Can You Sublimate on Rayon?

In addition to polyester, you can also sublimate on rayon. Rayon is one of the trending substrates in the sublimation printing industry. So, it is crucial to know how we can successfully apply heat to these tricky fabrics.

Polyester is a synthetic fiber, which is best for sublimation printing. In comparison, rayon is a cellulose fiber just like cotton, which isn’t suitable for prints to last longer.

Can You Sublimate on Rayon? Yes, we have two ways to sublimate on rayon. One is rayon blended polyester substrates, where rayon is 30% blended with 70% polyester. The second option is to apply a polyester coating or layer upon rayon substrates. As we couldn’t do anything with 100% rayon manufactured substrates. So we have to follow the second option to get our work done successfully.

There are some myths out there that I am going to debunk today to understand something that you can capitalize on and increase the bottom line of your t-shirt printing shop. You can press nylon with custom designs or personalization for your customers.

Overcome 3 problems to Sublimate on Rayon:

The first one is, rayon has a smooth finish. It is likely to burn and scorch when you go to sublimate without polyester coating. Although you manage to get successful prints, it is expected to migrate within the fibers repeatedly and remove after a few washes.
Although you apply a polyester coating onto it, the second problem is that it is likely to sit on the surface. As a result, it won’t be able to bond with the fabric. So, it will just sit on the top.
The third problem is that you may get a good print on rayon today, but the polyester coating and your image will wash out of the fabric after four to five washes. So, you don’t want to have your polyester coating wash out from it.

Also read: Top 7 Ways to Perform Sublimation on Acrylic

Step by Step Procedure to Sublimate on Rayon:

For printing onto fabrics like rayon, you can overcome the problems we discussed above by using a desizer and then the polyester coating(mostly Dyepress Poly T solution) onto it.

Material Needed:

Rayon Substrate
1 Desizer concentrate(DyePress)
1 Polyester Resin concentrate(DyePress Poly T)
Water
Measuring jar
Sprayer
Butcher papers
Printed transfer
Silicon pad
Cardboard
Heat press machine

Methods for Sublimation Printing on Rayon:

So, let us know the process on how to sublimate on rayon:

Step 1:

Take a measuring cup. For every 1-ounce of desizer concentrate, you are gonna add 7-ounces of water. Mix the solution. That becomes 8-ounces of solution. We can apply it up to twenty rayon fabrics. Then take a spray bottle, pour the mixture and shake it well.

Step 2:

Repeat step 1 for preparing the polyester solution(Dyepress Poly T solution). So, we are ready to begin.

Step 3:

Spray(fine mist spray) the desizer solution everywhere the heat will press against the nylon. Check by touching it until you feel it’s wet.

Step 4:

When you have the fabric good and wet, take it over to the heat press and steam out the desizer. Before applying the press, cover the nylon fabric with a thin and dry cloth(mostly cotton). This dry cotton material will absorb moisture when you press it.

Step 5:

Set the heat press temperature at 385F and press for 35 seconds to see the steam coming out. When you are done, you are ready to put the polyester coating.

Step 6:

After you finished steaming the desizer, spray the Poly T solution(polyester coating) to put your image. It would help if you made sure that the poly coat area is within the desizer applied area. You can place cardboard where you will print the image as it gives you a little bit of guidance to create spray borders and spraying further through the entire printing area, removing the cardboard.

Step 7:

After you are done with spraying, fold the fabric and press with your hands to get the polyester spray into the fibers of the nylon. Next, unfold and let it dry. You can hand it or apply a hot dryer. You can also dry under heat press when you want to go fast.

Step 8:

If you want to dry the poly coat under heat, press because it is easy and quick. So, lay the wet nylon fabric underneath the heat press, just hovering. Don’t ever let the heat platen touch the poly coat. Let it be there for 5 minutes until the poly coat is dry.

Step 9:

Now, you need to apply the heat press. Cover the fabric with butcher paper and apply heat press for 10 seconds at 385F. The first coat of poly coat is done. Now, we need to apply a second light coat. Just remember you need to apply polyester coating twice if using DyePress Poly T concentrate, as we used it. Then hover the heat press again to have that dry.

Step 10:

After the second coat is dried, cover it with butcher paper and apply heat press to cure for 10 seconds. Now, let’s get ready to sublimate.

Step 11:

You have the printed transfer. You are going to put it on the pre-treated and cured area of the nylon fabric. Make sure to keep a silicon mat underneath the fabric slightly larger than the image, which helps the heat to focus on the image area protecting the rest from scorching or burning. Now, you are ready to place on the heat press.

Step 12:

When you have got everything in position, place the printed transfer and butcher paper over it. Now, sublimate with heat press under medium to heavy pressure at 385F for 70 seconds.