Sublimation paper is an important medium for digital transfers today, and various types of sublimation paper have a wide market and future. Therefore, it is important to understand the characteristics of sublimation paper and its materials of construction during the selection and procurement process. Therefore, this article will discuss the requirements to be met by sublimation paper and the selection of materials for sublimation paper.
Requirements for the finished sublimation paper
-
Workability and strength
The paper substrate for sublimation paper can be selected to give it the properties required for sublimation transfer paper. Typically, dye sublimation paper should be fully processable when processed by a printer to apply sublimable ink to it. In addition, the sublimation transfer paper should be machinable enough to bond to the sublimation printing substrate and sublimation printing should take place. If the paper substrate is too fragile or too stiff, it may be difficult to process for printing.
-
Openness
The openness of the paper substrate can be selected to facilitate drying of the sublimable ink and to resist penetration of the sublimated dye vapor to drive the sublimated dye vapor toward the print substrate receiving the final image rather than moving the substrate in a direction away from the print such as into the paper substrate. Therefore, sufficient openness needs to be provided to allow the carrier to penetrate the paper substrate while the sublimable dye is retained at or above the sublimable ink absorbent coating. In addition, the openness should be low enough to allow the sublimable dye to resist movement into the paper substrate and instead facilitate its movement toward the printing substrate to produce the final image.
Sublimation paper manufacturing material selection
Paper substrates can be prepared from natural fibers, synthetic fibers, or a mixture of natural and synthetic fibers. Natural fibers are fibers formed from plants or animals. Natural fibers are not fibers that are formed as a result of extrusion or spinning. Natural fibers can be obtained from fiber sources using techniques such as chemical pulping, chemical-mechanical pulping, semi-chemical pulping, or mechanical pulping. Natural fibers from plants are often referred to as cellulose fibers. Exemplary natural fibers that can be used to form substrates include woody fibers and non-woody natural fibers such as plant fibers, cotton, various straws (e.g., wheat and rye), various rattan stems (e.g., bagasse and kenaf), silk, animal fibers (e.g., wool), grasses (e.g., bamboo, etc.), corn stalks, plantain, eucalyptus, etc.
-
Wood fiber
Wood fibers can be obtained from wood pulp, which can include hardwood fibers, softwood fibers, or a mixture of hardwood and softwood fibers. Pulp can be provided as cellulose fibers from chemically pulped wood and can include mixtures from coniferous and deciduous trees. For example, wood fibers can come from northern hardwoods, northern softwoods, southern hardwoods, southern softwoods, or any mixture thereof. Hardwood fibers tend to be more brittle but are usually more cost effective to use because the yield of hardwood pulp is higher than that of softwood pulp. Softwood fibers have the desired papermaking properties, but are usually more expensive than hardwood fibers.
-
Natural fibers
Natural fibers can be extracted using a variety of pulping techniques. For example, mechanical or high-yield pulping can be used for stone-ground wood, pressurized ground wood, refiner mechanical pulp and thermomechanical pulp. Chemical pulping can be used in combination with kraft, sulfite and soda treatments. Semi-chemical and chemical-mechanical pulping can also be used, which includes a combination of mechanical and chemical processes to produce chemical-thermo-mechanical pulp. Natural fibers can be bleached or unbleached.
-
Recycled Fibers
Pulp can include recycled sources of recycled fiber. Example recycling sources include post-consumer waste (PCW) fiber, office waste, and corrugated box waste. Post-consumer waste fibers are fibers recovered from paper that are recycled after consumer use. Office waste is fiber obtained from office waste, and corrugated waste is fiber obtained from corrugated boxes. Other sources of recycled fiber include newsprint and magazines. Recycled fibers can include both natural and synthetic fibers. Incorporating recycled fibers into the substrate helps to efficiently use resources and increase the satisfaction of the end user of sublimation paper.
-
Hardwood fibers
In general, hardwood fibers have a tendency to enhance tightness and resistance to penetration. Softwood fibers tend to provide strength in the formation process and promote runnability of the paper substrate. While paper substrates can be made from 100% hardwood or 100% softwood fibers, it is common practice to offer a blend of hardwood and softwood fibers. Based on the fiber content, the blend can be expressed as a weight percentage of hardwood fibers to softwood fibers. Exemplary weight percentages of hardwood fibers to softwood fibers for exemplary paper substrates and may be from about 2:1 to about 5:1. The fibers used to form the paper substrate may include fibers generated from recycling such as pre-consumer recycling. Generally, pre-consumer recycling refers to trimmings or fibers that are recovered during the papermaking process.
-
Refined fibers
Refined fibers can be selected to enhance formation and fiber development. In general, if the fibers are too fine, the resulting substrate may not exhibit sufficient porosity and, therefore, the sublimable ink may not dry fast enough. Refining the fibers helps form the paper substrate during the papermaking process and helps maintain the sublimable ink-absorbing coating applied to the paper substrate on the paper machine. Refining levels can be selected to help direct the sublimable dye away from the substrate and toward the sublimation printing substrate during sublimation. That is, by selecting the refinement level, it is believed that the movement of the sublimable dye during sublimation printing can be better directed toward the sublimation printing substrate to provide a more focused delivery to the sublimation printing substrate, thereby providing the desired image. If the dye is equal in all directions, there is less dye.
Conclusion
The quality of the final sublimation paper product produced varies depending on the choice of material, ratio, and industry. If you are looking for the right sublimation paper products or are ready to run a sublimation paper and sublimation business, you can contact us. As a leading sublimation paper manufacturer in China, Wellye provides high quality sublimation paper and transfer paper products. If you are interested you can contact us.
