Custom Streetwear Guide - What is Sublimation Printing?
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- Issue Time
- Jul 11,2025
Summary
Sublimation printing uses heat to infuse dye into polyester fabrics, creating vibrant, long-lasting prints—ideal for all-over custom streetwear with bold designs.

Custom Streetwear Guide — What is Sublimation Printing?
In the competitive world of custom streetwear, where expressive visuals and bold aesthetics reign supreme, sublimation printing has emerged as a powerful method for brands to stand out.
Whether you're launching a streetwear startup, producing limited-edition capsule collections, or exploring printing methods that offer durability and vibrancy, this guide explains what sublimation printing is, how it compares to other methods, and why modern apparel creators favor it.
1. What is Sublimation Printing?
Sublimation printing is a digital process that uses heat and pressure to transfer dye into synthetic fabrics, usually polyester. Unlike screen printing or DTG (Direct-to-Garment), sublimation turns solid dye into gas and embeds it into the fabric fibers at a molecular level.
This results in a long-lasting, lightweight, and vibrant print that won’t crack, peel, or fade over time, even after dozens of washes.
2. Why Use Sublimation for Custom Streetwear?
Sublimation printing is ideal for streetwear brands focused on unique designs, performance-inspired silhouettes, and all-over visuals. Here's why it's preferred:
All-Over Coverage Printing:
Sublimation allows edge-to-edge designs across the entire garment—perfect for oversized prints, layered textures, and psychedelic or collage-style graphics.
Extremely Durable and Wash-Resistant:
Since the dye becomes part of the fabric, it won’t peel or crack like screen prints. According to Printful testing, sublimation garments retain over 90% color fidelity even after 50 washes.
No Texture or Weight
Sublimated garments remain breathable and smooth, with no ink buildup—ideal for activewear-inspired streetwear.
Perfect for Polyester Garments
Unlike DTG, which favors cotton, sublimation thrives on 100% polyester, making it a natural fit for techwear, festival outfits, and hybrid street-performance collections.
3. What Garments Work Best for Sublimation?
Sublimation printing only works on synthetic fabrics, most commonly 100% polyester or poly-blends with high polyester content (≥65%).
Popular product applications include:
· All-over printed T-shirts
· Lightweight polyester hoodies
· Track pants and joggers
· Baseball jerseys / sports-inspired streetwear
· Festival & rave gear (mesh tops, windbreakers)
Note: Sublimation works best on white or light-colored fabrics, since it doesn't print white ink.
4. How to Customize Sublimation Clothes?
Here's how brands create sublimation-printed garments with us at Touches Dark:
· Submit vector-based designs (AI, EPS, high-res PNG)
· Choose a garment template from our polyester styles
· Print designs on fabric panels using sublimation heat-press
· Cut and sew into finished garments
· Quality control + packaging and delivery
Unlike DTG or screen printing, sublimation is usually done before stitching, which allows for full-coverage, seam-to-seam graphics.
5. Sublimation vs. Other Printing Methods: Why It Matters
Feature | Sublimation Printing | Screen Printing | DTG Printing | Heat Transfer |
Best for | Polyester-based garments | Cotton fabrics, bulk orders | High-cotton garments, small runs | Small orders, logos, graphics |
Fabric Compatibility | 100% Polyester | Cotton, poly blends | 100% Cotton or blends | Various fabrics (cotton/poly) |
Print Feel | No feel, fully embedded | Slight texture | Slight texture | Often raised or rubbery |
Durability | Excellent (won’t crack or peel) | Very durable if properly cured | Good, may fade over time | Moderate, can peel over time |
Color Brightness | Extremely vivid | Bright, but limited for gradients | Good on light garments | Good, but limited detail |
6. Which One Should You Use?
· Choose Sublimation if you want full-coverage prints, vibrant visuals, and are using polyester-based garments (e.g., jerseys, activewear, festivalwear).
· Choose Screen Printing if you’re doing large runs on cotton garments and don’t need gradients or high detail.
· Choose DTG if your brand focuses on high-detail, cotton-based designs with multiple color variations and lower quantities.
· Choose Heat Transfer for quick-turn, simple graphics or logo-based printing, especially for small runs or personalization.
At Touches Dark, we offer multiple printing options to fit your brand’s design, material, and budget needs. Not sure which to choose? Our production team is here to advise you.
7. Who Uses Sublimation in Streetwear?
Sublimation is widely adopted by both niche and mainstream streetwear brands, especially for collections that require color-rich storytelling and performance aesthetics:
· UNIF – for full-body, collage-style prints on festivalwear
· Palm Angels – blends high fashion and sport tech
· Savage x Fenty Active – sublimated prints on seamless sets
· Printful & Printify POD Brands – countless small streetwear creators leverage sublimation for custom all-over apparel
· Smaller DTC Brands on Etsy & Shopify – vibrant sublimated tees, hoodies, and sports sets
Unlike DTG or screen printing, sublimation is usually done before stitching, which allows for full-coverage, seam-to-seam graphics.
Let’s Create Vibrant Custom Streetwear Together
Looking to launch custom sublimation clothes that make your brand stand out? Touches Dark is here to help you bring your most expressive designs to life—with quality, speed, and precision.
Start your sublimation project with a trusted clothing manufacturer for startups and creative brands at TOUCHES DARK
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