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Sublimation Printing vs. Digital Printing: What’s The Difference?

Sublimation Printing vs. Digital Printing

If you’re in the market for printing services, you may be wondering whether to go digital or use a process such as sublimation printing. And while both options come with their benefits and drawbacks, it’s important to know what each one entails if you want to make the most informed decision possible.

Sublimation Printing

It’s a special form of heat transfer printing that’s widely known for incorporating full-color digital images onto certain types of materials. The process takes place when ink is pressed onto a sheet of special paper and then transferred onto various items, such as promotional clothing.

Digital Printing

Digital printing is a type of inkjet printing that uses a combination of computer-to-plate (C2P) technology and digital printing technology to create product labels, business cards, banners, and posters.

As C2P technology allows for creating a digital file that you can send to a press, digital printing can be more cost-effective than other types of printing because it eliminates the need to create film copies.

What’s the Difference Between Sublimation and Digital Printing?

Here is a look at how sublimation printing is different from digital printing.

Speed

When it comes to speed, digital printing is the winner. In most cases, you can complete a digital print job in a matter of hours. Meanwhile, sublimation printing typically takes days to complete. That’s because the print process itself is quite long, involving a curing system and an application of heat to permanently bond ink onto the selected material.

If you’re looking for an alternative process to use with vinyl material, sublimation production is probably not the best candidate.

Paper Selection

Both sublimation and digital printing can utilize a wide range of paper types. Digital printing services can print everything from cardstock to canvas, while sublimation typically uses specialized polyester fabrics.

So if you need to print on a variety of paper types, digital printing is the way to go. But you may want to consider sublimation if the print job needs to be finished on a short deadline.

Aesthetics

Sublimation production offers the option to produce color prints with full-color images, while digital printing can only be produced in black and white. This is important if you’re looking for something that will complement your existing decor instead of standing out. The same can be said of sublimation printing’s ability to print on a wide variety of fabrics, including t-shirts. Meanwhile,

with digital printing, you have to be more specific about the type of material you want to use. You can’t specify a different type of paper or print on vinyl.

Price

Digital printing may cost slightly more than sublimation, but the price is still affordable. Digital printers usually offer high-quality prints at a lower per-piece price than other types of printers. And since the digital process doesn’t involve any materials that can be damaged with heat, the cost of printing is also much lower.

On the other hand, sublimation printers are pricey, and their more complicated printing processes can make sublimation production prohibitively expensive. Not to mention that it’s also far more expensive to buy a garment with sublimation production than a plain, old t-shirt.

Environment

Most digital printing processes are environmentally friendly, especially when comparing them to other types of commercial printing processes. The reason is that most commercial printers rely on inks that can be harmful to the environment when they’re disposed of improperly.

But digital printing can use water-based inks that are much better for the environment because they contain no heavy metals. Digital printing is a less harmful way to print because it uses less ink than other methods.

Software

When it comes to software, sublimation production utilizes software that’s very similar to many programs found on a personal computer. But digital printing is more advanced and more akin to the types of software used for designing digital images. This is because digital printing software is a virtual environment that allows for creating and implementing different print styles.

The Bottom Line

Since both sublimation printing and digital printing are great printing methods, it’s best to take advantage of each process’s unique qualities. While sublimation production is best for producing custom t-shirts, banners, and signs, its lengthy processing time can make it impractical for short-run projects.

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