Sublimation Printing and Screen printing, both are common printing methods. It is used by artists like me and businesses also to customise apparel and many other things. Both have their own pros and cons. Both have their own distinguishing features.
Today in this blog I’ll give you all the information about sublimation and screen printing. So with that, let’s get started.
What is Sublimation Printing?
It is a printing method that uses heat and pressure to transfer the design onto the substrate. The process of sublimation printing is as follows:
- Finalise the design
- Print it on the special transfer paper in the mirror position
- Take a substrate that is labelled as the sublimation blank
- Stick the print to the substrate and secure it with the heat-resistant tape
- Preheat the heat press and take the set up in the heat press
- After applying adequate temperature for some desired time take out the setup
- Remove the transfer paper
- Blow your imagination to the world
You may also check – Difference Between Sublimation Printing And Dtf
What is Screen printing?
It is also known as Serigraphy and Silk Screen printing. It is a method of designing by forcing ink through a stencilled mesh screen. The process of screen printing is as follows:
- Finalise the design
- Print it onto the clear acetate film with the help of a printer (here also inkjet printer is used)
- The printer will select a mesh screen to accommodate the design’s complexity and the texture of the fabric.
- Cover the mesh screen with the light-sensitive emulsion coating
- An acetate sheet with a design, placed on the emulsion-coated screen
- Now it is exposed to the powerful light. (powerful light: solidifies the emulsion, and leaves the design-covered portion of the screen in liquid form)
- This leaves a screen with clear impressions of the pattern for the inks to pass through.
- Load the screen in the printing press
- The substrate (an object/ garment to be printed), spread flat onto the print board, underneath the screen
Ink is applied to the screen’s uppermost portion. The ink is pushed across the exposed section of the stencils and transferred to the substrate.
You may also check – Sublimation Vs Heat Transfer
What are the major differences between Sublimation Printing and Screen printing?
The major differences between the sublimation printing and the Screen printing are as follows:
| Differences | Sublimation Printing | Screen Printing |
| Print Quality | Produces excellent print quality with vivid & crisp coloursIt allows for the detailed printing of designs with multiple coloursEx. Photos | Produces excellent print quality with vibrant & sharp coloursIt is best suited for designs with one or a few colours.Ex. Text, Logos |
| Durability | It is less susceptible to washing out resulting in no cracking or fading of the design after multiple wash | It is susceptible to the washing out |
| Print Complexity | It allows you to print intricate pattern designs with complex gradients, intriguing artwork, or digital photosIt is easier to print complex design | You can also print intricate pattern designs with complex gradients, and intriguing artwork but it needs more expertise & patienceIt is tough to print complex designs |
| No. of colours & Colour Blending | It produces fantastic print quality for designs and gradients with multiple colours. It is usually done on light or white-coloured fabric, using transparent inks, which may not appear on darker fabrics. | It works best with designs with one or a few colours. only one colour is printed at a time. Therefore it takes longer to print if you have more coloursIt works well on materials of any colour. In this method, colour blending is mostly done by mixing the required shades of colours by hand or using mechanised paint mixing machines. Manually blending colours indicates that the colour shades could change from one project to the other depending on the expertise. |
| Special Effects | Special effects can be added to the garment using glitter or other speciality ink such as gold or silver | It uses different types of ink to produce special effects such as 3D designs or provide a cracked texture effect. |
| Fabrics & Materials | Best suited for polyester or blended fabric | Best suited for the cotton fabric |
| Cost Efficiency | It is a cost-efficient technique | It is a less cost-efficient technique |
| Set up time | It is time efficient as set up time is relatively shorter | It is time-consuming |
| Cost | Initially, it costs more as all the specialised materials will be used | The initial cost is low compared to sublimation printing |
You may also check – What Is Dye Sublimation
Conclusion:
Hope you got all the necessary information about both types of printings. Both have their own pros & cons. Both have their own distinguishing factors. For many decades screen printing has been popular. But from when sublimation printing comes into the market its demand goes down. Sublimation printing gives the best result with versatility and durability.
Here I only say one thing: go through the article thoroughly and select your business wisely. As you asked me, I tried both but the sublimation works best for my business. So select from the two and let me know in the comment which suits best for you.
Till then happy printing!