HEAT PRESS MACHINE SUBLIMATION PRINTING FOR SNEAKERS

Valentino 2016 fashion show has given us the young age. A beautiful dress can also match sneakers.

Technology is sexy. Orthotics, those inserts you put in your shoes to fix your hurting feet, aren’t even close to being sexy. But what happens when you bring in a wicked-smart woman, an iPad and a printer to solve the problem of design versus comfort? You disrupt an industry and sexy happens.
People Footwear has just introduced a line of sneakers made with a printed mesh which seem, and this is more the exception than the rule when it comes to printing shoes, like something you could actually wear.

One of the first issues you might find is that not all polyester fabric and garments are created equally. Just because the tag says it is 100% polyester does not mean that a garment is going to sublimate well. If you go talk to a typical t-shirt manufacturer and ask them if their shirts are sublimate, they will say “sure, it is 100% polyester.” Then go ahead and ask them if they know what sublimation actually is or how it is done?
Most of them will not, they just know people are asking them for sublimate shirts and they have a polyester version of their cotton counterpart. Some garments might have too low of a thread count, surface treatments that will affect the transfer or low white points. I’d suggest that you test all garments before committing to use that type of performance fabric with a customer. I would also be wary of accepting customer supplied garments without being able to test them first.
The other issue I frequently address is when the digital transfer substrate imprints a permanent line onto the garment. This happens because the heat needed to transfer items onto polyester and the accompanying pressure actually makes the polyester melt and it conforms to the edge of the transfer carrier. The way to eliminate this is through a little bit of trial and error, but a there are a few key points will make narrowing this down easier. The new issue could be that you see the heat press mark on the garment so at that point you have way too much pressure. The better way to eliminate this mark is by using a piece of high temperature foam.

This foam will need to be cut to at least ½” smaller than the transfer carrier sheet, but it also must be bigger than the image area being transferred. Before pressing stick the foam into your heat press towards the edge so you can see it.
Adjust the pressure on your heat press so the foam compacts to about half of its normal thickness. This will give you a good amount of pressure while not pushing down so hard as to imprint the transfer carrier’s edge. You will have to do your own testing to find your exact right temperature and pressure, but ideally you want the least amount of pressure and least amount of heat to still be able to get a clean, vibrant and washable transfer.
Polyester performance fabrics are here to stay and as a garment decorator you need to be able to create these for your customers. While they can present some new challenges, they can also bring much higher profit margins and much less competition as not all decorators can master performance fabric. Placing digital transfers onto performance fabrics is a worthwhile investment one you understand what you need to be successful. Happy Decorating!
For more information, click here: http://www.sublihouse.com/