All-Over Sublimation Printing for Custom Apparel

With conventional dye sublimation, heat transfers dye into compatible polyester fibres rather than adding a surface film. The fabric can retain a soft feel, but assess the actual material after printing because heat and finishing can affect it. Other textile-printing methods can also colour fibres.

How the production process actually runs

1. 1Artwork is built to the pattern. The design is laid out across the individual garment panels, including seam allowances, so the pattern continues correctly when the pieces are joined.
2. 2The design is printed onto transfer paper with sublimation inks.
3. 3Paper and fabric pass through a heat press. The dye transfers into the polyester fibres.
4. 4Panels are cut from the printed fabric.
5. 5The garment is sewn from the printed panels.
6. 6Finishing, quality control and packing follow the same route as any other production.

The cut-and-sew route described here prints the fabric before cutting and assembly, so it must be planned early. Sublimation can also be applied to suitable finished garments, but seams and folds can limit coverage and consistency.

Why the fabric has to be polyester and light

Sublimation dye bonds with polyester. On cotton, the colour will not hold, which is why sublimated products are polyester based, sometimes in blends where a lower polyester content produces a softer, faded appearance rather than full saturation.

The dye is also transparent, so it can only add colour, never remove it. There is no white sublimation ink. Anything that should appear white in the design must be the fabric itself, which is why sublimation is printed onto white or very light fabric. On a coloured base, every printed colour would be affected by the ground beneath it. See the composition guide for how fibre choice affects other decoration methods.

Where sublimation is the right choice

• Full-coverage designs. Patterns, photographs, gradients or graphics that run to the edge of the garment.
• Designs that cross seams. Printing fabric or panels before assembly supports continuous graphics, with seam matching planned and checked on a sample.
• Sportswear and teamwear. Kits with player names and numbers, sponsor logos and complex colour blocking, without the weight of layered prints.
• Products worn during physical activity. Sublimation adds no continuous print film, but moisture movement and comfort still depend on fabric construction, finish and the complete garment.
• Complex multi-colour artwork. No separate screen is needed for each colour; cost still depends on artwork preparation, coverage, fabric and production requirements.
• Individualised production. Names and numbers per piece can be built into the artwork rather than applied afterwards.

Where it is the wrong choice

• Cotton products, where the process does not work.
• Dark or richly coloured garments where the design must sit on top of the colour.
• Designs requiring true white elements on a coloured ground.
• Effects outside the selected ink system, such as a metallic surface. Fluorescent sublimation inks exist, but availability and colour performance must be confirmed for the proposed process.
• Simple one-colour logos on standard garments may be more economical with another method; compare quotations for the actual design and quantity.

For those cases, compare methods in the decoration guide.

Artwork requirements

Sublimation artwork is not a single image placed on a garment mock-up. It is a set of files built to the actual pattern pieces at full size, a process set out in sublimation artwork preparation.

General file preparation for all decoration methods is covered in the artwork guide.

Seam alignment: expectations worth setting

A design that continues across a seam can be matched closely, but not perfectly on every piece. Fabric moves during printing, cutting and sewing, and each stage carries a small tolerance that accumulates.

Two practical consequences. Bold, continuous patterns tolerate small misalignment well, while a thin horizontal stripe crossing a side seam shows every millimetre. And critical elements such as a sponsor logo should be positioned away from a seam wherever the design allows. Discuss alignment tolerance with the factory during sampling and agree what is acceptable before bulk, as part of the quality standard.

Sizes are printed, not scaled

Because each size has different pattern pieces, all-over artwork has to be prepared for each size rather than printed once and cut differently. A design that looks balanced on a medium can appear stretched or cropped on an extra large if the artwork is simply scaled.

This is normal production work, but it is worth knowing when you plan artwork: allow time for the layout to be prepared per size, and check the largest and smallest sizes rather than only the sample size. See the grading guide.

The same minimum as other custom apparel

All-over sublimation at Voyager Textile starts at 300 pieces per colour and per style, with sizes split within it. Using a white base can avoid a separate custom-dyeing step, but base-fabric lots and print conditions can still affect shade. Confirm the approved reference and consistency across production.

Sublimation does not need a separate screen for each colour. A ten-colour design and a two-colour design can use the same printing route, but coverage, preparation and production settings can still affect cost. See the MOQ guide for how minimums are built.

Durability and care

A conventional sublimated print has no surface film to crack or peel, but colourfastness depends on the ink, fabric, transfer conditions and exposure in use. Fading is not automatically normal or unrelated to print quality. Agree washing, light and perspiration tests appropriate to the product. Initial shade differences are covered in colour change on polyester.

What Voyager Textile produces this way

Sublimation printing runs in-house on our own machinery, and is used across polyester-based sportswear, teamwear and racing products, as well as towels, scarves and promotional textiles. The production sequence for a specific product is set out in the sublimated sports jersey process. Previously produced examples are in the reference catalogue, including sportswear and teamwear references and racing products.