INDEX

3. History of Dye Sublimation

Historically, the process of Dye Sublimation dates back to 1957. It was first termed “Transfer Printing” by a man called Noel De Plasse working for a small printing company in the north of France. He discovered that dyes could pass directly from a solid form to a gaseous state when brought to a temperature above 1 90º C.

This change was termed “sublimation” and is the basis of transfer printing. The process of sublimation has its roots in printing processes such as screen, lithographic and flexographic printing. The popularity grew in the late sixties and seventies, which in turn led to the creation of Electrostatic sublimation.

All these processes involved a considerable investment in equipment and required large print runs to be cost effective. In recent years the prolific development of Inkjet technology has seen sublimation evolve to be a sleeker, sharper process with added benefits of low investment costs and reliable print results.