Sublimation – The Truckers Cap Decoration Solution

Oh no, it’s back – the dreaded “Trucker’s Cap”.  Many veteran apparel decorators remember the challenges of putting logo’s on this unique style of headwear built around a polyester foam front panel.  The polyester aspect made it difficult to screen print, as traditional inks wouldn’t bond properly and the foam aspect made it an extreme nightmare for embroiderer’s due to stitches sinking into the fabric.  It was a happy day when the Trucker’s cap finally hit the road and left town.  But what goes around comes around and this particular product is back in the spotlight, racking up the dollars in retails sales while wracking the brains of decorators scrambling to find a reliable and reasonable decoration application.

Believe it or not, there is a relatively simple solution: sublimation!  The poly foam front is the ideal platform for sublimation printing, as the dyes easily penetrate and bond with the polyester fibers, yielding vivid, full-color images without distortion.  And unlike other forms of printing, sublimated designs will not fade when washed, which means sustainable image quality over the life of the product.

The cap sublimation process is exactly the same as for any other sublimation substrate, with the only difference being that you will need a heat press designed for caps.  Just create the design with your favorite graphics program, print it out onto transfer paper using SubliJet or ArTainium sublimation inks, then apply it with your cap press.   Total print press time is less than two minutes and the ink and media costs are in the $0.50 range.

Sublimated Trucker’s Caps – quick, simple and profitable!

Jimmy Lamb, Sawgrass Technologies

For additional info on How to Sublimate Caps – Read This Article by Impressions Magazine