When you print garments with heat transfers, sooner or later you\u2019ll run into the problem of color migration<\/strong>. You carefully place your garment under the heat press, apply a nice white logo, follow all instructions \u2013 but when the press opens, your bright white logo has turned\u2026 grey.<\/p>\n\n Or even worse: the logo comes out of the press looking perfect, but hours or even days later it discolours or develops ugly stains.<\/p>\n\n This problem is called color migration or dye migration, and it occurs with specific fabrics such as sublimated polyester and softshell. In this article, we\u2019ll explain what color migration is and, more importantly, how to avoid it. When printing textile with transfers, logos can suddenly discolour<\/strong>: the heat from the transfer press reactivates the colour pigments in the fabric, causing them to migrate into the transfer and discolour the print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most often, this happens with coloured garments printed with a white logo: on black garments the print will turn grey, on red garments the logo may develop a pink tint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dye migration is<\/strong> a chemical process<\/strong> triggered by the pigments in the textile. Sometimes the problem is visible immediately when the press opens, but more often it only shows hours or even days after application \u2013 or even after washing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This makes it especially tricky, so it\u2019s important to know which fabrics trigger the color migration and how to prevent the issue.<\/p>\n<\/div> Three fabric types<\/strong> are notorious for causing color migration: sublimated polyester, softshell, and synthetically dyed garments. Sublimated polyester is polyester coloured using the sublimation technique<\/strong>. The design is first printed with special inks on sublimation paper and then transferred into the polyester fibres with a heat press. The fibres absorb the inks completely, resulting in permanent, seamless colouring. <\/p>\n\n You can recognise sublimated polyester because it\u2019s only coloured on the outside \u2013 the inside of the garment is usually white.<\/p>\n\n This method is widely used in sportswear:<\/strong> football shirts, cycling kits, basketball or hockey uniforms are often made of sublimated polyester.<\/p>\n\n When sublimated polyester is decorated with transfers, the heat of the press reactivates the sublimation inks, causing the colour pigments to migrate into the logo and cause discolouration. <\/p>\n\n Fortunately, there is a solution: anti-migration transfers with a subli-blocker<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n We know softshell as a comfortable material for light, warm and windproof jackets and body warmers, but it is also notorious for the problems it causes with color migration when printing with textile transfers.<\/p>\n\n The outer layer of softshell is a synthetic material, often made of polyester and elastane. When printing on softshell with textile transfers, the dyes in the softshell are activated and can migrate into the print.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n What makes softshell especially tricky is that the discolouration doesn\u2019t appear immediately. It often takes hours or even days before the migration becomes visible.<\/p>\n\n To prevent dye migration on softshell, use silicone-based transfers<\/a> or transfers with a special softshell blocker. Most garments are made of cotton, polyester or blends, dyed in a dye bath where the textile absorbs the colour evenly. Normally, these fabrics can be decorated with standard textile transfers without any issues. <\/p>\n\n However, we increasingly see color migration even on these garments. The reason: a growing use of synthetic, non-water-soluble dyes<\/strong>, which behave like sublimation pigments \u2013 they can gas out under heat and migrate into transfers. <\/p>\n\n The risk depends on the quality of the dyes used and how well they were fixed during fabric production. For this reason, we recommend using subli-blocker transfers<\/a> for all synthetically dyed garments. The good news: there are reliable solutions to print on garments prone to color migration. The key is These anti-migration transfers include an extra double blocking layer of special black ink printed behind the logo<\/strong>. This barrier prevents the colour pigments in the garment from reaching the print. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We can apply a subli-blocker to all of our transfer qualities, so your logos remain crisp and bright white \u2013 even on difficult fabrics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some cases, even a double subli-blocker isn\u2019t enough \u2013 especially on softshell. And sometimes, the logo is so fine that there isn\u2019t enough space for a blocker layer. <\/p>\n\nWhat is color migration?
![\"White](\"https:\/\/ara-transferprint.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Doorbloeding3.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\nWhich types of fabrics cause color migration?
1. Sublimated Polyester<\/h4>\n\n
2. Softshell<\/h4>\n\n
3. Synthetically dyed garments<\/h4>\n\n
How can you prevent color migration?
Anti-bleeding Transfers with a Subli-Blocker<\/h4>\n\n
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![\"Anti-bleeding](\"https:\/\/ara-transferprint.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_1593-1920x1440.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
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Silicone Transfers<\/h4>\n\n