Dye Sublimation and Personalised Gifts
Inkjet printers, digital cameras and the computer have dramatically reduced the cost and time involved in capturing and preserving memories. While this is a positive in allowing more photos to be taken and printed, it also creates a new dilemma, how to make a particularly special photo or design stand out from the rest?
Pastimes such as scrapbooking are growing in popularity. But you have to convince others to open the scrapbook if they are to see your efforts in treasuring your memories. The modern visual age is dominated by glossy magazines, billboards, TV, DVD, and Computers. Images must fight for their share of attention against slick professional presentations.
Inkjet and bubble jet printers are usually limited to printing on paper and card. This is because the inks sold by their manufacturers are only capable of producing results on paper. But another type of ink, dye sublimation ink, is growing in popularity as a means to print on mediums such as ceramics and cloth. Rather than hanging a photograph on a wall it can become a permanent part of the wall if printed onto a ceramic tile. A grandmother can enjoy a cup of coffee and at the same time see the faces of her grandchildren printed onto the coffee mug.
Wearing a teeshirt of your family would be a little corny for many people but a teeshirt printed with a humourous image or a beautiful landscape with an inspiring caption would be quite acceptable to most people. Collectors pay a small fortune for limited edition ceramic plates printed with religious or historical imagery. Why not have a truly unique plate to celebrate a personal event?
Dye sublimation makes printing onto surfaces other than paper easy. All it takes is an inkjet using dye sublimation inks and a heat press. Traditionally the presses have sold for prices that made them only accessible to professionals. But the industrial revolution that is happening in China means that companies such as
Value Link Distributors are selling quality dye sublimation kits and heat presses at very affordable prices as well as offering an internet based service where customers can upload their images and designs to be printed and posted to destinations across Australia and the world.
With a dye sublimation printer and a heat press it becomes easy to create functional artwork in your own home on a variety of substrates. You can ensure that your photographs and designs are seen and appreciated by those you want to see them. The images are permanent and resistant to heat and water. Don't just limit yourself in this digital age to paper and CD-Rom.
About Author
Kevin McKenna is the webmaster of
www.valuelink.com.au and works in the printing industry in Australia.
Source: ArticleTrader.com