think. make. do. SUBLIMATION Like this article? Read more sublimation articles at impressionsmag.com/digitaldecorating. Choosing a Sublimation Heat Press Look for a high-quality press that can consistently deliver and maintain required job settings. BY JIMMY LAMB, CONTRIBUTING WRITER Clam-shell heat presses are the most common type used in the industry today. Photo courtesy of Stahls'. Sublimation is a chemical process that depends on molecular bonding. It requires precise heat-press settings for three aspects: time, temperature and pressure. A small variance in one of these parameters can affect image quality. Thus, you must choose a high-quality sublimation heat press that can deliver and maintain the necessary settings for every job, every time.The good news is they are available in different sizes, configurations and degrees of quality. A heat press may look like an unsophisticated piece of equipment, but what you don't see makes a difference when it comes to reliability and results. Time All heat presses include programmable timers. Most automatically activate when the press is closed and a buzzer sounds when the time has expired so the operator knows to open it. Some heat presses open automatically when time has elapsed. This may cause the transfer paper to slightly shift on the substrate and result in image "ghosting," which can ruin the item being sublimated. If using such a heat press, consider disabling the auto-open feature. If you keep it enabled, ensure the transfer is properly secured to the substrate. P.42 I M P R E S S I O N S M A G . C O M FEBRUARY 2017http://www.impressionsmag.com/digitaldecorating http://www.IMPRESSIONSMAG.COM