subject: Dye Sub Printers Provide Quality Digital Photo Printing [print this page] Dye Sub Printers Provide Quality Digital Photo Printing
There are many types of printers out in the market today and one of them is the dye sublimation photo printer. Heat is the key component of a dye sublimation photo printer. The heat produced by the printer transfers the photo on to different surfaces such as plastic card, fabric, or paper. Sublimation refers to the dye being transferred from solid to gas without passing its liquid form. A dye sublimation photo printer today is designed specifically for the printing of photos.
CMYO colours or cyan, magenta, yellow, and overcoat colours are often used in dye sublimation photo printer. The difference between a dye sublimation photo printer and the normal printers is that the black dye is removed to be replaced by the clear overcoating. The overcoating, which has different terms in various companies, is included in the ribbon and it provides a thin laminate which functions as a protective layer for the photo against UV light and making the photo resistant to water.
The dye sublimation photo printer operates by laying one colour at a time, with the dye placed within a cellophane ribbon with the colours placed on separate panels. The size of the coloured panel differs based on the medium that you are using for print. In the printing cycle, the rollers of the printer will place the medium and one of the colour panels together under the thermal printing head whose dimension matches the shorter width of the medium. The small heating elements located on the head rapidly change the temperature and the amount of dye applied depends on the heat used. The dye is heated to its gaseous form which in turn becomes solid on the medium used.
After the first colour is laid onto the medium, the ribbon then rewinds on to the next set of colour and the medium is ejected partially from the machine to prepare it for the next round of colour. This process is repeated four times with the final cycle being the laminate applied to the top of the photo. The laminate protects the dye from resublimating when taken hold of or during conditions that are warm.
If you will compare an inkjet printer to a dye sublimation photo printer, you will notice that the latter uses continuous-tone technology. This means that each dot can basically be any colour. In the case of inkjet printers the size and location of the ink droplets may vary but the colour is limited only to the colour of the cartridge attached to the printer. In dye sublimation photo printer, the colour is exactly the same as the tones that appear on a chemical photograph. Another advantage of the dye sublimation photo printer is that you can handle the photos immediately unlike in the case of inkjet printers. Since there is no liquid stage in the printing process, the end result is quite clean. This is one of the advantages that are in favour of the dye sublimation photo printer.
On the other hand, the disadvantage of the dye sublimation photo printer is that the coloured panels and the thermal head should be the same size as the medium. Also since the dye is turned to gas, the quality of the photo is not crisp. This is true for graphics that are printed because they come out blurred but for photos they are suitable.
