DYE SUBLIMATION TRANSFER PAPER PRINTING FOR SUPERHERO COSTUME

Everyone must have thought that I'm hero. I can save other people and save the world. We also want to wear the hero costume and become them.

Every fabric costume starts with a pattern.The re-sized file was then sent to a dye sublimation printer called Feiyue paper. You can print it out to scale on 4-way stretch, basically using a giant printer that uses heat transfer to move fabric dyes from a printed color panel directly into the surface of the fabric by sublimating the ink from solid to gas.

The eyes were made by an artisan in Canada. The frames were cast in black onyx, a hard plastic that can be heated and shaped to hold a curve when they cool. The lenses were a flexible mirrored plastic with a white vinyl overlay. I set about shaping the lenses while I sent the rest of the suit to a seamstress.

Then sew hero suits, again. Cut out and assembled the pattern to fit my measurements, and added the zippers that allowed me to get in and out.
Sewing something that's meant to look seamless, fit perfectly, and stretch tremendously is really difficult. Even people who are very experienced at sewing and working with knit fabrics can take around 30 working hours to complete the stitching and adjustments for this type of suit.
Like the suits used in the Spider-Man films, this suit has well-hidden zippers than run down the sides from the armpit to the waist, then along the belt in the back. The back of the suit becomes an open flap that you enter and exit by way of an elaborate interpretive dance and a healthy bit of contortion.  Looks sleek, though.
The zips are "invisible zippers" that allow the fabric of the garment to almost completely cover the zipper tape when closed.
There is also zipper installed along the back of the neck, which allows the mask to be dropped forward like a reverse hood in order to take a breather, eat or drink, what have you.
Back to the eyes. Designing a flat template and shaping the masters out of wood. Then cast the frames in black onyx and shipped them to me, along with the plastic "one-way mirror" lenses that have similar visibility to mirrored sunglasses. The pieces were not assembled together yet, so that I could adjust the shapes of the frame with heat without damaging the lenses. This is his prototype image, and the frames he sent me were cast with a smoother finish.

A dye-sublimation printer (or dye-sub printer) is a computer printer which employs a printing process that uses heat to transfer dye onto medium materials such as a plastic card, paper, or fabric. It's cheaper than screen printing and looks amazing(see what I did there) on fabric as long as your digital file is high quality. What you see pictured is the 4 way stretch white lycra with the digital file printed directly on it. After close inspection of the final print, the next step is cutting it out and prepping it to be sewn up.

Fabric Swatch/Color Check
For quality assurance you may want to verify that you're using great fabric with great stretch and great vibrant colors. The reason I mention this is because if you go with an online printer and not a local one, they may not remind you of this service. I'm sure you will appreciate knowing the print is right on track.
For more information, click here: http://www.sublihouse.com/