+90 535 986 44 49

Home / Journal

Sublimation 7 min read

Ghosting on transfer paper, and the four causes worth checking first

Press pressure, paper weight, fabric tension and dwell time — in the order that solves it fastest.

Rolls of sublimation transfer paper

Ghosting is a faint double image, offset a millimetre or two from the real one, and it means the same thing every time: the paper and the fabric moved relative to each other while the dye was still a gas.

1. Pressure, first

Uneven or insufficient pressure lets the sheet shift as the press opens. Check the platen across its whole area, not just the centre — most presses are looser at the corners, which is exactly where ghosting shows up first.

2. Paper weight

Light paper cockles under a heavy ink load. A cockled sheet is no longer flat against the fabric, and the moment the press lifts, it springs. If ghosting appears only on your heaviest coverage, this is usually why.

3. Fabric tension

Loose fabric moves when the press opens. A tacky spray or heat-resistant tape at the edges costs almost nothing and removes the most common cause on garments.

4. Dwell time

Over-pressing keeps producing gas after the bond is made, and that gas has nowhere useful to go. If everything else is right and you still see it, take ten seconds off and test again.

Work in that order

Pressure and paper account for most cases. Changing four variables at once tells you nothing — change one, press a test, and write down what happened.