Last Updated on July 25, 2023 by Tanvi
eCommerce business is just booming and spreading its wings widely in different sectors, and sublimation printing is one of them. The various uses of Subliminal printing make it popular in a print-on-demand business.
Sublimation printing is an excellent technique for printing products quickly and cheaply, especially print-on-demand clothing. High-quality printed custom products can be personalized to each customer with product customization tools.
In this article, we will learn about sublimation printing in eCommerce. First of all, let’s know the basics.
Know what Sublimation Printing is!
Sublimation printing is a process that reaches into the substance of your product rather than only printing on its surface. It’s versatile enough to print on everything from a ceramic cup to a cotton t-shirt.
Sublimation printing is most effective on light-colored polyester, polymer-coated polyester, and polyester mixes. Sublimation printing can be applied to various substrates, including t-shirts, sweaters, leggings, socks, laptop sleeves, backpacks, and wall art.
Working process of sublimation printing
If you are a manufacturer, printing your design on paper is the first step in the sublimation printing process. With the help of a heat press, the ink is transferred from the sublimation paper to the material. The use of heat is essential.
Sublimation ink, when heated, reveals the inner workings of a printed object. The ink must be heated to between 176 and 205 degrees Celsius, or 350 degrees Fahrenheit, to blend the print into the substrate permanently.
To make personalized sublimated t-shirts using heat transfer printing equipment, transfer paper and ink are the most prominent items. But to maintain the quality of the fabrics and avoid creasing, use new printers. Because when using old printers, usually the fabric and the paper aren’t aligned, raising such a problem.
If you are a customer, you will find the ordering process for sublimation printed products easy. The wide variety of usage options makes this method more flexible. Additionally, by using a product personalizer, a customer can quickly and easily choose unique designs for their product. Some versatile product personalizers help to add custom prices based on the design and material.
Products with sublimation printing offer additional benefits to consumers because they last longer and are less likely to crack, peel, or show any problems while wearing them.
Sublimation Products that You Can Sale
Sublimation printing is a fantastic method for making unique custom items that can’t be found in stores ready-made.
As a store owner, you can offer your customers a wide range of product options with a more personalized feel by offering a selection of sublimation items. There are some examples of products that you can offer.
Product 1- Polyester Fabric
Sublimation printing is commonly used for polyester and poly blend items. Among these are woven polyester products like backdrop fabrics, tote bags, hoodies, table covers, and flags are good examples of polyester fabric.
Product 2- Prints from Photographs
Sublimation printing is widely used to create high-quality photographs on a wide range of items, for example- magnets, clothing, mugs, canvas, and so on.
Product 3- Sublimation Blanks for Rigid Transfer
Sublimation printing is suitable for wholesale customizable products. Coasters, coffee cups, mousepads, phone cases, and many other items could be included in this category. Since these items are not pre-printed with a design, they are often called “blanks” before sublimation printing.
Product 4- Stiff Foundations
This method can also be used to sublimate designs onto plastic, glass, aluminum, and fiberglass products treated with polymers. Moreover, Sublimation printing makes it simple to print designs on various banner and sign options, from retractable banners to vinyl.
Additionally, sublimation printing is used by many companies that focus on home decor to create a wide variety of products for use all over the house. This printing technology is used for various home decor items, including ceramic tiles and curtains.
Pros of Selling Sublimation Printing in eCommerce
Sublimation printing has many advantages over traditional printing methods. One of the significant benefits of this printing method is it is fast and makes different-sized, colored, and patterned stickers in a short period.
Moreover, Sublimation printing allows extensive customization of an entire design rather than just its parts. As a result, sublimation is gaining popularity in the eCommerce sector.
Additionally, the finished product of sublimation printing incorporates designs into polyester fabric or other materials without adding extra layers, which is unavailable in many printing methods. Adding extra layers while printing gives an artificial look.
How Will People Start a Sublimation Printing Business?
Before beginning sublimation printing, it is important to have a basic familiarity with the production process involved. Will your business involve printing on fabric for clothing or cutting and sewing? Do you plan to start producing home textiles? Do you have an allocated space where a heat press can be installed? Try to find out the answers to all of these questions before starting.
After starting a business, take full advantage of product personalization because customized products are always better than usual products. And when it is about boosting AOV and revenue of a product, a product personalizer has no alternative.
An App That Can Help Your Custom eCommerce Business
We have talked about sublimation printing and its aspect regarding eCommerce success. But what about those businesses that sell custom sublimation printed products without inventory? To make a product customizable using a third-party app is a must.
A product customizer helps a business to grow with different design ideas, those designs could be made by the store owner or by the customers. Allowing customers to design their product adds an extra perk to a business.
When a customer designs his product, it drags the possibility of being copied and gives an idea to the store owner to develop a new similar product similar to the future.
There is an app that can help you to grow your custom business with efficiency-
Here, we can see a t-shirt seller allowing his customers to design their jerseys, and after designing, he will send this design to his supplier to process it in a sublimation printing method. The whole design process is run by a product personalizer named InkyBay – Product Personalizer.
If you are one of those eCommerce custom product sellers using the sublimation printing method, you can use this product personalizer in your store. If you are a salesperson at Shopify, you can choose any other app for your store because bunches of applications are available. You can choose according to your business preferences.
FAQS
Is the sublimation business profitable?
Sublimation shops can be highly profitable if they sell high-quality, personalized items to dedicated customers. The profitability of a sublimation company is highly dependent on effective advertising and revenue.
What printing method is better than sublimation printing?
Heat transfer vinyl and flex printing are two additional printing options for personalization. However, they cannot compete with the durability and high quality of sublimation printing.
Bottom Line
Sublimation printing for your eCommerce custom business could be an effective method if you make the best use of it. No matter you are running a print-on-demand business or just relying on a supplier, adapting a sublimating printing business can be profitable if you run it wisely.
