Sublimation Blank

A sublimation blank isn't a regular tee that happens to work for the process — it's built for it. The fiber has to be high in polyester, ideally 100%, because sublimation dye only chemically bonds to polyester's polymer structure; a garment's tag matters as much as its cut here, since a blank at 50/50 poly-cotton will take dye across only half its surface. Color matters just as much: sublimation dye is translucent, so the blank has to start white or very pale for the printed colors to read true rather than muddy.

We've had customers hand us a 100% polyester shirt off a generic wholesale rack expecting sublimation-ready performance, only to find the knit was treated with a finish that resists dye uptake — polyester content alone doesn't guarantee a good result, the fabric has to be milled for this specific process. Blanks marketed as sublimation stock, whether a poly-spandex athletic tee or a poly performance jersey, are tested by the mill for even dye pickup across the whole piece.

Pros keep a dedicated line of sublimation blanks separate from their cotton and DTG stock, and check the poly percentage on the hang tag before every job rather than assuming from the product name. Anything below roughly 65% polyester gets treated as a faded, vintage-style result at best, not a solid print.

The mistake we see most is a buyer assuming any shirt labeled polyester will sublimate cleanly. Blends with even 30-35% cotton show visible whitish gaps in fine text and halftones where cotton fibers simply refused the dye, a flaw that only shows up after the press, not before.