The term “sublimation” refers to the process of a solid substance transforming into a gaseous substance without passing through a liquid stage. We use the term “sublimation” to refer to a decorating process.

Here are the typical steps in the sublimation decorating process:

1. Choose the image and item you will be decorating. Usually you need to edit an image or graphic in a program like Photoshop® or Corel Draw® to size the image to the item you are decorating. The blank you are decorating must have a special polymer sublimation coating like Lustracoat™ or be made of an appropriate plastic material like polyester.
2. Print the image onto transfer paper using sublimation inks. You need to use color profiles and print drivers specific to the inks and printer you are using to get accurate color reproduction of your original image. Transfer paper is different from standard copier paper in the way inks sit on top of the transfer paper surface, rather than being absorbed into the paper, when the image is printed. This will allow more inks to be transferred from the paper to the sublimation coating giving you bolder more vivid printed colors.
3. Apply the printed transfer to the blank. Usually this will require carefully aligning the transfer to your blank and affixing the transfer to the blank with heat tape to ensure that the transfer stays in place during the heat pressing process.
4. Press the transfer to the sublimation blank using the appropriate mug or flat press. Refer to this [chart] for appropriate pressing times, temperatures and pressures.
5. After pressing, carefully remove the transfer (the item will be quite hot) and allow your decorated item to cool (you may need to cool your decorated item by submerging it in water if the item is ceramic or porcelain as these materials tend to retain a high temperature after they have been removed from the heat press, sometimes causing your decoration to “run”. Never cool decorated glass in water after pressing—the drastic temperature change may cause the glass to crack).

During the decorating process mentioned above, the sublimation inks on the printed transfer pass from solids to gases when they are heated in the heat press. The gases embed themselves in the blank’s special sublimation coating. A sublimation coating is a special polymer coating that “opens” to accept colored dyes when heated to about 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and then “closes” to trap the dyes when cooled. Pressure is needed to keep the transfer pressed against the polymer coating in order for the dyes to embed themselves into the coating when they are temperature activated from the solid state into the gaseous state.

For suggested guidelines for pressing temperature, pressure and time for decorating various sublimation blanks, see our pressing guide.