Dye Sublimation – Bringing Your Corian® & Solid Surface to Life With Imagery

Presented by SolidSurface.com

If you want to give your customers another option for adding more artistry and pizzazz to their business, home office, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, family room or bedroom, look no further than using a great selection of solid surface Corian®, HI-MACS, Avonite or any other brand for that matter.

Using a process called dye sublimation, you can transfer any design, logo, photograph or image (no matter how simple or complex) onto the solid surface material.

Dye Sublimation in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s offices at Inverdee House in Aberdeen, Scotland. Reception desk project by Keppie Design Architects; photo Simon Price. Photograph courtesy of DuPont.

 

How It’s Done

Although it may look complicated, dye sublimation is really quite simple and the results are impressive! And, as it turns out, solid surface is the perfect medium for the dye sublimation process. This is because successful dye sublimation is dependant upon an acrylic or polyester base for application due to its ability to bond with the gassed ink dyes that are used.

To start, have your customer provide you with their desired image or text–a photograph, digital or vector image. It’s important to confirm that the image meets the minimum digital or printed requirements to enable creation of a viable digital image file for sublimation.

After going through your quality check process, you can then print the desired image to an ink transfer plate and heat up both the plate and the solid surface material. Once the materials reach the proper temperature, a vacuum process is used to transfer the ink on the transfer plate (now in gaseous form) into the Corian® or other solid surface material. (Note: this process may vary slightly between dye sublimation specialists.)

Presto! The desired image or text is now permanently embedded into the surface, creating a very artistic and unique piece. This printed solid surface piece can now be fabricated, shaped and thermoformed, in the same manner as any other piece of solid surface material.

Think of the Solid Surface as a Blank Canvas…

Just like Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso or Warhol, envision the solid surface material as a blank canvas just waiting to spring to life with whatever imagery your customer desires. Through the dye sublimation process, virtually anything imaginable can be masterfully transferred into the solid surface. Possibilities range from larger endeavors like business signs, paneled installations, wall décor and artistic flourishes added to countertops, to smaller projects like promotional goods, coasters, hot plates, trivets or customized trophies or gifts.

Dye sublimation in various design concepts developed by R.D.Wing Co., Inc., for the AIA 2006 Convention, DuPont Corian Booth. Photo courtesy of R.D. Wing Co., Inc.

Dye sublimation is unique in that the process permanently embeds and preserves a selected image or text in the actual solid surface substrate. As a result, your customer can also have the creative flexibility to choose between a matte or high gloss finish for the final touch.

Quite literally, dye sublimation allows the imagination to be the limit on what is created. So bring out the inner artist in your customer and offer them dye sublimation on their next solid surface project.

Dye Sublimation in the Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Reception Area of the Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus, Spain, Decoration by FernandezCoca.com; Photo courtesy of curArte and DuPont.