Digitally printing a sublimation heat transfer starts with using paper made specifically for the process. It usually is available in sheets or rolls, and no weeding is needed. Also, use digital sublimation inks with your printer. Sublimation transfers work by heating the ink, which will then turn into a gas and be transferred to the desired substrate by the time the heat-press application is complete. One of the benefits of sublimation is that the graphic takes on the hand feel of the garment. Hybrid Screen-Printed Digital Transfers: These transfers represent one of the newest technologies in our inndustry and quickly are gaining popularity. They have high definition and detail, are durable, and have great stretch and a soft-hand feel. Hybrid heat transfers are digitally printed and backed with a white underbase (white backer). These types of transfers are ideal for short or long production runs. There's not much on-press setup involved, and all the colors and detail are printed digitally. This product is even better for long runs with multiple colors. For example, an eight-color direct screen-printed design or an eight-color screen-printed heat transfer requires eight screens (one per color). Only one to three screens are required for a digital hybrid transfer using the same art. It has been said that the idea for the hybrid digital heat transfer was inspired by offset litho transfers, which were popular in the 1970s and 1980s but fizzled out in the 1990s. Offset litho heat One of the advantages of hybrid digital transfers is the amount of detail that can be achieved. 18 * Fall 2020 16-19_IMDD_1020_HeatTransfers_Feature.indd 18 10/9/20 9:37 AM