When you’re considering buying branded lanyards, you’ll often be asked to make the choice between screen printing and dye sublimation printing, which can be confusing if all you’re looking for is the best way to purchase some colour lanyards. The difference between the two lies in the amount of colours you’re looking for in your design, as well as the amount of detail and clarity you would like to be evident in the print.
Sublimation lanyards use a four-colour digital printing process, which breaks down each colour into a split of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), which is very similar to how many printers work. This means there are absolutely no restrictions when it comes to your design. While screen printing is useful for very basic or monochromatic designs, dye sublimation lanyards are best for bolder and brighter logos as you have access to every colour on the colour spectrum, giving you complete freedom to print whatever image you may like – including photographs.
Essentially, if you want your lanyard to stand out at exhibitions or events with the use of multiples images and/or colours, dye sublimation is the way to go, while screen printing is more useful for more simple, detail-heavy logos and branding.
But how does dye sublimation work?
It’s actually a fairly simple process to understand.
Sublimation printing consists of transferring unique sublimation dyes to sheets of transfer paper using a liquid gel. The ink is then deposited on to high-release inkjet papers, which are then placed on to a heat press to be sublimated.
The heat press process is most effective using a combination of time, temperature, and pressure. By getting all of these factors perfectly aligned, the end result will be a high quality, nearly permanent, full-colour print which will not easily crack, fade, or peel after use and wear.
It’s really important to choose the correct printing process for your branding and lanyards, and choosing a method that is going to represent your brand in the best possible way is of the utmost importance. Making sure you’re choosing the best printing method will ensure that wherever it is you’re planning to use it, your sublimation lanyard will be sure to leave a lasting impression.