to purchase extra RAM; 500Megabyte - 1 Gigabyte would be excellent.
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What computer programs do I need?
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There are two types of graphics programs that you should have: Bit map (paint) programs like Adobe Photoshop, Elements or Corel Photo-Paint are great programs for handling photographs. Vector programs like CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator are best for creating compositions that include type, logos and photographs. CorelDraw comes with Corel Photo Paint as well as thousands of clip art images that are very useful and is one of the most popular programs among sublimators.
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