Why Use Dye Sublimation For Custom Shirt Printing Vs Screen Printing
August 16, 2021
If you’re on the hunt for quality custom shirt printing, there’s plenty of different avenues you can take. From screen printing to heat press printing and everything in between, it can be difficult navigating what’s right for your shirts. Usually, people find themselves going with one of two types of printing methods for their shirts: dye sublimation or screen printing. Both screen printing and Dye Sublimation have been around for years and are widely popular options, but dye sublimation stands out as the best among the rest.
What Exactly Is Dye Sublimation?
Dye sublimation, American Seashore’s specialty is an eco-friendly, cost-effective way of producing high-quality custom t-shirts and other branded materials. Dye sublimation works by utilizing high heat to convert the water-suspended ink dyes into a gas. The gas then permeates through the fibers of the fabric. Once the gas cools and solidifies, the high-quality colors and design appear directly on the fabric. Custom dye sublimation is known to last for a very long time, with the colors standing up to both numerous wash cycles and the wear & tear of everyday life.
What Exactly Is Screen Printing?
Screen printing is the process of passing ink through a stencil on a mesh screen with a squeegee onto a t-shirt. Rather than the ink coloring the shirt fibers, the ink sits on top of the shirt. One of the first methods for mass-producing shirts, they’re typically done by hand or by using a manual screen printing press.
Why Is Everyone Turning To Dye Sublimation?
While screen printing has been a trusted method for decades, it’s not without its fault. Due to the manual nature of the entire screen printing process, screen printing orders tend to take a long time. Setting up a print job takes a significant amount of time just for one color, so shirts requiring multiple colors need multiple screens with different inks all perfectly aligned so the layers line up accordingly. This leads to printer errors and delays. The labor costs typically drive screen printing jobs up, making it more expensive than it should be.
With dye sublimation, your setup process is changing the artwork file and beginning a new transfer. Additionally, dye sublimation utilizes CMYK colors, meaning you’re able to use any combination of colors to get the finished product you’re looking for.
Typically, dye sublimation gets knocked for its high costs, making it better for small orders. That’s not the case with American Seashore. We’re able to tackle custom shirt printing jobs every day thanks to our dye sublimation team and technology. All of our dye sublimation work is done right here in the United States at our facility in Miami, so you can count on our products being high quality, and direct access to a team that’s here for you around the clock. Whether in the panhandle, central Florida, or right here in South Florida, we can bring your custom shirt design project to life. Contact us today to talk to an American Seashore team member about your custom order by calling us at (305) 573-1814!