All Over Print Clothes & Sublimation: Behind the Design

| July 17, 2015

All Over Print clothes seem simple enough, right? They're at the height of rave fashion right now, so maybe that's why we don't take time to think on the fascinating process behind assembling these rave clothes we've grown to love. I mean, you'd be hard pressed to go out this festival season and not spot a handful of impressive all over print hoodies or all over print tanks.  

We know that all over print brings an immersive aesthetic to so many different types of styles of clothes and through various designs. We know about its consistency, durability, and versatility; but we don’t all know its origins and the process behind it that makes it so special. 

That's where we here at iEDM.com come in handy. Read along as we cover you on the ins and outs of all over print clothes!

All Over Print Clothes & Sublimation:

Behind the Design

Unicorn Spew Men's Tee

The technique that creates what we refer to as “All Over Print clothes” is called sublimation. This refers to the process of using heat to turn solids directly into gas, bypassing the liquid stage. In the case of all over print, designers use organic dyes to print designs onto paper that can endure the necessary heat to achieve sublimation. They then press their print firmly onto a garment and heat it at between 400 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit. 

It’s hard to believe that these eye-poppingly colorful all over print clothes begin as a plain white garment, but that’s the case with sublimation. White fibers of the garment serve as a blank canvas for the gaseous inks of the print to latch onto. This makes the colors of the design stand out as vibrantly as originally intended while also bonding with the garment so closely that it becomes crack, run, and fade-proof. 

This is a method unlike so many other screen printing technique and is what makes all over print t-shirts, hoodies, bottoms, etc. such vivid and sturdy products. The product is also softer to the touch than most garments that have that much graphic design on them, thanks to the gaseous bonding. Its trustworthiness makes it the go-to technique for products that usually experience a lot of wear and tear, like team jerseys for major sports organizations.

Brands that we love here at iEDM.com are taking the all over print technique to the next level, using it to tell stories that span our bodies. Rave fashion brand names like Beloved and On Cue Apparel have found spots on our Festival Season Essentials and Rave Tanks That Rock lists for their inspiring, brave designs that truly take advantage of the whole product as a canvas.

Beloved gives us outrageous, aesthetically bombastic images that embrace the infinite feel of the all over print style with space-centric designs like the Astronaut Friends. Likewise, On Cue provides nostalgic odes to some of our favorite geekisms, whether it’s appreciation of the cartoons of yesteryear with this ode to Betty Boop or a little more recent with this Dragon Ball Z tank.

Take a look at the best All Over Print selection on the web (iEDM’s, of course) by clicking right here.

Check out this cool video review of the technique courtesy of Vapor Apparel below:

Let us know what from our awesome selection of all over print clothes is your favorite, take a picture and send it to us @iEDMOfficial on Twitter. We’d love to see repping!




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