Printing Options
SUBLIMATION PRINTING
Dye Sublimation the dye is actually absorbed into the material as opposed to ink sitting on top of the material as with screen printing.Being able to print full colour images onto t-shirts with no screens means no set up or screen charge.
HEAT SEAL PRINTING
Perfect for short print runs, transfers are suitable for most Polyester/Cotton fabrics where a simple logo or text is required. We stock a wide range of standard colours, also reflective, textured and glittered. Multi-colour designs are cut and applied separately using a heat-seal transfer press. Our heat seal colour and reflective printing offers excellent long lasting quality even after multiple washes.Perfect for the production of highly visible colour and reflective logos.
MUG TRANSFER PRINTING
Ideal for: earthen ware and bone china; more complex art tones; critical registration and full colour work; printing on the full surface area of the item;highly-shaped items
The design is silk-screen or litho printed onto special paper, then cover-coated. The resulting print is then treated as a water slide transfer and applied by hand to the ware. The process is slower and more labour intensive than direct screen printing but is more flexible with colours able to be built up with precision and control. Printing is possible on the full size of a mug, inside on the base, as a back stamp, or just inside the rim.
MUG DIRECT SCREEN PRINTING
Ideal for: earthenware; cost effective in both large and small runs; can be used on bone china
Not for: complex half-tones
An image, usually up to four line colours, is printed within a given area directly onto the rotating body of the mug. This method is used when:
• the design is simple
• there are no complex half-tones although some half-tones can be directly printed
• the registration is not over demanding
• the design is not required to be larger than the print area
There are limitations with this process and it is primarily used for the low budget side of the earthenware market. A direct printer can print several thousand items a day, in contrast to the slower, hand decorated transfer process.
MUG DIGITAL PRINTING
Ideal for: photo images or cartoon images without bright primary colours; both earthenware and bone china; small print runs.
Not for: any images with strong primary colours or coloured glazed ceramics. An image is printed directly to a specially coated paper in process colour, using technology similar to an office laser printer. This is then cover-coated, becoming a water slide transfer which is applied to the ware. There are no screen costs, just an origination charge when the design is finalised. You can have one print or hundreds. As with full colour printing, there are limitations on the strengths of reds and pinks but, with pastels and citrus shades, the results are excellent. Because the inks are a natural product, perfect colour matching cannot be achieved on repeat orders and it is not possible to match the primary colour chart, but the technique is excellent for photographic slower, hand decorated transfer process.
