Within the world of sublimation, paper may be the aspect most taken for granted. But there are many things about transfer paper worth knowing.

The single most important thing for a sublimator to know about paper, says Jan Miller of All Weather Specialty Papers in Elk Grove, Illinois, is to be sure to buy paper made specifically for sublimation.

HOW SUBLIMATION PAPER IS DIFFERENT

If you are going to pay more for paper made especially for sublimation (though not much more) it is good to know why.

As Philip Prieur of Beaver Paper in Norcross, Georgia, notes, the transfer paper is just as important a factor in the sublimation process as the ink and the substrate. “If you do not use transfer paper made for sublimation, the process simply does not work the way it should. Your results will be terrible.”

Allan Tsang of American Eagle Transfer in Christianburg, Virginia, quickly recaps the most popular transfer papers, “There are transfer papers that are screen printed, such as hot splits and cold peel, and they give a screen-printed feel. There are polymer-coated transfers used in color laser copiers and printers and ink-jet printers. They are the best for multi-color, tightly registered or process art. They do have a film in the blank areas, so trimming is necessary.”

And then there’s transfer paper used in sublimation. “It looks and feels like a standard, higher-quality piece of inkjet paper. By holding it and looking at it, there is nothing special that you can feel or see to let you know that it’s different as compared to other transfer papers,” says Michael Stark of Joto Paper in Blaine, Washington.

Traditional transfer papers use a film coating, which Tsang mentioned, that is released with the application of heat and pressure. That is why transfers of this kind have a hand, or a texture that can be felt on top of the surface of the personalized item. Rather than going on an item, sublimation dyes go into an item. This is why items personalized by sublimation have no hand.

And so, “Sublimation transfer paper does not have this type of film coating over the surface. There are basically two types of paper being used for inkjet dye-sublimation. Those are, in some cases, a very high-quality inkjet paper. In the second case, it is actually an engineered paper, one that has been specifically engineered to absorb the water from the inkjet inks and still maintain the sublimation dyes on the surface,” says Linda Buettner of Paper Ranch in Kildeer, Illinois.

Sublimation ink is not like the ink used for everyday purposes. It has different properties and different objectives, and so must its paper.

“With sublimation transfer paper, the paper is really a carrier. The paper exists for the sole purpose of getting the ink from the paper to the finished item,” says Stark.

For that reason, says Miller, sublimation transfer paper has a sizing to hold up the sublimation dyes. Sizing is a special ingredient put into the papers when they are made to make sure the inks do not soak into the paper too much, absorbing the water and keeping the dyes on the surface.

Explaining the chemistry further, Prieur notes that, “In dye sublimation, you are dealing with a highly dilute ink. There is only a tiny amount of dye in the ink with a huge amount of water—that is its concentration at the molecular level. The paper has to deal with a tremendous water load, enough to make most pieces of paper turn to mush. The paper must attract water at a molecular level. It’s not just capillarity like a Scott towel, but it has to be capable of instantaneous uptake of a huge volume of water. However, as it takes up all of that water, it cannot start bleeding out and allow colors to start blending. It must hold the colors in the correct positions, but that’s not all.

The dyes are solid crystalline particles that are approximately 1.2 microns in size and less. The paper must catch them and keep them up at the top of the sheet of paper. They cannot be sucked down into the coating of the paper that’s attracting the water. So, with the coating on the paper (the inkjet receiver) you have to precipitate special particle sizes and compact them, and they have to be of a shape that while attracting the water, they’re filtering the sublimation dyes and holding them up near the surface.”

The dyes need to be near the surface because it is also very important that the sublimation dyes travel across as short a distance as possible. Wayne Potter of Air Waves in Lewis Center, Ohio, adds that with sublimation, if you have any void between the actual transfer paper and the substrate, the quality of your transfer will suffer because the dye has to fire and travel across a greater distance. That dye has a certain energy level, and at some point, Potter says it essentially runs out.

Tsang also says that another important thing to know about transfer paper is to use it soon after printing it. Letting the paper sit too long will allow the ink to migrate, which can cause clarity problems. This is also why a paper that dries quickly is desirable.

Buettner agrees and adds that, “Paper for this process is very different than a lot of different papers because it has to dry quickly and then release something back. A standard printing paper only has to be able to hold the ink, and once it has accomplished that, it is done. Sublimation papers do multiple duties. They must hold the ink, get the water away from the surface, keep the dyes on the surface, dry quickly and at the same time, be able—under heat—to release the dyes.”

NOT USING SUBLIMATION TRANSFER PAPER?

Does all of this really make much of a difference? Or is it just a bunch of technical jargon used to sell paper?

Miller notes that, “Some people feel they can get by with just a regular bond copier paper, but those vary in consistency. However, it is truly important to the quality of your finished job that you use a paper that’s made for a sublimation transfer application. That is how you know it will consistently give good results each time.”

Miller adds that this is particularly important when transferring to hard-surfaced products such as mugs, metal and plaques. A harder surface is a smoother surface, and any imperfections in the print are going to be more evident.

Buettner adds that using a paper made specifically for the sublimation process is critical to performance.

“The reason it is so important is that if you try to use a standard paper or something off of the shelf, a couple of different things can happen. You can end up with very dull colors and a loss of clarity, because the paper will not release enough dye, or your colors may potentially run together. The better papers allow the dyes to bloom effectively.”

Still not a believer? Want to test it out?

Potter says that, “The quick way for a decorator to tell whether or not their paper is good enough (Potter says he always comes back to that with customers, ‘Is it good enough for what you are doing?’) is to get your regular bond paper, which is what people usually put into an inkjet printer, print a design on that, and then print on a specialized sublimation transfer paper.”

You now have the same design on two different pieces of paper. Cut each of them in half, and then put the design together again, using one half from one paper and another half from the other paper. Apply them to a substrate and compare.

According to Potter, “You will see an amazing difference. The image transferred from the regular paper will have a muddled image because that paper does not have an inkjet receiver on it (this is the sizing that Miller mentioned, which absorbs the ink’s water while keeping the sublimation dyes on the surface). The dye soaks down into the fibers of the paper and imparts the surface properties of that paper, and in addition, much of the sublimation dye is locked up into the fibers down in the paper. They are farther away from the surface of the item they are personalizing than they should be.”

ONE PAPER TO THE NEXT

Okay, we have hopefully made it clear that it is important to use a transfer paper made specifically for sublimation. But what about those papers? Are there differences?

According to Miller, they do vary, “Some of them have more holdout, which would allow the printer to use less ink. Of course, the ink is a much more expensive part of the process than the paper. If the printer is using a paper that allows them to reduce the amount of ink that is being put on, that will certainly be to their advantage.”

What determines the quality of sublimation transfer paper, and how can sublimators determine the quality of their transfer paper?

According to Tsang, a paper’s grain (tight), its brightness and what went into the paper in terms of chemicals (making sure it’s not too absorbent and keeps the ink from migrating) determine its quality. He adds that, of course, the paper must be able to stand the heat, time and pressure of a heat press.

Prieur adds that the surface of the paper must be very smooth. “Under a microscope, if the surface looks like little hills and valleys, the sublimation dyes will not be standing on the surface shoulder to shoulder like we want them to be. If they are in hills and valleys, they are too far from each other, and they will not outgas effectively.”

One of the great attributes of the sublimation process is its ability to work on an incredible range of products. Which makes it worthwhile to ask, are there different papers for different applications within the world of sublimation?

According to Stark, at one time, one company came out with transfer papers that would work well with hard substrates, but not with soft goods and vice versa. However, “That doesn’t really exist now. One paper will do all traditional sublimatable products.”

“A good paper will sublimate just about everything,” says Buettner. “They will work for both hard and soft substrates, primarily fabric. Whatever paper sublimators decide to use should provide excellent results—vibrant and crisp—on a versatile range of products. Much of that is determined by ink and a person’s skill with color management, but the paper does play a significant role.”

Stark notes that there are other transfer papers available for sublimation which allow for transfer onto colored and/or cotton apparel. However, with those papers, there is hand. They are more like traditional digital transfer papers. The sublimation is put into the transfer, a polymer coating, and that coating is pressed to the garment.

PURCHASING RECOMMENDATIONS

Knowing a little about the importance of sublimation transfer paper, what it does and why, another question comes up. How should I buy my sublimation transfer paper?

Tsang suggests trying a small pack to make sure they perform correctly. The wrong paper can end up costing you a lot of money in wasted ink and ruined product.

Miller simply reiterates that, “The most important thing sublimators need to know is that they need to buy a transfer paper made specifically for sublimation. It is also a good idea to be sure the paper is provided by a trustworthy company who will stand behind their product should there be a problem.”

Agreeing, Buettner says that regardless of what sublimation transfer paper you decide to go with, be sure that technical support will be available from the company.

Stark says that he always tells people the most important aspect to consider when choosing a paper is whether or not it is recommended by the ink company. If you use a paper that is sold from somewhere other than where you bought your ink, that is not recommended by the ink supplier, you may have color problems, and the paper may be the reason.

Buettner agrees, adding that, “I think it’s really up to the ink manufacturer that the sublimators are working with to tell them what the best paper is—unless you are working with people who are a little more advanced. In that case, especially in the large-format area, you are going to find people who understand color correction and all of these issues already. They are going to choose a paper based on particular performance issues that are really important to them, such as the ability to reproduce a specific color.”

Explaining further, Stark says, “Somebody may call me and say, ‘I’m using Sawgrass SubliJet IQ inks (Joto also sells Artainium UV+) and this is what’s happening to my color,’ but if they’re not using our paper, I have to stop the troubleshooting process. I have a variable I don’t know about. I’ll send them our paper and tell them if there’s still a problem, give me a call back.”

Stark adds that there are several good papers out there, but because there are no drastic price differences in sublimation transfer paper, it’s not worth throwing in an unknown variable to save a few pennies. And those pennies are just for the paper; who knows what the cost of ruined product may be?

ISSUES AND CONCERNS

Every industry has its own technical jargon that describes the information behind the information. Some people’s careers involve knowing the ins and outs of any given technology, but most of us get by on a need-to-know basis.

Since the technologically gifted seem to get by much better, at least when it comes to their processes working, here is some of the jargon describing the technology and chemistry issues critical to the performance of transfer paper.

“Sublimation dye is a solid that when heated to a certain temperature goes directly from a solid to a gas. When it cools, it goes directly back to a solid. Given that, the objective that every decorator has is to get a good dot from the printer down on the paper and then get that dot to fire off and come back down onto the item they are decorating. Now, there are many issues with paper. One of them is what we call ‘cockle’. When paper gets too wet, you get that wavy motion in it,” says Potter.

On the subject of cockling, Buettner notes that the drivers for most inkjet printers are set up to lay down more ink than is necessary. Some inkjet manufacturers make money on ink, not printers. This is why using a driver (such as Sawgrass’s PowerDriver Pro) created with sublimation in mind is so important.

Potter says that surface tension is also an issue. When sublimation inks change, their surface tensions change and paper manufacturers must adjust the inkjet receiver accordingly.

Prieur agrees and notes that every bit of the chemistry involved in the ink is involved in paper. “The ink doesn’t work without the paper, and the paper doesn’t work without the ink. Every time they make a change, we have to respond to it.”

Offering another opinion, Stark says the greater risk comes from something changing in the paper, rather than the ink. “Because the paper is just a carrier, as long as it maintains the same qualities to release the ink, small changes in the ink should not greatly affect its performance. Now if there are large changes with the ink, that can definitely have an affect on the performance of the paper.”

ONLY THE SURFACE

While this article discussed various aspects of transfer paper for sublimation, we have still only scratched the surface. Other concerns that may pop up with transfer paper include making sure that they do not stick to one another so that the printer takes only one piece of paper at a time. Also, if printing multiple pieces of paper, it is vital to make sure that when the second paper is printed it does not smear or ruin in any way the image on the paper below it.

Obviously, when discussing paper, the conversation can quickly become much more in-depth and complicated than necessary. To balance all of these issues to make sure that you are using the best paper for your applications, Potter simply recommends purchasing small batches from several different suppliers and experimenting. Print the same design with the same inks through the same printer on several of the same items and compare.

By now, you know what to look for.