Dye Sublimation: An Image Quality Comparison Between Pre-coated and Self-coated Non-traditional Substrates

This study examined pre-coated substrates as well as three additional self- coating products to determine which substrate and coating combination provided the best image transfer across different types of photography using the dye sublimation printing process. The substrates included in this study were wood, glass, metal, and tile. Different sublimation coatings were used for each self-coated substrate. Some coatings increased challenges with burning, paper sticking, and inconsistent ink transfer. A color target was printed on all substrates and a spectrophotometer was used to record LAB and density readings. Once all color readings were gathered, a comparison of each substrate across coatings was made. For example, we compared wood to wood, tile to tile, and so on between the different coatings and the pre-coated blanks. Based on a combination of visual observation and Delta E calculations, we found that each coating performed differently based on the substrate being tested. In general, pre-coated along with Coatings B and D performed the best overall.