Sublimation printing

Operation principle

The method consists that at printing ink or cartridge ribbons, dye particles instantly heat up a printing head and mix up upon transition to a gas status, deeply getting into structure of the sealed material.

Aiming to achieve photorealistic results, many photographers consider that sublimation printing gives the best quality from all possible technologies of digital printing. Though it is possible and not to agree with it, considering magnificent printing quality of the inkjet printers best today, nevertheless, sublimation printing, undoubtedly, takes the worthy place.

Other approach, same tasks

One of the main reasons of so high-quality sublimation printing will become clear if to understand process and to compare it to technology of an inkjet printing. Inkjet printers apply extremely small drops of ink on the sheet of paper, and the image is created a line after line. That who has an inkjet printer, familiarly as the line after line from the printer appears the ready picture. The size of the points forming a print is less than diameter of a human hair, and they are put with a pinpoint accuracy. Now on the best printers resolution of 4800x2400 dots per inch is reached.

Points against grain

Prints from the best inkjet printers are indistinguishable approximately from normal photos. But at regard in a microscope it is possible to see their true structure as points become distinguishable. And the pictures printed in a photolaboratory on the basis of silver halide at the same research consist of irregularly located, partially merged color points. At the same time nicer and natural view of prints, than on any inkjet printers, except unless models with the highest permission is reached. It is one of the reasons for which, despite technical progress of the last years, some professional photographers prefer the quality provided with the traditional photo.

Under a microscope the print made a sublimation method will look more similar to the normal argentiferous photo. On it soft tone junctions, hard-hitting by any other digital methods of printing will be visible. Modern technologies allow to reach excellent printing quality.

Evaporation

In the sublimation printer there is a roll of a long transparent film which is similar to the sheets of color cellophane of different color which are stuck together among themselves at the edges. In this film layers of solid dye of three basic colors applied in printing are concluded: turquoise, crimson and yellow. Printing process goes when heating. At first the printing head heats up, passing along a film. It leads to evaporation of the dye which is instantly passing from a firm status into gaseous, passing liquid. Such transition is called sublimation (sublimation), as gave the name to printing method.

Under the influence of the same high temperature a time on a special covering of paper opens, allowing vapors of dye to get under a surface. At fall of temperature of a time are closed, and vapors of dye return to a firm status. Having run a finger over a print, it is possible to grope perfectly a smooth surface.

Heating

The printing head is assembled from miniature precision heating elements, each of which can heat up with a high accuracy. The stronger the element is heated, the more dye evaporates and absorbed by paper. The sublimation printer works, putting a layer of dye of one color for once. Observation of its work bewitches: on the majority of models paper is rolled under the printing head backwards-forward when causing every color, allowing to see printing process at different stages when as a result of adding of a layer behind a layer the print gradually takes a final form.

Some printers do final pass to apply a protective layer on a print. It can serve for many purposes: as from protection against wear and fingerprints, and for life extension of a print by its protection against the ultraviolet light causing fading.

Special paper

There are also other differences between processes of inkjet and sublimation printing which will become soon widely known. Though inkjet printers usually yield the best results on the paper which is specially intended for them, they can use also material of other types. Sublimation printers refuel the corresponding paper and rolls of the film containing dye. The user in accuracy knows beforehand how many prints can be made from each gas station then the printer should be opened and again to fill.

Advantages of sublimation printing

The first advantage of sublimation printing — that the printed image looks very smooth and the classical argentiferous photo has the same appearance, as. It occurs because that at the edges of each pixel soft junction, but not a border between dye and paper as happens at ink printing is provided. Therefore the sublimation printer can have much lower resolution, than his jet fellows, and at the same time achieve comparable results on quality. In this sense the sublimation printer with the resolution of 300 dots per inch can be compared to the inkjet printer with the resolution of 2400x1200 dots per inch.

The second advantage is a resistance to fading. As dye gets into paper, the turning-out print is very steady against fading eventually that increases popularity of this technology among photographers.

The third advantage of sublimation printing — depth of color. Changing extent of heating, it is possible to receive a broad set of shades of every color. Mixing in different combinations shades turquoise, crimson and yellow, it is possible to receive literally millions of flowers.

Shortcomings

The fact that they are more difficult in production and more expensively, than their jet analogs is considered usually big lack of sublimation printers. But technologies go forward, sublimation printers strongly fell in price, and many of them became quite available to fans. And at the price counting on one print they became comparable with inkjet printers too and the print speed is quite acceptable.
Main article: List devices (market)