Impressions - May/June 2022 - 46

bonds with a heat-activated adhesive, it can be used with almost
any material. Remember to experiment before you offer
anything for sale, but you will be pleasantly surprised with the
new options available by using this material.
Let's look at a few hard-surface product concepts and ideas.
Sublimatable signage already is available in multiple materials,
shapes and sizes. All too often, however, you have a potential
order that requires a specific material in a specific size and shape
for which there is nothing available that's sublimation-friendly.
For example, think about all the types of wood - pine,
oak, walnut, cherry, teak and mahogany, to name a few. They
are readily available in stores such as Home Depot and can be
shaped to order using woodworking tools. But without a proper
polymer coating, you are wasting your time with sublimation.
However, sublimatable HTV makes decorating on any type
of wood a possibility. As an added bonus, if you're good with
carpentry, this can lead to unique products that none of your
competitors can offer.
Plaques and awards are big business in the sublimation world
and there are a lot of great products to choose from in the marketplace.
Once again, if you can't find the right option, then
you may lose sales opportunities. Think of the convenience
and peace of mind you could have when walking into a craft
or hobby store and finding an off-the-shelf item that would
satisfy customers' needs and knowing you can sublimate it.
Removing the Limits
Now, you might be asking yourself why not just use standard
HTV and not bother with the sublimation version. Standard
HTV involves a solid-color product, which means you'll have
to inventory a lot of vinyl in order to have a wide range of
colors at your fingertips.
With products like EasySubli, you only need to stock one
color: white. That's because you can use sublimation to produce
virtually any color, even those not found in the HTV world.
For example, rather than " getting close " to a team's colors or
business's logo, you can match it exactly.
With sublimation vinyl, you also aren't limited to solid colors.
You can print shapes, patterns and multicolor images. You
even can produce vinyl with photographic images, full-color
logos and more. This takes your creativity to a higher level
than ever before.
If you want to expand your business and your market
reach, this is a very affordable option. Just think of all
the preciously unsublimatable products that now are
sublimatable. 
Award-winning author and international speaker Jimmy Lamb worked
in the decorated-apparel industry for more than 30 years. He has
worked for many industry suppliers, including Hirsch Solutions and
Sawgrass Technologies. In addition to authoring hundreds of articles,
he also has been a speaker at Impressions Expo trade shows and
owned his own decorated-apparel business. For more information
or to comment on this article, email Jimmy at jlamb@jimmylamb.net.
With sublimation vinyl, you're
not limited to solid colors.
You can print shapes,
patterns and multicolor
images. Photo provided
by Condé Systems.
Sublimation HTV bonds with a heat-activated
adhesive, so it can be used with almost any
material. Photo provided by Condé Systems.
P.46
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Impressions - May/June 2022

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