Editing T-shirt (section)

=== Dye-sublimation printing ===
[[Dye-sublimation printing]] is a widely used direct-to-garment digital printing technology using full-color artwork to transfer images to polyester and polymer-coated substrate based T-shirts. Dye sublimation (also commonly referred to as all-over printing) came into widespread use in the 21st century, enabling some previously impossible designs. The technology allows unlimited colors using large CMYK printers with special paper and ink, unlike screen printing which requires screens for each color of the design. All-over print T-shirts have solved the problem with color fading, and vibrancy is greater than most standard printing methods, but the process requires synthetic fabrics for the ink to take hold. The key feature of dye-sublimated clothing is that the design is not printed on top of the garment, but permanently dyed into the threads of the shirt, ensuring that it will never fade.

Dye sublimation is economically viable for small-quantity printing; the unit cost is similar for short or long production runs. Screen printing has higher setup costs, requiring large numbers to be produced to be cost-effective, and the unit cost is higher.

[[Sublimation (phase transition)|Sublimation]] uses heat and pressure to [[Phase transition|change solid ink into a gas]] without first passing through a [[liquid]] phase. The design is first produced in a computer [[image file format]] such as jpg, gif, png. It is then printed on a purpose-made [[computer printer]] ({{As of|2016|lc=y}}, most commonly Epson or Ricoh brands){{citation needed|date=February 2021}} using large heat presses to vaporize the ink directly into the fabric. By mid-2012, the method had become widely used for T-shirts.