Why Sublimation on Mylar Bags Isn’t Always Straightforward

 

Sublimation seems magical on first glance. You press ink into a surface, heat it, and poof — it sprays on the surface as if it were there all along. No cracking, no peeling, and no funky textures. But then Mylar shows up, and it kind of ruins that whole fantasy. People are always asking the question “Can You Sublimate on Mylar Bags?” But the answer to that question is not a clear-cut yes or no; it’s more like an occasional yes — but only if everything comes together just right.

Mylar is not the same as cotton or coated polyester, which are both great for sublimation. Mylar has a lot of different layers and is typically constructed from one or more plastic films and sometimes coated with aluminum foil. That great multi-layered construction is great for providing a complete barrier to protect products, increase shelf-life, and provide durability. But surely, that’s not the best construction for sublimation; therefore; Mylar does not typically accept ink into its fibers or surface as it needs sublimation to be coated with polyester to properly bond with the ink.

If you take a look at matte Mylar bags, you can see some differences in how well they accept sublimation compared to other types of finishes, such as glossy or foil finishes. There have been some successful attempts at transferring designs onto the matte finish surface (which are usually partial successes) but it’s simply going to be a large gamble and is totally unpredictable. It may have decent adhesion to the design or the transfer may appear faded and patchy looking.

A big problem with Mylar is that it can warp or wrinkle at the high temperatures that are typically required for sublimation of approximately 375 degrees to 400 degrees. So even if you are able to transfer the sublimation onto the surface of the Mylar, the transfer may not be supported by the Mylar itself. When that happens to a packager, it is almost immediately evident that the package will be problematic.

A lot of companies tend to run into problems trying to shortcut their packaging process — sublimation does appear to be a fast and easy process, especially if you are looking at a short order quantity. However, packaging tends to be one of those areas where cutting corners will usually produce poor results. If you are looking at the limitations of using sublimation on Mylar prior to making a decision about using this process, you will find that you will save yourself a lot of time and wasted materials by reading “Can You Sublimate on Mylar Bags?”

Either way, the idea of sublimating to Mylar will typically end up being an experiment — it may provide some limited success; however, for the most part, sublimation success will only occur if all or most of the elements (materials and expectations) come together successfully. However, if you are looking for consistent high-quality packages, there are better methods to produce that type of packaging; therefore, having the understanding of the reasons behind this will save you a lot of heartache when it comes to packaging your products.