Sublimation

What is sublimation?

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Sublimation is a fabric printing process that uses ink, heat, and pressure to transfer ink directly into polyester fabric. Once the ink is transferred into the fabric it is there for good, no peeling, cracking or detail falling off of your garment. We can create unique effects such as ombre as well as highly detailed designs without driving up the cost of your garment. For the sublimation process the fabric starts out as white just like if you were printing on a piece of paper. With sublimation your color choices and combinations are endless! For garments using sublimation, we offer several different types of fabrics that we can print on. The photos below show each of these fabrics before, and after printing to better show the different effects of each.

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*Sublimation can be done in any color, multi color shown as an example.

Matte

Our most common lycra used often in many of our leos. Ideal for all men's and women's practice and performance wear.

Glossy(Foil Finish)

A Mystique type fabric with a clear foil finish. Ideal for women's practice and performance wear.

Holographic (Foil Finish)

A Mystique type fabric with a holographic foil finish. Ideal for women's practice and performance wear.

Mesh (Matte Finish)

A super soft, stretchy and comfortable mesh. Ideal for sleeves and insets on women's performance wear.

Ultra Comfort Matte

Brushed finish making it super soft and comfortable, anti-microbial and moisture management properties. Same feel as our best selling  Breezy Mesh leos! Ideal for men's singlets and women's Practice wear.

Metallic (Foil Finish)

A Mystique type fabric with a silver foil finish. Ideal for women's practice and performance wear.

Iridescent (Foil Finish)

A Mystique type fabric with an iridescent foil finish. Ideal for women's practice and performance wear.

Sport Mesh (Matte Finish)

A breathable sport mesh ideal for the backs of men's singlets or for custom Breezy Mesh leos! 

Wear and Tear of Sublimation Fabrics

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While the ink in a sublimated garment is there permanently, it must still be treated with care like any other effects fabric, taking special care around rough surfaces and velcro. While our sublimation fabrics are no more susceptible to snags than any other fabric, the effects of snags may be more visible. Because the fabric starts off white and is then dyed a custom color or pattern, the back and under side of the fabric remains white after sublimation. When a snag occurs on a sublimated fabric, it pulls the white fibers of the fabric through so the snags appear white on a colored fabric, therefore being more noticeable. The foil finish on our glossy, metallic, holographic and iridescent fabrics tends to act as a protective layer against snags (though is still not snag- proof), while our matte, ultra comfort matte and mesh are the softest and most comfortable fabrics for sublimation.

*DNA Performance Wear cannot be responsible for pilling or snags that may occur on fabrics when it comes into contact with velcro or any other rough surfaces. Unfortunatley this is an issue we cannot avoid due to the nature of the fabric. DNA Performance Wear will not be responsible for replacing or repairing your garment if pilling or snags occur.