Sublimation Transfer Printing VS Heat Press, Know the subtle difference of them

Hi~ nice to see you again, dear friends. Today is cloudy in Nanjing, but also feel very hot! Have you remmenber the topic of last week? It is about the relationship between sublimation transfer printing and digital inkjet printing. Then today I want to talk about what is difference between sublimation transfer printing and heat press. There are many people can't understand clearly of them. Please read this artical, I will share you the subtle difference of them.

What is Sublimation transfer Printing?

Sublimation transfer Printing

Initially invented for the plastic items printing like the sheets, awards, etc., the sublimation printing technology has been used for a long time now. In this digital printing method, bonding is made on the material on a molecular level.
In the sublimation transfer printing, dye sublimation ink and a sublimation paper are used to do the printing work. Microfiber, polyester, etc. like materials are best printed using the dye sublimation technology.

What is Heat Press?
In the heat press printing, pigment ink and a transfer paper are used to do the printing job. Including the cotton and polyester, you can use any kind of material to apply the heat transfer technology. It is a similar kind of method of a screen printing or a DTG (Direct to Garment) printing.

Differences of sublimation printing VS heat press
Prints made by the sublimation technique, have permanent and realistic images which are having soft feelings on hands. When you use the heat transfer technique, heat is transformed through the light based paper and sticks on the fabric.
The sublimation method uses the sublimation ink, while the heat transfer method uses pigment ink, dye ink, solvent ink, etc.

Though the heat transfer technology can be applied to all types of materials, mostly it works perfectly for the 100% cotton fabric. While the sublimation technology is widely used for polyester, banner, and hard surface like a mug, aluminum pot, etc. kinds of materials.

The sublimation printing uses less pressure and temperature than the heat transfer method & prints in less than 1 minute of time.
The objects with sublimation printing have permanent, high-resolution printings which do not peel, while the prints through the heat transfer process are having some different appearance than the surrounding fabric.

The sublimation printing machine has easy setup process and also has a low cost of maintenance.
A dye sublimation printer has a longer lifespan than the heat transfer printing machines

The last：
Both the technologies are useful, beneficial, affordable, and the printing can be done with simple-to-follow steps. So, the choice is yours. But I suggest getting the heat transfer printer if you are only sticking with the garment printing business. If you are going to work on other things like ceramic printing, plastic printing, tiles printing, etc. then go for the sublimation inkjet printer.

Okay, these all above are my share about the difference of sublimation printing and heat press.I believe that you can differ from them after read this artical. If you have any other needs or questions welcome to contact us at any time. We will provide you the best quality product and service. Hope my article can be useful to you. Thank you for your reading.