You Know Dye Sublimation Heat Press Equipment? Can You Distinguish Flatbed or Rotary Heat Press Machine？

Hi, Nice to see you.Today the topic is about the heat press machine. Investing in a wide format dye sublimation printer opens the door to new products, markets and opportunities for the garment decorator. Whether it’s printing colourful fashion or sportswear, all-over T-shirt designs on made-up garments, soft signage, household or outdoor textiles, or even aluminium photo panels, dye sub is an increasingly popular choice of embellishment technology.

Buying a printer is only half the story, however. Equally, if not more important is your choice of heat press. Once you’ve printed your design onto a piece or roll of transfer paper, you need to transfer that design to your substrate. This requires a combination of heat and pressure to cause the solid dye particles on the transfer paper to change into a gas (sublimates), so that it separates from the paper and is permanently bonded to the polyester threads or coating.

So what should you be looking for when purchasing a heat press for wide format sublimation printing? What are the options? And which option will best suit your shop’s production requirements?

Flatbed or rotary

There are two main types of heat press for dye sublimation printing – flatbed or rotary (calender), plus a third option; a rotary press with a flat automated feed table at the front (sometimes referred to as a ‘Sport’ press, as it is popular for printing sportswear panels/pieces).

Flatbed Heat Press
Flatbeds comprise a table (platen/shuttle) onto which the substrate (for example, a made-up T-shirt or cut panel) is positioned. A sheet of printed transfer paper is then placed on top of the substrate. The table transports the substrate and paper under a platen that is heated to a given temperature, depending on the substrate. The heated platen is brought into contact with the transfer paper under sufficient pressure to cause the dyes on the paper to sublimate and transfer to the polyester substrate underneath. On the larger more industrial machines the beds are lifted using hydraulic rams to apply the pressure.

So why should you choose a flatbed press? Cost, versatility, and ease of use are the primary reasons. You can print flexible substrates such as team kits, sports and fashionwear, as well as mousemats, bar runners, place mats, and soft signage, plus rigid materials up to approximately 25 mm in depth, including glass, ChromaLuxe aluminium photo panels and MDF sheets.

Rotary Heat Press
If you’re mainly printing onto made-up apparel, small areas of substrate, or you are likely to also want to print onto hard substrates, then a flatbed is the way to go. However, if your sublimation printing operation is geared more towards high volume printing of textiles, sports- and fashionwear, or you wish to print long lengths of substrate (for example, banners and flags) then you’ll want to consider a rotary press. These ‘tend’ to be more expensive than flatbeds, depending on the individual press’s size and spec, but they also offer much faster production speeds.

Rotary presses have a cylindrical felt covered drum, which is filled with oil. The oil is heated to the required temperature (200°C) creating an even and stable heat across the entire width of the drum. For roll-to-roll printing, rolls of the substrate and printed transfer paper are transported together around the heated drum, remaining in contact with the drum for a given length of time. A roller is used to apply tension to the tubular felt, which in turn applies pressure to the substrate and paper, holding it against the heated drum to facilitate the sublimation process. Separate rollers may also transport ‘protection paper’, which is used to prevent any excess gas that doesn’t sublimate into the substrate from transferring to the felt on the drum, (which could lead to unwanted transfer of the dye back onto the roll of substrate).

Okay, These all above are my introduction about Dye Sublimation Heat Press machine Equipment. If you have any other needs or questions welcome to contact us at any time. We will provide you the best quality product and service. Hope my article can be useful to you. Thank you for your reading.

Nanjing Feiyue paper Industrial Co.,ltd
www.feiyuepaper.com
Email: sales@feiyuepaper.com
jenny@feiyuepaper.com