by Melissa Donovan
Wide format dye-sublimation (dye-sub) printing is used for a number of applications, including but not limited to soft signage and garments. Both transfer and direct sublimation methods are popular among print service providers (PSPs). According to Grand View Research’s Dye-Sublimation Printing Market Size, Industry Report, 2030, the global dye-sub printing market size was estimated at USD 16.4 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.3 percent from 2025 to 2030. The revenue forecasted in 2024 is set to reach USD 28 billion in 2030.
Above: Epson’s SureColor F9570 offers advanced dye-sub transfer printing for fashion apparel.
The report goes on to state that dye-sub is primarily driven by rising demand for customized textiles, the growth of ecommerce, and an increasing shift toward sustainable production methods.
Rapid Adoption
Interest in and ultimately implementation of dye-sub printing continues to grow.
“Wide format, dye-sub printers in the U.S. are being adopted at a steady rate according to mainstream analysts; the market is seeing the most growth and uptake in on-demand production models focused on optimized workflows. U.S. ecommerce, apparel mass customization, and the demand for faster turnaround align perfectly with dye-sub printing and drive the market,” admits Victoria Nelson Harris, senior textile specialist – NA, Mimaki USA, Inc.
Lily Hunter, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc., believes growth is being propelled by two significant shifts. “First, there has been a shift from in-store to online purchasing. As such, buyers have significantly more options and customization in products, including apparel, décor, and gift items such as blankets. Dye-sub enables designers to create and sell unique designs on a made-to-order basis. To meet the increasing demand, more wide format print shops are bringing dye-sub printing in house to better control print quality, lead times, turnaround times, and customer satisfaction, further fueling market growth.”
Hunter says the second shift involves moving from global and regional suppliers in response to ongoing shipping and supply constraints. “Regional print shops that installed dye-sub technology a few years ago, during the height of supply chain constraints, are now realizing its full potential and recognizing its expansive capabilities. With its vast output versatility, low maintenance requirements, and positive environmental impact, print shops are grasping how implementing dye-sub can significantly enhance their business operations and increase their return on investment.”
Mike Syverson, textile manager, North America, Durst Image Technology US, LLC, says growth in particular is seen in print shops looking to expand with larger, more efficient systems—especially those that feature inline sublimation.
“The demand in the ten-foot or 3.2-meter segment remains solid, and over the past year, we have seen strong interest in the 16-foot or five-meter space in the European market, a trend now building in North America. Innovations like inline sublimation make this a more attractive investment as these new platforms improve workflow, save energy, and reduce labor by combining printing and sublimation into a single process,” explains Syverson.
Tony Simmering, product manager, Mutoh America Inc, points out that “with the advent of direct to garment, direct to film, and other print technologies that allow the print provider more options, dye-sub in many respects has slowed growth in areas such as t-shirts, but increasingly grown in others, namely silicone edge graphics (SEG).”
The soft signage sector plays a pivotal role in dye-sub’s growth. “The decade is forecasted to see growth around ten percent or more. The demand for larger displays, higher output speeds, and sustainable products have all brought more PSPs to the place where insourcing these products makes the most sense now than ever before. In certain areas of the country, growth has exceeded 12 to 13 percent,” shares Steve LaMarsh, director, Display Source, Inc.
Active Hesitation
There is always an argument for why not to implement a certain technology. For dye-sub it might be that color management is too challenging between different fabrics, or the fabrics and/or transfer paper might be to confusing when determining which to choose. Perhaps the finishing component presents difficulties.
Printing to “textiles can be intimidating to those who are accustomed to years of producing rigid substrates or other media. The concerns of wasted materials through reprints and missed deadlines keeps some owners on the sidelines,” admits LaMarsh.
Whatever the hesitation, manufacturers address them head on with the newest technologies. “Technology has removed many of obstacles that once kept newcomers from entering the market. If you’re just starting, partner with your printer manufacturer and paper/textile suppliers—they’ll help you match inks, papers, and fabrics to your application for the best results,” suggests Nelson Harris.
Hitting brand colors on textiles does require skill. “Today, RIP software and integrated color profiling tools make color calibration far more intuitive and repeatable. That being said, skilled workers are still a necessary part of the equation because even with integrated color profiling tools, it’s still a skill and needs to be considered for every material change,” admit Peter Casasanto, Eastern regional sales manager, and Tara Lamb, president, Global Imaging.
Color management is addressed with tools like spectrophotometers, suggests Hunter. “These support a color management workflow by creating color profiles and verifying and calibrating color, to helping print shops save time and resources by avoiding reprints due to inaccuracies.”
Color management as well as material selection, argues Syverson, has become far more manageable. “The process for color management is largely the same as with other technologies like UV, and choosing the right fabrics has become much easier with fabric suppliers now offering recommendations for specific applications.”
“Fabric and transfer paper options and combinations are a new set of considerations for many production managers and it can feel overwhelming. Having a good partner to help educate and train on not just equipment use, but material selection and standardizing material offerings, is clutch,” share Casasanto and Lamb.
Syverson believes that the primary hesitation for many print providers lies with finishing. “Sizing jobs for SEG frames, as well as the cutting and sewing of the final product, have a higher learning curve than other print methods.”
While dye-sub “is growing quickly, requiring more printers to be ordered and put into production, the only impediment seems to be the unavailability of quality sewing personnel to go along with the growth of the market requirements,” attests Steve Aranoff, chief business development officer, FASTSEWN dba Mikkelsen Innovation ApS.
However, entry into sewing is easier than ever before with automated devices.
Display Source distributes the Meevo Event SEAS 6C automated stitching system. The SEAS or silicone edge automated stitching system joins and stitches textile panels with speed and precision. The 6C model features a longer alignment area, which is ideal for handling oversized textiles. Anyone can achieve professional results without being a sewing specialist, boosting productivity up to 25 percent on over two-meter panels.
FASTSEWN offers a patented technology that uses a moving cavity, which allows for lockstitch sewing on a flatbed table fed by one or more rolls of textile. “Here, instead of moving the textile under a needle after cutting to shape, the system sews any CNC pattern directly on the flatbed and then cuts to the pattern’s shape. This level of automation significantly reduces the number of sewing personnel, minimizes manual handling of textiles and re-calibrating after being cut, all while improving quality,” explains Aranoff.
“Full automation has come to the finishing department for SEGs like no other time in the product’s history. We’ve seen companies introduce fully automated stitching to the fabric department where an unskilled operator can actually learn the basics to operate a machine to sew and finish SEG panels in as little as one day. The required skill set is no longer that of a seamstress—but rather a fabric material handler,” notes LaMarsh.
Another challenge—especially when fixation isn’t included in the physical printer—is the heat press, according to Hunter. “While these machines require time and training to master, the investment pays off. The investment in a heat fixation system will last for many years, possibly decades, and does not require frequent updates.”
“A ton of factors can cause hesitation. I believe a large part is lack of institutional knowledge on many items. Finding the right paper, the right press, what fabric or polyester coated rigid item works the best for the application, what inks give the best characteristics for the job—such as fluorescents or outdoor, etc,” adds Simmering.
Speed Up
While the speeds of today’s wide format printers far surpass their predecessors, analog technologies that print to textiles still achieve efficiencies that outperform digital print. However, the advantages digital print provides—customization, versatility, high quality—outweigh any speed concerns.
“Speed is always top of mind. Today’s wide format dye-sub printers typically produce anywhere from 200 to 4,000-plus square feet per hour (sf/h), depending on the model and resolution. That’s competitive with analog screen printing in many applications, with the added flexibility of digital production,” admit Casasanto and Lamb.
Hunter points out, where digital print excels is smaller, highly customized orders—limited production runs, short retail cycles, or seasonal releases. “Although analog printers remain faster for mass production orders, they are less efficient for small runs. They cannot produce one-off personalized items, nor replicate the detailed gradients and fine imagery produced with digital dye-sub.”
“While single-pass digital printer speeds now rival rotary, digital overall still represents only about five present of total textile print volume. Most U.S. dye-sub adopters are multi-pass printers operating at under 800 sf/h,” notes Nelson Harris.
A great example is Mutoh’s XPJ-1642WR Pro. Simmering says its 500 sf/h speed for textile work is ideal for small-to-medium capacity print providers that do work for customers like school gear/jerseys and promotional products.
“Manufacturers continue to push speed with wider printheads, adding additional printheads, and developing more inline fixation systems that streamline transfer and finishing. The goal is reducing touches in the workflow, effectively reducing total production time versus just increasing print speeds,” share Casasanto and Lamb.
And truly, as Syverson points out, digital dye-sub systems do promote efficiency. For example, Durst’s P5 TEX iSUB printer includes inline sublimation—making the time consuming, separate transfer step obsolete, and allows for graphics to be produced at 1,400 sf/h.
Take Away Advantages
Implementing wide format dye-sub is advantageous to a print shop. It allows the business to expand into more offerings and provide customers with trending applications to promote their own goods and services.
According to Nelson Harris, “dye-sub is a straightforward workflow with broad, high-margin applications—great for building multiple revenue streams.”
“By bringing the capability in house, shops can significantly expand product offerings and capture new business. Dye-sub opens the door to an array of high-margin applications, including soft signage, backlit displays, trade show graphics, flags, retail graphics, and décor. This allows a print provider to better serve their existing clients and meet the growing demand for fabric-based solutions,” shares Syverson.
On the consumer side, Hunter says popular applications include apparel, ranging from t-shirts and hoodies to accessories such as scarves, socks, and tote bags; as well as home décor, including blankets and throw pillows, curtains, and wall art.
“Keeping everything in house eliminates the risk of sending customers to a competitor. Even if dye-sub isn’t the highest margin service, its value in strengthening customer loyalty and retention is significant,” suggest Casasanto and Lamb.
Simmering believes dye-sub print providers are a different breed. “In that the entire process, from ink chemistry, pressing, finishing, and the like are much different from other digital methods like UV LED and eco-solvent. The advantage is that you get a product that lasts an extreme amount of time, is easy to clean, and allows for short-run, fully customizable work.”
Working with Dye-Sub
Dye-sub printing continues to meet the needs of short-run, customized projects whether it be a trade show graphic or tote bag. PSPs taking advantage of the technology by bringing it in house are poised to benefit, especially as challenges like color management, material selection, sewing, and heat presses continue to be addressed with new products and solutions.
Nov2025, Digital Output Magazine
