Stains and dots in sublimation and solution

Practically every day we receive inquiries such as: "White spots appear in my sublimations", "When I sublimate colored spots," Why do colored spots appear when I sublimate? ". It is a fairly frequent problem that in this post we are going to see the possible causes and how we can find a solution.

Mug with colored dots in sublimationUse quality materials

It is the basis for achieving a good result, so you must make sure that all materials guarantee professional results.

Sublimation Inks: Use quality inks to achieve rich, vivid colors, sharp contours and durability in your prints.
Sublimation paper: The paper is a very important element when it comes to making sure that the ink transfer is carried out correctly. If you use a low quality paper, your design will most likely run out of ink in some areas causing white spots and lighter areas to appear.
Customizable: It is essential that the rigid blank product that you are going to sublimate has a good quality polyester coating such as that of our new Infinity mug to achieve good adhesion of the inks and a homogeneous finish. The same happens with fabrics, make sure that their composition is 100% polyester to achieve maximum sharpness and intensity of colors.

Check the status of your printer

It is very important before the problem of the appearance of dots in the design that we check if the head of our printer has any obstruction.

Sublimation inks are water-based, so ink may have dried on the printhead and clogged it. If this happens, the problem of the dots (whether white or of another color) in the sublimation comes from the printing phase, since it is the printer that is producing them.

To fix this, perform a cleaning (or those that are necessary) of the printer head. Find your printer model and follow the manufacturer's instructions step by step and test printing until you see that the problem has disappeared.

The clogging of the heads can also generate Banding problems, a problem that we will talk about in this other post.



Next step: Ironing

If the above points are not the cause of the stains / colored dots, then it is likely that the origin of the problem is with your iron.

In sublimation, it is very important that all your equipment is clean to avoid problems with color. If the proper measures are not taken, it is likely that the plate of your iron has been stained with ink from previous sublimations and those residues are transferred in the new sublimations that you make. To avoid this, we always recommend using Tile protector paper with sublimation white spots between the printed sublimation paper and the hot plate of the iron.

It is also important that you check that the hot plate distributes the temperature evenly, since if there are areas where it is less hot, the transfer of the color from the sublimation paper to the object you are customizing will not be carried out correctly. To check the temperature of your iron you can use a digital thermometer and if you see that your plate does not heat in the entire area equally you will have to change the resistance or even buy a new iron.

To conclude this section, remember that you must always follow the ironing parameters recommended by the manufacturer of blank products, because due to their composition and characteristics, each one has different indications. In our Brildor store you can find all the information on the appropriate ironing parameters in each of our product sheets.



Extra recommendations

- If you are going to sublimate a textile, first pass a lint remover brush on the part that you are going to sublimate to remove dust and lint that can cause stains after ironing.

- If you are going to sublimate a rigid product such as cups or tiles, it is possible that due to environmental conditions they are too cold and you will have to preheat them for 5 and 10 seconds on the iron before sublimating.

- Store the sublimation paper in a dry place, preserving it from humidity, since if the paper is damp it can generate white spots. You can see more information about this phenomenon in this other post.



We hope these guidelines help you locate and solve your problem with colored spots and sublimation spots. If you have found another solution to this problem, do not hesitate to share it with us in the comments. Until the next post!