How to Sublimate a Shirt?

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There are various ways to design the shirts, but sublimation is unique because of high-quality results and the transfer of bright colors.

After going through this guide, you will learn how to sublimate a shirt? Sublimation is getting popular gradually because sublimation gives you an amazing and stunning result of printing.

So, let’s start and find the basic step to sublimate a shirt.

Things You Need to Sublimate a Shirt

For sublimating a shirt, you need the necessary equipment and materials:

Sublimation printer (Check out the list of best sublimation printers)
Heat press
Heat resistant tap
Butcher paper
Sublimation ink and paper
Lint roller
Design software

Here are the steps to sublimate a shirt with perfection, please follow them carefully.

Step #1

First of all, you create a design according to your choice. For this purpose, you need good design software to create a unique and stylish design for your shirt.

Such design software like Photoshop and illustrator can help you to create a unique design. After finalizing the design, you can save it in the system.

Step #2

The second step is about transferring. The design needs to be transferred onto a sublimation paper.

The print color quality on the sublimation may be faded, but after heat, sublimation ink will give you vibrant shades and colors.

Actually, heat activates the dye, and you get bright and vibrant colors after pressing on the fabric, this helps you to sublimate dark shirts.

Step #3

The most important point about sublimating a shirt is the shirts’ fiber. So, the 100% polyester shirt will give an amazing result, although a shirt with 65% polyester counts is also good for sublimation.

Before sublimating, the shirt must use a lint roller to remove all dust and lint from the shirt because it affects the result of the design.

Possibly, dust can leave a spot on the design. Another important thing is pre-pressing, so press the shirt for a couple of seconds to evaporate the moisture from the shirt.

So, Ironing will remove the wrinkles and smooth the surface of the shirt.

Step #4

Now place the shirt on the heat presser, place the butcher paper inside the shirt and then place the sublimation paper on the shirt at least 2 to 3 inches down from the collar and keep the face down of printed paper.

Fix the printed paper with heat resistance tape; otherwise, the movement of paper may cause ghosting. Also, place butcher paper on the top of the sublimated paper, then press. Also have a look at how to bleach a shirt for sublimation.

Step #5

Now it’s time to press the shirt but before pressing, adjust the press setting and press according to heat press instructions.

Be alert about pressing, set the temperature and press time, and start pressing. The recommended temperature for a shirt is 380˚, and the time is 60 seconds. The temperature and the press depend on the fabric.

Step #6

As time is up, remove the press and open the press and be careful don’t touch it at once. Wait for a while, and then remove the taps, butcher paper, and sublimation paper from the shirt slightly.

Now your shirt is ready with an amazing and stylish design. Also have a look at how to sublimate the cotton shirts.

Conclusion:

Now it’s time to summarize all points. Here, you have learned how to sublimate a shirt? It’s not a difficult procedure if you are passionate about creating any unique article by using sublimation printing.

So, sublimating the shirt will be a great experience for you. However, now you are ready to sublimate a shirt perfectly.