2022’s Best & IN STOCK Sublimation Apparel Blanks
1. Sublivie S1910 Sublimation T-Shirt: Literally THE shirt perfect for vivid, sublimation prints. When you’re dealing with 100% polyester, you really can’t go wrong. These shirts look and fit like a traditional retail garment, and do not have the “activewear feel” that some poly garments have. Your art should take to these beautifully if you are pressing these at 400 degrees for 45 seconds, at a medium pressure. A light mist of spray adhesive (link at the bottom) may help if you find yourself experiencing issues with ghosting, or the graphic sliding due to high heat.
2. Bella Canvas 3413C Unisex Triblend Short Sleeve Tee: Hands down, one of the softest triblends out there- everyone loves this shirt for screenprinted art. However- one look at the tag, and you’ll realize this shirt only has 25% cotton! White, Tan, Oatmeal, Cement and White Fleck are all great selections for full color, vivid prints. If you have primarily black/dark text and nothing else in your art- you can explore quite a few more options: Green, Red, Ice Blue, Orange, Spring Green, Peach, and so many more. It is always best to do your own test press, but we’ve found that pressing these shirts with a medium to firm pressure for 50 seconds at 390-395 degrees works the best in our shop.
3. Next Level 6051 Apparel Unisex Triblend 3/4-Sleeve Raglan: This is another one that screenprinters love, but sublimation printers should love just as much, if not more. This is a fan favorite because of the fit and feel. The NL6051 is a much thinner garment than most of the other products on this list- so it’s important to do a test press or two before diving completely in. It’s recommended to place a sheet of medium weight cardstock inside the shirt, so your transfer doesn’t bleed through the shirt and onto the back. I recommend pressing these with a medium/light pressure for 1 minute at 390 degrees. Just a reminder that on thinner blends, firm pressure and too high heat can be a death sentence to your project. Slightly lower heat for longer times makes items like these a lot less stressful to work with!
4. Alternative Apparel AA1973 Unisex Eco-Jersey™ Crew: I have to give credit where credit is due… these shirts are AWESOME! With the exception of the Eco Black and True Black variants- any of these can take sublimation, depending on your art. These tees have a slightly higher cotton content (38%), so your print is going to have a vintage, and slightly faded look to it. Press with a medium/light pressure, and let your timer to 45 seconds. With that being said, your press temp is safe to be closer to 400 on these. Lastly, something I wanted to note about the Alternative brand in general: Alternative are part of the Hanes family of brands, and participate in “Hanes4Education.” H4E is a movement that takes a portion of what you spend on blanks with Hanes, and invests it back into the local school of your choosing. Both myself and my business partner both grew up with mom’s who worked in education, so this is something that is near and dear to my heart. To learn more: https://www.hanes4education.com/faq/
5. Threadfast Apparel 102A Unisex Triblend Short-Sleeve T-Shirt: Just like the AA1973, Threadfast’s triblend has a 38% cotton element to it, making this another blank great for that vintage style art of yours. Threadfast’s Cream and White variants will provide your cleanest, most vivid print- but your heather green, mint, grey, and orange will also provide a great canvas for black/dark imprinted, simple/text graphics. Press with a medium/firm pressure, for 45 seconds at 400 degrees. Lastly, Threadfast has a program called “Plant With Threadfast.” For every case of Threadfast products purchased, a tree is planted. To find out more about Threadfast’s goals of better sustainability and a cleaner planet, check out: https://threadfast.com/pages/plant-with-threadfast
Writer’s note: This list primarily focuses on products that are not only sublimation friendly, but are also in stock. As decorators and printers, one of the hardest parts of this process is finding consistent blanks for your art. As supply chain constraints subside- I’ll update this list!
