This topic is one of the most important when talking about sublimation and we refer to the most common errors that can occur when sublimating. Here we will share some experiences that we have had with the different accessories, as well as what we have learned.
We will start by talking about the main factors to take into account when sublimating, to sublimate a mug, fabric, etc. We must take into account three main elements.
- Temperature: we refer to how hot your iron is.
- Pressure: The force exerted by the stop of the machine on the material.
- Time: How long the target will last at the temperature.
What does this mean? For example, on some pages they recommend: "To sublimate t-shirts 200°C for 40 seconds", but then we see "180°C for 70 seconds", and so on, this creates a lot of confusion, but what we should being sure is the relationship that exists in these three elements and how this affects us.
Yes we set our temperature at 200°C and we gave our t-shirt a time of 60 seconds, and we are left with an opaque dull result, so we must take into account the third element , pressure , that is, we are not giving it pressure , but if the opposite case, that is, after time has elapsed our fabric becomes yellowish , in this case it is an excess of pressure . So, if this happens, our option would be to modify the pressure , but you can also reduce the temperature or the time , that is, keeping the same pressure reduce the temperature or the time , and this can give us the desired result.
After clarifying this point we will talk about the common mistakes when sublimating
- T-shirts : on some occasions it has happened to us that we are going to sublimate a t-shirt and the colors are super opaque , the first recommendation is to observe the material of the t-shirt if it is cotton , we will not obtain good results. After verifying the material, and we obtain the opaque result, we must consider the factors of temperature, time or pressure . And if, on the contrary, the sublimation is excellent but the edge of the paper is marked , we must check if we are using any material that is marking (such as some silicone paper or something that leaves residues) or also consider that excess pressure is making the paper mark on the fabric.
- Cups: when we work our cups, we want and we see that the image is blurred, we must take into account; the placement of the image that is, if we can not place and hold the image well to the mug then the image does not transfer well, but if we place it properly, then the next step is to look at our temperature and time , if these two elements are fine, then it is the pressure of the machine , if it does not have a good pressure, the desired result will not be obtained.
But, in the case of the cups and edges, when we want to make a full print , but the results are a bit blurry, we must take into account two aspects: Our resistance due to factory factors does not completely heat the edges or the cups your factory level does not allow you to reach these edges. Our recommendation is to do a double ironing, after sublimating the first time, you place the mug again this time inverted to reach the edges.
- Caps : in the case of caps, if they remain bordered when sublimating without reaching the image, we have to consider the pressure of the machine and the placement of the image , these are the main factors that can affect the result of our project.