Dye-Sublimation Fabric Printing

Dye sublimation is a specialty printing process some mermaid tail makers use to transfer their digital tail designs onto stretchy fabric for the world to enjoy. How does it work? The printer heats the ink, causing it to sublimate – which means it skips the liquid form and transitions directly into a gaseous state. Once the ink hits the fabric, it transitions from a gas back to solid, and a full-color image is meshed with the fibers of the fabric. Transfer paper is commonly used with these printers, although direct-to-fabric printing is also possible and very expensive for the consumer. When you use a dye-sublimation printer to create projects via transfer. The transfer paper will be outfitted with solidified ink illustrations. A heat press is applied to the paper and fabric. Sublimation occurs, the solid ink becomes a gas. And an incredible image starts to arise as the fibers of synthetic fabric become permeated with the gas. This is one of the many ways fabric mermaid tails are printed. One of these dye-sublimation printers and heat press rollers can cost anywhere from 20k per piece up to 100k for the set. To dye-sublimate mermaid tails you can’t go one without the other (printer and heat press). The average tail maker does not have access to industrial machinery like this. Most tail makers acquire their tails from a third-party printing service. Which is a lengthy and expensive service when you consider, fabric supply, printing process, quality checks, and fabric delivery to the tail maker. There is then the time frame to cut the fabric and sew the tails, package and then send out the tail to the customer. Therefore, most tail makers manufacturing time for a made-to-order tail is so lengthy. But you are purchasing a work of art that someone put so much time, love and effort into creating and you as a customer get to enjoy that beautiful work of art!