How sublimation works
Sublimation is a printing process with three ingredients: sublimation ink, polyester fabric and heat.
- The design is printed onto paper. A wide-format printer prints your artwork, mirrored, onto special transfer paper using sublimation inks.
- The paper is pressed onto the fabric. The printed paper is placed on white polyester fabric and run through a heat press at around 190–200 °C.
- The ink becomes a gas. At that heat, the ink turns from solid to gas without becoming liquid. That is the “sublimation” in the name.
- The gas bonds with the fibres. Heat opens the polyester fibres, the gas enters them, and as the fabric cools the fibres close around the dye.
The result is a design inside the fabric, not on top of it. You can run your hand over a sublimated shirt and feel nothing but the fabric.
Why team kits use it
Any design costs the same. Gradients, camouflage, photos, pinstripes and ten sponsor logos print in one pass. With screen printing, every extra colour adds a screen and cost.
Edge-to-edge printing. At our factory we print the fabric panels before they are cut and stitched, so the design runs across seams, under the arms and around the collar with no white gaps.
Names and numbers are built in. Each player’s name and number is part of the print, so there is nothing to peel off after a season of washing.
Breathability stays intact. Because there is no plastic layer on top, sublimated shirts breathe as well as the fabric underneath. That matters in a hot Pakistani summer or a Gulf afternoon.
The limits of sublimation
Sublimation is not right for everything:
- It only works on polyester. Cotton fibres do not take the dye. Read why sublimation only works on polyester.
- It needs a light base. The inks are transparent, so we start from white fabric and print the colours, including dark ones.
- Whites stay white. You cannot sublimate white onto a coloured garment. Cricket whites are decorated with embroidery or small prints instead.
Sublimated or “sublimated”?
Some suppliers sublimate a ready-made white shirt by pressing a design onto the front and back. That leaves white creases at the seams and under the arms. Fully sublimated kits are printed panel by panel before stitching. When comparing quotes, ask which method is used.
What to send us
To quote a sublimated kit we need your logo (vector files such as AI, PDF or SVG are best), your colours, any sponsors and a rough quantity. We turn that into a mock-up for approval before printing. See how ordering works.
Frequently asked questions
Is sublimation the same as heat transfer printing?
No. Heat transfer vinyl and DTF sit on top of the fabric as a layer. Sublimation dyes the polyester fibres themselves, so there is no layer to crack or peel.
Can you sublimate dark garments?
Sublimation inks are transparent and need a white or light polyester base. Dark kits are made by printing the dark colour itself onto white fabric.
Does sublimation cost more for more colours?
No. The whole design is printed in one pass, so a design with twenty colours costs the same to print as one with two.