Sublimation

Sublimation Tee Manufacturer

Edge-to-edge, seam-to-seam prints that won’t crack or fade dye-sublimated into polyester for photographic, full-coverage designs at brand volume.

Fabric Polyester / high-poly

Print Dye-sublimation

Coverage Edge-to-edge (cut & sew)

Durability No crack, no fade

Sampling 10–14 days

Get a quote Request a sample

Send panel files or a repeating tile. We map it to the cutting pattern and return a digital mock with your quote.

Print, then cut

Panels printed flat, then cut and sewn

Sleeves and sides

Artwork runs across the whole garment

Mock + strike-off

Color, scale, and placement approved first

No crack, no fade

Dye bonds inside the fabric

All-over

Photographic

Pattern

Gradient

The All-Over Print Factory-Floor Brief

Why real all-over is a cut-and-sew job, not a printing one

‘All-over print’ gets promised loosely, and buyers get burned when a supposedly seam-to-seam design turns out to be an oversized front print with blank sleeves and sides. Genuine all-over coverage is a different manufacturing process entirely: the fabric is printed flat in panels first, then cut and sewn so the artwork runs unbroken across the whole garment, sleeves and sides included.

That print-then-cut sequence is what separates real all-over from a big front hit, and it’s why all-over is quoted as cut-and-sew decoration rather than simple printing. This brief explains the process, the fabric it requires, why sublimation doesn’t work on cotton, how seams join, and what your artwork needs to be set up correctly.

Inside: how all-over coverage is built, the build sheet, base fabrics, placement vs. full all-over pricing, artwork setup, volume pricing, and buyer FAQs.

Built for brands

Who we make sublimation tees for

Sublimation does one thing no other method can: full, photographic color on every inch of the tee. These brands need exactly that.

Sports teams and esports

Full-color kit on a performance knit, with color that won’t crack or fade through training and washing. The classic use for sublimation.

Private label with Gibben

All-over streetwear brands

Repeating patterns, photographic prints, and gradients that run across the sleeves and sides. The kind of tee that can’t be faked with a front print.

All T-shirt styles we make

Events, runs, and campaigns

Bold, full-coverage artwork that reads from across a crowd, on a light polyester tee that stays comfortable all day.

How low-MOQ production works

How It Works

True seam-to-seam coverage

For genuine seam-to-seam coverage, panels are printed flat first, then cut and sewn so the design runs unbroken across the whole garment, including sleeves and sides. That print-then-cut sequence is what separates real all-over from oversized front prints, and it’s why all-over is quoted as cut-and-sew decoration, not just printing.

Sublimation bonds into polyester fibres, so it works on poly and high-poly blends not on 100% cotton. We’ll advise the right base for your artwork.

Side by side

True all-over vs. an “all-over” that isn’t

Two tees can both be sold as all-over print. Only one is built that way. Here’s how to tell before you pay.

Detail	Oversized front print	Gibben true all-over
How it’s made	A big print pressed onto a finished tee	Panels printed flat, then cut and sewn
Sleeves and sides	Left blank	Printed, with the design running across them
Edges of the print	A visible border where the print stops	Artwork runs to the seams
Durability	Can crack or peel if it’s a transfer or heavy ink	Dye bonds inside the fiber, so it won’t crack or peel
Artwork placement	Wherever the press lands it	Mapped to the cutting pattern so features land where they should
Seam joins	Not an issue, because nothing crosses a seam	Shown honestly on your PP sample before bulk

The word “seamless” is where disputes start

No cut-and-sew process can promise perfect pattern alignment at every seam. Fabric stretches, and panels shift a hair. A factory that promises “seamless” to win your order is setting you up for a rejected bulk run. We show you exactly how the joins land on your sample, so the delivery matches what you signed off.

Technical Specification

The build sheet under the print

Fabric Polyester / high-poly

Print Dye-sublimation

Coverage Edge-to-edge (cut & sew)

Durability No crack, no fade

Resolution Photographic

Why Polyester

The fibre chemistry that decides everything

Bonds into poly

Sublimation dye turns to gas and bonds inside the polyester fiber so the color is part of the fabric, not sitting on top. That’s why it never cracks or peels.

Needs a light base

The ink is transparent and needs a white or light base to show true color. Dark areas in your design are printed, not dyed fabric.

Poly-cotton reads faded

On blends, the print takes a softer, vintage-faded look proportional to poly content,, a deliberate aesthetic some brands want.

Fabric & Options

Bases & coverage

Poly jersey Poly-cotton Performance knit Recycled poly Placement print Full all-over

Which base suits your artwork

Base	How the print looks	Best for
Poly jersey	The brightest, sharpest color	Photographic prints and bold all-over designs
Poly-cotton	Softer and vintage-faded, depending on poly content	Brands that want a lived-in look and a softer hand
Performance knit	Bright color on a technical fabric	Team kit, training wear, and events
Recycled poly	Full sublimation color on a recycled base	Brands with sustainability goals

Placement print or full all-over?

Placement print

What it is:
A sublimated panel on a defined area, such as the front or back.

Choose it when:
You want photographic color on part of the tee, not every inch.

Cost:
Lower, because less of the garment is printed and mapped.

True seam-to-seam

Full all-over

What it is:
Every panel is printed flat, then cut and sewn, with sleeves and sides included.

Choose it when:
The artwork is the whole garment.

Cost:
Higher, because it’s quoted as cut-and-sew decoration.

From our floor in Sialkot

What we see on the line that a spec sheet won’t tell you

The moment that tells you all-over is a sewing job, not a printing job, is when a printed panel hits the cutting table. The artwork has to be mapped to the cutting pattern so the design lands where it should on the finished garment. Get the mapping wrong, and a feature ends up in the armpit.

Seams are where honesty matters. On a full all-over build, the print continues across side seams and sleeves, but perfect pattern alignment at every single seam has physical limits: fabric stretches, panels shift a hair. Wstretches, anders exactly how joins land on the PP sample rather than promising a seamlessness that no cut-and-sew process can fully guarantee.

That upfront honesty is the point. A brand that sees the real seam behavior on the sample signs off knowing what it’s getting and doesn’t reject a bulk run over a limit that was always going to be there.

Artwork Setup

How to hand off files that work

Send print-ready panel files or a repeating pattern tile at 150–300 dpi actual size. We map it to the cutting pattern and return a full digital mock plus a printed strike-off before bulk production, so color, scale, and placement are all approved on the real thing first.

Panel files Repeating tile Pantone-guided Digital mock Printed strike-off

Artwork that maps well to a cut-and-sew tee

Works well

Files at 150-300 dpi at actual print size
Repeating tiles with edges that join cleanly
Artwork that runs past the panel edges, so nothing ends short at a seam
Pantone references for colors that must match
Faces, logos, and text kept clear of side seams and armpits

We’ll flag

Low-resolution images that blur at full size
Key details sitting right on a seam line
Straight lines that must align perfectly across every seam
Large dark areas, where a hint of the white base can show at stretched seams
Pale colors expected to read bold on a blend

MOQ & Pricing Tiers

Where the volume math turns in your favour

Unit price steps down as quantity rises same fabric, same QC, better economics. Split runs and reorders keep your earned tier.

Quantity / style	Indicative unit price
100–198	Base
200–598	−1%
600–998	−2%
1,000–1,998	−3%
2,000+	−4%

Planning your drop

On a sublimation tee, every colorway is just artwork

The base fabric is white or light, and the color comes from the print. That makes variety much easier to plan than on a dyed tee.

No dye lots

A new colorway is a new file, not a new fabric order.

Split the run

Spread one style across designs or colorways. Split runs keep your earned tier.

Reorder from the file

Your approved artwork and mapping are ready for the next run.

Lead Times & Compliance

Timeline, QC and the standards behind them

Sampling 10-14 days Bulk 4-6 weeks FOB / DDP Sea / air freight Print check at QC

Why all-over takes longer, and how to plan for it

Mapping, printing flat, and then cutting and sewing add steps a plain tee doesn’t have. Here’s the full path, assuming one sampling round.

Stage	By air	By sea
Digital mock, strike-off, and PP sample	10-14 days	10-14 days
Print, cut, sew, and QC	4-6 weeks	4-6 weeks
Shipping	5-12 days	25-40 days
Stock in hand	About 6-10 weeks	About 9-14 weeks

Size & Fit

Regular fit (cm)

Size	Chest	Length
S	52	70
M	55	72
L	58	74
XL	61	76

Customizable to your tech pack.

Proof

What this looks like on a real run

All-over · photographic panel print

A seam-to-seam design signed off before a rejection could happen

A brand wanted a photographic all-over across the full garment and had been quoted ‘seamless’ elsewhere, a promise that would have failed at the side seams and triggered a dispute.

We mapped the artwork to the cutting pattern, showed exactly how the joins landed on the PP sample, and got sign-off on the real seam behavior before bulk. The delivery matched the approved sample because the sample told the truth.

Full

Seam-to-seam coverage

300

units

0

Seam disputes

FAQ Sublimation

Buyer questions, answered straight

Can you sublimate onto cotton?

No. Sublimation dye bonds inside polyester fibers, so it works on poly and high-poly blends, not 100% cotton. On poly-cotton blends the print takes a softer, vintage-faded look. For a cotton tee, we’ll recommend a different print method.

Does the print run across the seams?

On a full all-over build, yes. Panels are printed flat, then cut and sewn, so the artwork continues across side seams and sleeves. Perfect alignment at every seam has physical limits, so we show you exactly how the joins land on your PP sample.

Placement print vs full all-over cost difference?

A placement print sublimates a defined area, like the front or back, so it costs less. Full all-over prints on every panel before cutting and sewing, so it’s quoted as cut-and-sew decoration and costs more. Send your artwork and we’ll quote both.

Why do all-over tees have a white base fabric?

Sublimation ink is transparent, so it needs a white or light base to show true color. Dark areas in your design are printed onto that base, not dyed into the fabric.

Does polyester feel cheap?

Not the right polyester. Poly jersey, performance knit, and poly-cotton each have a different hand, and poly-cotton feels softest. You approve the fabric on your strike-off and PP sample before bulk.

How should I set up all-over artwork?

Send print-ready panel files or a repeating pattern tile at 150-300 dpi at actual size, with Pantone references for key colors. We map it to the cutting pattern and return a digital mock and a printed strike-off before bulk.

Will the print crack, peel or fade?

No. The dye bonds inside the polyester fiber, so the color is part of the fabric, not a layer on top. There’s nothing to crack or peel.

Can you make sublimated tees for a sports team?

Yes. Performance knit is one of our bases, and full-color sublimation is ideal for team kits that go through hard training and frequent washing.

Can I use recycled polyester?

Yes. Recycled poly is available and takes full sublimation color, for brands with sustainability goals.

Can my design have a black background?

Yes. Dark areas are printed onto the white base. At stretched seams a hint of white can show, so we flag dark-heavy designs and show you the result on your sample.