Do you consider yourself a fashion avant-garde and always want to stand out in the crowd? Do you always want to wear outfits that are truly one of a kind, something that cannot be bought easily from a store?
If you have some skill with a sewing machine, or even with just a needle and thread, putting together a truly unique outfit will not be difficult for you because you can easily sew your own clothes. And dye sublimation printing is the answer to all.
But what if you do not have sewing skills and your fashion ideas cannot be easily fulfilled with just sewing anyway? There is yet one way to see your ideas come to life, and that is by printing your outfits using a wide-format printer that does dye sublimation clothing printing.
Dye-sublimation printing is a printing process that works on almost any printing medium, and it is also popularly used in printing fabrics. This printing method works on most fabrics, and it is especially great in printing complicated patterns with different colors. In dye-sublimation printing, colors are printed layer by layer to produce sharp details.
What fashion items and accessories can you create using wide-format printers that do dye sublimation printing?
Here are a few ideas.
- Scarves. Scarves are not just protections for your head and your throat when it is windy or cold. They are pieces of fabric that can add drama and flair to an otherwise plain outfit. You can wear scarves with just about anything, whether it is a power suit or a simple outfit made up of jeans and a T-shirt.
You can print your own scarves. If you are handy with graphics software, you can create your own patterns. If not, you can just download a pattern that you want from the Internet. And then, you can use a wide-format printer to print the pattern on your scarf.
- Jeans. Many people like to jazz up their denim jeans. Some people like to glam up their jeans by embroidering them or sewing in sequins or rhinestones. Others like to tear their jeans up in some parts.
Still, others like to paint on their jeans. Instead of all these, you can print on your jeans by feeding it to a wide-format printer.
Again, you can draw the pattern that you want using graphics software and have your drawings rendered by the printer. Make sure that you align in so that the printout will be on the exact spot where you want it on your jeans.
- T-shirts. There are many stores that specialize in selling novelty T-shirts, which are T-shirts with various messages and graphics printed on them. These messages are sometimes insulting, sometimes funny and sometimes outrageous.
Many of these T-shirts are printed using silkscreen printing, but you can easily do this with a wide-format printer. Once again, just come up with the image that you want and have the printer render it on your shirt.
There are many ways by which you can use a wide-format printer to express your fashion sense. Dye-sublimation printing, after all, works well with fabrics and is fun to do. If you are savvy enough, you can even make a business out of this and earn some money creating your own designs.
There are many ways to personalize products with logos or photographs etc, but dye sublimation printing service is the most economical solution for one-offs or small runs as there are no special set-ups involved, and the equipment needed is minimal. A computer, printer with sublimation inks and a heat press.
Where dye sublimation wins the day is when customers only want a small number or even just one item. Other processes just cannot produce the item economically. Typically minimum orders using other systems are for fifty or more. With dye sublimation, you can produce just one!
Running dye-sublimation business
You do not need a lot of space to produce dye-sublimated products and many people run a dye sublimation business from home.
Products that are popular include t-shirts (especially good for hen nights etc), mugs, mouse mats, and coasters. The range of items is increasing all the time.
It can be quite daunting setting up the equipment for the first time. Most people have problems with getting the colors looking correct on the products.
The printer used has to be set correctly to reproduce colors correctly and this can be very hit and miss if you do not understand the process. Other settings that make a huge difference to the end result are pressure, temperature and time.
If you take the time to look around the web, there are a few website resources (including several forums) that tell you about dye sublimation t-shirt printing and what equipment you need, what products you can do etc and there is also a tutorial DVD available online, guiding you through the process of producing dye sublimated products.
