Sublimation vs DTG Printing: What You Should Know

If you are looking for the best printing method for your business then this article is very helpful for you. Sublimation and DTG both are the best printing methods but there are many differences between them based on some factors like the durability f print, speed of the process, cost, and many other factors.  

DTG vs Sublimation. The sublimation process is best for polyester and light color shirts while DTG is good for any material which is made up of natural fiber. In sublimation, process print is converted into transfer paper and then into a shirt but in DTG you directly convert ink into the garment.

Sublimation vs DTG Printing:

DTG PRINTING

So today we are going to talk about DTG Printing, what DTG Printing is, and how it works. DTG is known as Direct garment printing. It is a procedure of pre-printing pictures, logos, icons, and illustrations onto fabric or material. It is not like cheap printing which has faded in one wash. It has a long-lasting printing ability.

The biggest feature of DTG is that you can print any photo or picture that you saw on your cell phone with any amount of color on  T-shirts. It gives you a realistic image of shirts with an inkjet printer.

WHAT IS SUBLIMATION PRINTING

Sublimation printing is a chemical process. In this process, ink is heated at a high temperature and converted solid into a gaseous state and then at molecule level. Then it is converted into polymers.

It is a term for converting solid to a gas state transition. It is a differ from standard ink inkjet or laser ink. It helps you to create a permanent image on shirts, mugs, or tumblers. It also helps to print on polyester fabric with vivid or different black shades. 

It is an exothermic reaction that changes solid dye into a gaseous state and polymers. It is water-soluble. You cannot use inkjet ink for the sublimation process. The sublimation process cannot be done on organic materials. If you want to print sublimation on your shirt it should be a high polyester material. 

DTG VS SUBLIMATION

The major difference between DTG and sublimation is using fabric. If you run a large business the DTG is the best choice but if you are a beginner then sublimation printing is the perfect choice for you. In the sublimation process, you have to first print on sublimation paper but in the DTG process picture, logo, or icon directly on clothes.

Here we are comparing both printing methods direct to garment vs sublimation. The first category in which we are going to compare is PRINT QUALITY. In sublimation, you can only sublimate on polyester coated fabric and its quality of printing is very high. The other benefit of sublimation is the durability of the print; it will last long with the shirt itself.

Now comparing DTG printing with sublimation printing the biggest advantage is you can print a wide variety of different designs and it gives you realistic vibes. Its printing is also durable. It will last long at least 40 to 50 washes but in comparison, sublimation will last longer. But in speed DTG is faster than sublimation.   

DTG SUBLIMATION PRINTER

Direct To a Garment sublimation printer is a machine used to print directly on fabric or a garment. The best feature is that you can print any picture, photo, an icon in any fabric/material. It is suitable for both types of materials whether it is dark or light background fabric. 

Here are some of the best DTG printers on the market:

BROTHER GTX PRO DIRECT TO GARMENT PRINTER

Brother GTX pro is one of the best printers for DTG printing. This printer is appropriate for medium-scale manufacturing.it is a direct inkjet garment printer its weight is approximately 120 kg.  It can produce 42 dark and 57 light garments in 1 hour. It is water-based pigment ink. It has a one-year warranty. It has 2 print heads or 8 ink channels. 

FREE JET 330tx PLUS

It is also from the top DTG printers. It is a back-to-back award winner for 3 years in a row. It is a multi-talented DTG printing machine for hoodies, traditional shirts, jeans, etc. it can print on 100% dark and light polyester. This process uses GAMUT PLUS inks. It gives you the lowest production and maintenance cost. 

Ricoh RI 2000

Richo RI 2000 is the best choice for any DTG user you will never regret your decision and it is worth buying. It can print in less than 10 seconds. It helps you to print any design, picture, or logo on any fabric, any material, shirt, mask, bags, wooden, or glass on anything. It is easy to use and has auto height adjustment to quick-change magnetic platens. It can save you most of the time. Easy to maintain and use features. 

DTG printers rely on many features like the dimensions of the device. The bigger the dimension is the more costly it is. 

THE BEST PRINTER FOR SUBLIMATION

In the market, there are many printers for sublimation printing. You can use the sublimation method of printing usually on polyester. Here is the list of top sublimation printers. 

EPSON ECO TANK 15000

It is the best choice for sublimation apparel printing. It has a superior production capacity. It saves ink and is easy to change. 

SAWGRASS VIRTUOSO SG500

It is the best sublimation printer for t-shirts.   It has two computer models SG400 and SG800. It often works in offices. It is more costly than Epson. 

It is specially designed for sublimation shirt printing. 

SCREEN PRINTING VS SUBLIMATION

In sublimation, you will need some things like a printer, sublimation ink, transfer paper, irresistible tape, lint roller, and many other things whereas screen printing need heat-press,  tape, screen printing, etc. screen printing can preprint on any color where you sublimation can print on light color fabrics. The sublimation process of printing is good for small projects while screen printing is used for bigger projects. Screen printing is a time taking process while sublimation is a speedy process. 

 SUBLIMATION PRINT ON COTTON

Sublimation on cotton vs polyester, Sublimation print can’t work on 100% cotton fabric because sublimation ink is barely held together with polyester fabric. We can Sublimate sprint on other material but it will not print permanently. So for the best results, you can do sublimation on polyester fabric.  You can print on cotton but the results are not satisfactory. 

PROS AND CONS OF SUBLIMATION

Sublimation is most trendy nowadays. You can sublimate on shirts, mugs, tumblers, leather, and many things, there are many pros and cons of sublimation printing.

PROSS

We can do sublimation on fabric, mugs, blanks, onesies, and tumblers. 

It is a quick and easy method of printing as compared to screen printing. 

It can help you to grow your small business.

CONS

We can sublimate only on polyester fabric.

In dark color, sublimation looks dull.

Its colors are very costly.

HOW DOES DTG PRINTING WORK

 DTG printing is also named digital garment printing. It is used for textile printing and fr bigger projects. Direct to garment is a process of printing four-color images directly on the garment. It’s a very easy process of printing. The first thing you have to do is make your shirt ready for printing then set your printer at 2 plates and then print it out and your DTG printed shirt is ready. 

SUBLIMATION AND HEAT PRESS

Sublimation is a process in which first you have to print on paper and then transfer it to polyester shirts, mugs, tumblers, and keychains. But these things must be sublimation coated. Whereas heat press vinyl is a process of cutting vinyl and then printing it on a shirt with the help of a heat press. This process did not relate to the printer. You 

do this process in any material.  

DIRECT GARMENT PRINTING EQUIPMENT

For direct-to-garment(DTG) printing, you will need some basic equipment such as the right software, heat-press, and desktop. These are the most important things you need but there are some other basic needs like gloves, spray bottle, paper towel, garment steamer, webcam camera.  

SUBLIMATION VS HEAT TRANSFER

Heat transfer printing is printing designs on a  transfer paper and then transferring them on adhesive paper using a heat press and then you can finally print them on fabric. Whereas in a sublimation process you can first transfer the design on paper and then in a shirt. The difference between them is that sublimation doesn’t add any additional layer on the top of the shirt while in the heat transfer process there is a thin layer on the top of the fabric. In durability, sublimation can last longer than heat transfer.  

T-SHIRT SUBLIMATION EQUIPMENT

For sublimation printing for shirts, you need some basic equipment like sublimation ink, transfer paper, a heat press machine, printer, design, Teflon sheet, and other things.

DTG VS EMBROIDERY

 Embroidery is the occupation of embellishing the fabric by making use of a needle to bid the thread or yarn. It is a  good option for printing schools or company logos on thick stuff.  In the comparison of DTG and Embroidery of logos or icons, Embroidery is always a better option because of its durability. 

FINAL WORDS

Sublimation vs DTG topic related all details are given above. For small businesses sublimation printing is the best option but for a larger business, you have chosen DTG printing. In durability, DTG is best, and polyester fabric printing sublimation is best. We already told you all facts about sublimation printing and direct to garment printing above.