Investigating brand color accuracy of dye sublimated textiles

Abstract

Textiles do not currently encompass a large part of the print industry; however, they are one of the fastest growing segments. With emerging production alternatives growing in popularity including dye sublimation, direct-to-garment printing, and direct-to-film, the need to ensure color accuracy becomes even more important and arguably more difficult due to the switch from spot colors with screen printing to CMYK on these newer technologies. This paper builds on a previous study which examined color brand accuracy and durability of two brand colors using the three most common production processes on a variety of textiles. Results revealed that performance varied based on material, process, and ink color. This study seeks to focus on a single process, dye sublimation, and analyze color accuracy on three different textile samples, consisting of polyester and polyester blends, and expand to include a broader spectrum of brand colors based on the athletic branding for eighteen universities in the United States. Our primary research goal is to determine if there are parts of the color spectrum that are more difficult to print consistently using dye sublimation on the three different textiles. The findings will add to existing research by providing recommendations for brands and printers who print textiles with dye sublimation.