Humidity affects sublimation transfer paper

Have you ever wondered why the instruction manual that comes with sublimation transfer paper also specifies the humidity levels it should be stored at?
It's just paper. Specifying humidity levels for paper storage hardly makes any sense, other than giving an impression that you must be using a high-end product. Manufacturers love showing off!
But the matter of fact is there's indeed a link – a very strong link – between the performance of a transfer paper and the humidity levels it is exposed to (stored at).
In this post, we'll be exploring this link…
What humidity does to sublimation paper?
A sublimation transfer paper can absorb and retain an enormous amount of moisture. It's like a sponge. The problem is that if it absorbs moisture in excess, at the time of printing, the trapped moisture in the transfer paper can flash to steam and blow away the ink from its target area. This can result in printing artifacts such as color shifting, uneven transfer and bleeding of the image.

Therefore, manufacturers specify optimum humidity levels for transfer paper storage so that the paper doesn't absorb moisture in excess from its stored environment. Failure to comply with the instructions is likely to affect the performance of transfer paper at the time of sublimation printing.

But what if a sublimation paper gets exposed to high humidity levels?
There are two solutions to the problem:
Before using the paper, set it on the press for a few seconds. Place it 2 to 3 inches below the heat plate. The heat from the pressing machine should help evaporate the absorbed moisture. If the image has already been transferred onto the paper, you can employ the same strategy to save the print, however, the final transfer may appear slightly faded or washed out.
You can also try using a butcher paper in conjunction with transfer paper when applying the press. The butcher paper will absorb excess moisture from the transfer paper during pressing. Be sure to use a fresh sheet of butcher paper with every new printing job.
Do you have want to learn more about sublimation transfer paper, sublimation ink or the sublimation process in general?
Check out our official website, you can find more useful infomations.
If you have any questions about sublimation process that you would like to ask, feel free to reach out – our experts will be happy to serve you.
More info:
Website: www.skyimagepaper.com
Company Name: Fei Yue Digital Technology Co.,LTD
E-mail: sales@feiyuepaper.com
Tel: 86-025-86628894
Whatsapp: +86 18252072197
Address: Central Road 323, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China