What is Dye Sublimation?
Most polyester fabrics, such as many of the popular “Performance Garments”, are dyed using a sublimation process. The dye sublimation process uses high heat to permanently fuse the colorant into a polyester fabric.
Heat serves two critical functions in this dying process. First, the heat causes the pores of the polyester fabric to open up, so the material can accept the dye. And second, the heat converts the solid ink dye on a transfer sheet into a gas.
Under pressure of the heat press, the gaseous dye is forced into the open pores of the polyester. As the temperature drops, the pores close up capturing the dye inside of the bonds to the substrate. Read more »
