‘Sublimation paper’ or also known as ‘Transfer Paper’ is a heat resistant paper that is used in the process of sublimation printing. If you are a newbie here, then let us first tell you what sublimation printing is. Well, in short, it is a printing method in which the image is not directly printed on the material. Rather, it is first printed on a heat resistant sublimation paper and then the paper is placed on the top of a fabric, tile or mug to transfer the image or design from paper onto the desired object, thus the name ‘transfer paper’.
There is no one standard type of transfer paper that is used in the printing process. This is why many people who are new to this business will commit some mistakes. Before we answer the question ‘on which side of sublimation paper should you print?’ it would be wise to look at the types of transfer paper that are used for printing images on T-shirts, mugs and even tiles. Read below and be enlightened!
Types of Transfer Papers
Plastisol Heat Transfer paper
This transfer paper can be used to print the images and stored for later use. This type of transfer paper can also print the image on challenging surfaces like a baseball cap.
Laser Transfer Paper
This transfer paper is the cheapest one and should not be used if prime quality is required. This is mainly because the image produced by laser transfer paper on the T-shirt or any other garment fades away after a few washes.
Sublimation Transfer Paper
This is the highest quality paper that is available in the market. It transfers the ink to the garment on the molecular level so that the image printed is resistant to fading, cracking and even peeling. It is a bit expensive from the other types of transfer papers but if you are using a sublimation printing machine, then you should use this transfer paper for producing the best types of results.
Printing on the incorrect side of sublimation paper
This is the most common mistake that many rookies make. But the side on which you should print the image can easily be determined. The printing side of the sublimation paper is coated with chemical which makes it a bit sticky, so if you touch both sides of the sublimation paper, you will be able to determine the printing surface easily.
What Happens If I Use The Incorrect Side of Sublimation Paper?
Well, the answer is obvious; you won’t be able to get the image on the T-shirt after you heat press the T-shirt and sublimation paper together.. This is because the chemical that is responsible for binding the color dye to the T-shirt is on the other side of the sublimation paper. It is therefore imperative that you determine the right side of the sublimation paper before you plan to print an image on your T-shirt.
