What is sublimation?
Dye Sublimation is a type of printing that results in permanently dying the fibers of a shirt or the substrate it is printed on. This output gives you a bright print that you cannot feel. As with every type of printing, there are pitfalls! For items to be successfully sublimated they will need to made of polyester or have a polyester coating. JOIN MY SUBLIMATION LIVE GROUP ON FACEBOOK TO GET FREE TRAINING
Types of items you can print using dye-sublimation?
You can sublimate on just about any product that has a poly coating or at least a 50% polyester fabric content. Today there are poly coatings can be applied to some items to make them sublimatable. I do not recommend using any type of spray-on items such as baby products, clothing, or anything that touches your mouth due to FDA regulations. The most common products to sublimate on items like
- Shirts
- Coffee mugs
- Patches
- Acrylic Awards
- Aluminum
- Mylar Board
- Wood
- Tumblers
- Mousepads
- Key chains
- Phone cases
- Ornaments
- Jewelry
Why you should get into sublimation printing?
- Very low startup cost
- High-profit margin
- The vast number and variety of items you can sell
- Takes up very little space
- Easy business to learn
- Highly marketable
- You can control your income
Who is the ideal customer for sublimation?
EVERYONE! Every person you know & meet has some need or want for a sublimation product. You just need to market it to them at the right time. A sublimation business is perfect for special occasions such as weddings, births, birthdays, graduations, holidays, and more. Here are some markets that make great targets to sell your products.
- Gifts Market
- Advertising & Promotional items market
- Sports Organizations
- Non-Profits
Pricing Sublimation & Profit Margins
On average sublimation, items can be sold for 3-5 times more than your investment.
How to market items:
Knowing what items to sell and when
To be successful you need to be able to get your product in front of your ideal customers. Here are a few ways I help you accomplish this:
- You need an avenue to sell your product –
- Website
- social media
- email marketing
- Etsy store
- Word of mouth
Any of these avenues work – YOU MUST HAVE A PLACE TO DRIVE & FEED CUSTOMERS. I will sit down and help you figure out the best scenario for you and your budget
Ok now that you have an overview of what sublimation is and how to market your items
Let’s talk about what options for printing your items
- Print in-house
- outsource
The pros of printing your items yourself
- is that you control the entire process
- you are in control of the speed at which you can output items.
- After your initial investment printing, you have a low overhead
What you need to print your own items:
- A PRINTER THAT IS COMPATIBLE WITH SUBLIMATION INKS
- Sublimation ink
- Possibly a conversion kit (I don’t recommend)
- Sublimation transfer paper for t-shirts, hard items, and possibly printable vinyl
- Heat transfer tape
- Adhesive spray
- Scissors
- Cutting board (optional)
- A computer program to create your designs, or buy stock designs
- Take a class or higher a designer
- A coach to help you through the process (highly recommended)
- Heat press for flat items.
- Cap press (optional)
- Blanks
- Cutter with an optical eye if you want to print on dark t-shirts
- Printable vinyl
You can purchase sublimation transfer and without the need to invest in a printer or inks