Sublimation Vs Vinyl Vs Screen Printing

Both screen printing and dye sublimation are capable of reproducing fine details and photorealistic images.

Sublimation vs vinyl vs screen printing.

Screen printing is the older technology of the two but it has survived since ancient china for a good reason. Compare vinyl printing and screen printing which one is more suitable for printing t shirts. Screen printing is the right method if you re looking to work on large orders. Vinyl printing and screen printing and sublimation print however heat transfer printing is only suitable for t shirts made of polyester so it is common to use vinyl or silk screen printing to print t shirts whether to print t shirts with silk screen.

Unlike sublimation printing screen printing doesn t involve heat and the graphic sits on top of the fabric. The color does not penetrate inside the fabric. There are three methods to printed t shirt. To get started with sublimation printing you will need a sublimation printer sublimation paper heat press machine and blank apparel where our design will be transferred.

Screen printing leads to fabric becoming cracky and bleed when washed. But in sublimation printing this does not happen since the colors completely get into the fabric. Like sublimation printing vinyl has no minimum order amount. It can crack or peel off of shirts with heavy wear washing and sun exposure.

The screen printer pushes ink through a stencil on a mesh screen transferring the design onto the base material being decorated this is also called substrate. The high speed is because nothing needs to change from t shirt to t shirt provided the designs remain the same. Opposite happens with sublimation printing where the color completely penetrates into the fabric. For dye sublimation all you have to do is change the artwork file and print a new transfer.

Vinyl does have a few drawbacks. Vinyl is typically used to personalize orders as a cheaper alternative to embroidery. Setting up screen printing takes much longer compared to vinyl printing but as soon as the set up in done the printing process is swift. Heat applied transfers whether screen printed sublimation vinyl and more are all used for a variety of applications.

Sublimation printing has a bit higher start up coast when compared to heat transfer vinyl but maybe a better option based on final results. Maybe you are printing on cotton t shirts polyester athletic uniforms or even a polo shirt in a cotton poly blend then you ll need to determine which transfer type is best to use. Screen printing requires the preparation of an entirely new screen.