How to Do Sublimation on Black Shirt | Dark Fabric
For printing on white or light-colored shirts, sublimation is well-known. sublimation on black shirt is also possible with a couple of technical steps. What if today you’ll get the easiest two ways to sublimate on dark colors? You can do it with or without bleach.
Sublimating dark colors is as easy as on white. On dark t-shirts, however, direct sublimation will not show through. You can print vibrant colors on dark garments with a couple of steps. So let’s start the guide on how to do sublimation on black and dark shirts.
How to Sublimate on T-Shirts That Are Black or Dark
Thus, we have experimented with two distinct methods for sublimating the black fabric. One involves bleaching the specific part of the t-shirt which is affordable too. The second one uses Easy Sisersubli. It’s a bit expensive but quick and less tricky. It doesn’t involve many pieces of equipment. Thus, we will begin with the first bleaching technique.
Supplies you’ll need
1. Consider a t-shirt sublimation printer. It is the first thing to consider. A Cricut sublimation printer is also an option. We’ll use the print-then-cut feature with a sublimation printer and a Cricut Explore 3 cutter. , I use ET-15000 and ET-2760
2. Use sublimation inks and paper compatible with your printer. Also, make sure to have ICC profiles. I’m use A-SUB paper with Hiipoo sublimation ink.
3. A Cricut heat press or any other flat surface heat press is essential. You must use a heat press when sublimating. It must reach a temperature of up to 400F.
4. It’s a black 100% polyester shirt. There are other shirts with 50% cotton and 50% polyester. But, you’ll get the best results with 100% polyester.
5. Butcher paper – Place over the top of the prepared t-shirt while heat pressing.
6. Lint roller. The T-shirt might be dusty when it gets there. A white spot in the print will result from a single dust particle. So, we want a crystal clear image. Thus, the lint roller will clean all the dust particles.
7. Heat-resistant tape – To tape down the sublimation paper and other stuff.
8. Vinyl sheet – To trace the design by using the print-then-cut feature.
9. A vinyl cutter – To cut the vinyl sheet.
Bleaching supplies
10. Gloves – To use while bleaching.
11. Bleach spray – To bleach the t-shirt.
12. A hair dryer or heat gun – To dry the bleaching liquid on the t-shirt. To avoid bleaching, use these pre-bleached dark t-shirt substrates for sublimation. Custom colors are also available.
Step By Step Guide
Step 1: Connect the printer with Cricut
First of all, connect your sublimation printer with Cricut to do the sublimation. Use print then cut after uploading the design to the Cricut design space. Make sure to do the mirror-inverted image. Print the design using a sublimation printer. I am using Epson ET-2760 as shown in the image.
Step 2: Load the mat
Load the Cricut with the printed sublimation paper now. Cut down the image also the vinyl sheet on the mat. Cut it too, and start weeding the vinyl sheet. Now we’ll bleach the area that we want to sublimate.
Step 3: Start bleaching
Make sure to put the cardboard between the t-shirt while bleaching. Also, ensure the t-shirt is wrinkle-free. Start the bleaching process by centering the vinyl sheet within the shirt.
Step 4: After bleaching
After bleaching, the image will look like this as shown in the image. Now it’s time to sublimate the design.
Step 5: Sublimate the design
Let the cardboard remain between the t-shirt as we mentioned in step no 3. The ink goes into the substrate. If we don’t put the cardboard between, the ink will go down on the back of the shirt.
Now Tape the printed and cut sublimation paper on the design with the help of heat-resistant tape. Make sure to place the paper in the place. Additionally, Cover the surface with the butcher paper.
Step 6: Apply heat press
For 60 seconds, set the heat press to 385 degrees Fahrenheit and apply medium pressure. Here is the finished product after removing the sublimation and butcher paper.
The second method is not tricky. It does not involve bleaching. You use sheets of Siser Easysubli HTV, which are effortless. But, it may feel expensive if you’re a starter. Let’s start!
Method 2: How to Sublimate Without Bleach on Dark Shirts
Supplies you will need
1. A sublimation printer compatible with Cricut
2. Siser Easysubli
Important: Allow me to explain EasySubli sheets if you’re unfamiliar with them. Siser Easysubli comes in two pieces. A mask sheet and an HTV print sheet. We will therefore print the HTV print sheet. There are two sides to an HTV print sheet: the matte side will be printed on, not the shiny side.
The mask sheet is vinyl. We’ll use its clear side as a transfer sheet. It peels off the print from the HTV print sheet.
3. Sublimation inks
4. Heat-resistant tape
5. A Cricut maker – To use the print-then-cut feature
6. T-shirt blanks – You can use any type of fabric whether it is poly-blended or cotton.
7. Cricut Easypress
8. Some weeding tools
Step by Step guide
Step 1: Print the HTV sheet
Connect your printer to the Cricut maker. Feed the HTV sheet into the sublimation printer and start printing. Due to the somewhat greater size of my design, I am printing two pieces in one design. This time, take care not to replicate the letters and images.
Step 2: Load into the Cricut
Place the printed sheet of paper onto the Cricut mat to begin cutting the design after printing. Every time, load a single sheet of paper.
Step 3: Weed the design
To reveal the design after cutting, use the weeding stencils to remove the extra parts.
Step 4: Moving from the HTV sheet to the
After weeding, peel off the transfer sheet we mentioned in the note. Put the peeled transfer sheet on the back of the HTV sheet. Then, transfer the design onto the transfer sheet. Additionally, press the bubbles out with a credit card or any other hard card.
Step 5: Its Heat press time
Now it’s time to prepare the t-shirt. You won’t need to put the cardboard between the T-shirts this time. Make a mark between the t-shirt so you can know the center of the t-shirt by heat pressing for 5 seconds.
Now cover the shirt’s top with the transfer sheet and secure it with heat-resistant tape. Put the butcher paper over them. Then, heat press for 15 seconds at 310 to 315F. After that, remove the butcher paper. Let the transfer sheet cool for 30 seconds. Then, remove the sheet. And we’re done!
Faqs
Can you sublimate on colored polyester shirts?
Yes, you can sublimate on colored polyester shirts. However, we’ve already covered the two methods for dark colors. You can use one of them which suits your needs for bleach or Siser Easysubli is not necessary for light-colored or white polyester.
Can you sublimate on black polyester?
Yes, whether it’s black polyester or any other dark polyester, you can sublimate them. Dark colors need a couple of steps to sublimate them you can read the step-by-step guide above.
Does sublimation work on dark shirts?
Indeed, sublimation will look fantastic on the black shirts. The method for sublimating dark shirts is the same as that for white shirts. But it requires more steps.
Besides that, sublimation on dark colors won’t work. You can use Siser Easysubli with Epson printers. You can use Siser White glitter HTV with a Sawgrass sublimation printer. Its print manager allows you to sublimate 13 types of materials. Among them is the HTV with white glitter.
What colors can you sublimate on?
The prereq The site for sublimation is the white color polyester fabric. But you can sublimate every color with the above-mentioned methods.
Can you print white sublimation on a black t-shirt?
However, white sublimation ink is not widely accessible. Because sublimation ink infuses into the substrate the white ink won’t be visible on the t-shirt. We bleach the specific area of dark shirts to make them white. So, we can’t use white sublimation ink on the black t-shirt.
Conclusion
This is a comprehensive tutorial that will show you how to sublimate on dark or black t-shirts using two distinct techniques. You can use them for your apparel or start a business. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages. Bleaching is a two-step method but affordable. Easysubli is an amazing technique that comes at a high cost. If you still have questions about sublimation on black, you can contact us for more info.
Read More: Can You Use An Iron For Sublimation? Yes! You Can
