Aluminium metal sheets are a fantastic medium for printing using the dye sublimation transfer method.
Aluminium is used is a wide range of products including sheet metal for signage, metal inserts for phone cases, dog tags, jewellery, or storage tins.
If your product includes a printable metal insert piece our printing method can generally be used.
Our handy how to press video can be viewed below-
You will need to create the artwork for you design on your computer.
Ideally use a good piece of photo editing software.
Popular software choices are Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Serif Affinity Photo or Serif Affinity Designer.
Check the size of your metal (height and width) to ascertain the size of the design required.
We tend to oversize the design slightly if we plan to print a full coverage transfer, but you an use a slightly smaller size if your design allows.
Take your printed paper transfer and trim all edges of the paper with a pair of scissors.
Place your metal sheet onto a flat working area.
Remove the protective film if necessary.
Place the printed transfer face down onto the metal.
Secure using heat tape.
Most aluminium sheets are 0.5mm thick, but thicker sheets are available so do check with the supplier.
0.5mm metal is pressed at 200c for 30 seconds. Thicker metals will require additional time.
Ensure you heat press with the metal on top of your printed transfer.
Heat passes through the metal to sublimate.
Generally we find the following process works well;
Turn on your heat press.
Set the temperature and time.
Allow your heat press come up to temperature .
When the heat press is at the correct temperature you are ready to press. Place your metal sheet into the heat press, ensure it placed so the metal is on top of the printed transfer.
Try to keep your design away from the edges (top and bottom) of the tumbler.
We try to keep 5-10mm away from the top and bottom of the tumbler due to the small radius curve in these areas. As a result you tend to find a poorer image transfer in these areas.
Ensure your printed design has been trimmed on all edges of the paper to ensure the paper is clean and no unwanted ink will be transferred to the tumbler.
For a full wrap design where the design is not completely covered by the heating element we recommended to press for 35 seconds, then rotate the tumbler before pressing for a further 35 seconds
For a partial wrap design where the design is completely covered by the heating element these can be pressed for 60 seconds with no break or rotation.
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