Can You Sublimate on Acrylic?

What is Sublimation in the true sense? Back in high school, you must’ve heard about this term in your physics guidebook. So its literal meaning would be ‘to convert a substance from the solid to the gaseous state without it turning into liquid.’ In this very article, we’re going to talk about this very term ‘sublimation’ and whether acrylic could be sublimated, and if yes, then in what ways.

Customization has become the talk of the town for quite some time now. It has benefited people from all around the world in several ways. Its rapid growth has proved it worthy of being kept in the markets for business purposes. 

Sublimation is a new name for ‘art’, although, to produce art, we always must need an artist to sublimate; you don’t always need or have to be an artist; it’s like a child’s play, especially for anyone who’s into DIYs.

However, sublimation could require a real amount of energy and be challenging because of its time-consuming properties, but the outcomes are worth your sweat!

Yet the question remains: Can you sublimate on Acrylic? Absolutely! Sublimation on Acrylic is not as tough as it sounds though it could be a little tricky.

What Is An Acrylic?

Acrylic is in a solid form, transparent, and inflexible in nature.

Having said that, Acrylic could act as an ideal accessory for sublimation to take place. When you sublimate on Acrylic, you get exceptional outcomes; you create new art and numerous creative pieces to showcase.

However, to get the process done right, you would need separate tools, to begin with. Let us take you there:

Also Read: Best All in One Printers Under $100

What Tools you will need for Acrylic Sublimation

Without a sublimation printer, you can never perform sublimation on Acrylic, as it holds the root for sublimation. Then comes the sublimation ink, acrylic blanks, heat press machine, and sublimation paper.

Sublimation Printer:

Just like the food that we cook always has an essential ingredient to it, likewise, the sublimation printer is just as essential as it. Since we’ve labeled it as the ‘key ingredient’, always try to invest your money in selecting the top-notch printer for your sublimation for outstanding results.

Note: Always use sublimation ink instead of regular ink as regular inks are useless on Sublimation printers.

Sublimation Acrylic Material:

Acrylic blank is a hard transparent material, as told above. Choosing an acrylic surface shouldn’t be something you should be stressing about but make sure it’s suitable. Prefer cast acrylic over extruded ones for your printing purposes because it is the most ideal and suitable accessory out there for sublimation.

Sublimation Paper:

A wise decision would always be to go for Sublimation papers while printing since regular papers tend to give messy and doubtful results.

Heat Press Machine:

A heat press has a tendency to completely absorb the sublimation print on acrylic blank. It is one of the requirements for the sublimation process since it is used to press your designs on your accessories.

How to Sublimate on Acrylic? – (Step-by-Step-Guide)

After getting the right tools, here is what you need to do to get your desired outcomes.

● The very first thing you should begin with is your printer, sublimation ink, and paper.

● Using suitable quality inks and dyes could be a turning point for your designs. So in order to get your desired colors, you should always invest in high-quality inks and dyes.

● The size of your acrylic blank should always match the size of your sublimation paper. Otherwise, the design won’t blend in together, and your hard work would go down the drain.

● As the size should be equal, so should the shape to have the process run smoothly.

● Acrylic keychains could also be used as a substrate to perform sublimation, but most people prefer acrylic blocks over keychains.

● Now the part comes for sublimation coating for acrylic. After getting your paper sublimated, attach its strips with a keychain, block, or other acrylic material.

● Your last step should include placing the acrylic in the heat press machine above 400 temperature. Get an instant look at the moisture level and pressure control before placing your print.

That was all for sublimation on acrylics; however, we could also sublimate on different accessories like keychains, cotton, fabric, ornaments, and whatnot.

how to sublimate on keychains first (Easy Steps)

1. Basically, you start off with your blank, carefully unfurling the top plastic cover next.
2. Then you take your design and make sure it is the same size as your blank.
3. Place both the design and blank together, covering the entire keychain.
4. Now you need to take a heat tape, cut out a piece of it and bring it tightly down and around on both sides.
5. Take an A-sub paper and place your matter in it, folding it over from both sides.
6. Lastly, place your keychain inside the heat press at the temperature of 400 degrees for 60 seconds, and you’re good to go!

Can you sublimate on 100% cotton?

The first rule of sublimation is that you always have to have polyesters to perform your sublimation.

But people out there were kind enough to create a solution; a spray solution that you spray on your cotton shirts, and it allows you to sublimate onto the cotton in no time.

Steps on how to sublimate on cotton properly:

1. Get your desired image printed out first.
2. Place your shirt on a neat holder.
3. Pre-press your shirt for 10 seconds just to make sure that the moisture isn’t lost.
4. After pre-pressing it, spray the solution on your cotton shirt.

Note: don’t soak your shirt wet; leave it a little damp and wait for it to dry out for a couple of minutes.

5. Now take your image and place it on your shirt and cover it with some bunch of paper.
6. Heat press it at the temperature of 400 degrees for 60 seconds, and Tadaa! There you have your freshly sublimated cotton shirt!

We hope that this helps you get your entire procedure to run smoothly.

Acrylics are a great way to express and creatively enhance your skills. Acrylics are an excellent option for gifting purposes and could be a fascinating way to start your customization set-up if you’re a newbie.

We hope that our mentioned procedure will help you achieve your desired outcomes in the blink of an eye!

Conclusion:

Acrylic has been a hot topic in 2022. It has gotten so much acknowledgment throughout the world due to its exceptionally good looks and inexpensive properties. Nevertheless, you should always research first before getting started with this entire procedure. The more you follow the steps, the better the results. Good luck!