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Spank_Shirts · January 25th, 2008

Hi Guys....

Total Newbie question here.

Can someone pls recomend a material for Sublimation T-shirt printing.

Will 100% Cotton T's work? if so is there anything I need to add to the process.

or would a 50/50 mix work best?

PLS HELP.

Progeny · January 25th, 2008

Hi,

You can't use cotton t-shirts for sublimation, they have to be polyester or have a high polyester content. It only really works well on white as the t-shirt colour affects the colour of the sub ink.

If you use 50/50 you will find the print will be faded or look vintage and won't last as long.

I think you can get sprays to put on clothing before sub printing but i have no experience of these and don't know whether they would be retail quality.

Lee

celmoso · January 25th, 2008

Lee is 100% correct. You can search for previous posts about a polyester spray for subbing cotton shirts, but the majority of the forum had no luck with that.

devotid · February 1st, 2008

i had the same question then i tried some 50/50's and they were faded and not very opaque. def not retail-able for me at all,unless your into that look. does the all poly shirt show better colors? they must be good for what you pay for those things......like double/triple i think.

kevin

jamieleigh · February 1st, 2008

has anyone heard of a high poly hoodie?

cprvh · February 1st, 2008

vapor apparel - your source for blank apparel

Welcome to AmeriTees®

jamieleigh · February 1st, 2008

Thank You!!!

D.Evo. · February 1st, 2008

Definitely the higher polyester content is - the better your printed results, so if you want to get the best out of dye sublimation - polyester t-shirts are the way to go. They are more expensive than cotton blanks, but the results you will get are worth it.

Sublimation inks don't bond with natural fabrics - if you are using a blend the ink will only "stick" to poly fibers.
Spray will give you a bit of a hand and if you pull at the sides of the print it will look sort of cracked - until the first wash. After wash it will look faded.
Personally, I wouldn't sell it.

jamieleigh · February 1st, 2008

Im new here too - i have a customer wanting hoodies and the only shirt option I have to me is sublimation what is the feel of these hoodies - are they simular at all to the cotton ones? thanks for any info on this.