How Does Humidity Affect Sublimation Transfer Papers?
Do you know why the instruction manual that comes with sublimation transfer papers also specifies the humidity levels it should be stored at? Specifying humidity levels for paper storage hardly makes any sense, other than giving an impression that you must be using a high-end product. But the matter of fact is there’s indeed a link between the performance of a transfer paper and the humidity levels it is exposed to (stored at). 1. What humidity does to a transfer paper? A sublimation paper can absorb and retain an enormous amount of moisture. It’s like a sponge. The problem is that if it absorbs moisture in excess, at the time of printing, the trapped moisture in the transfer paper can flash to steam and blow away the ink from its target area. This can result in printing artifacts such as color shifting, uneven transfer and bleeding of the image. Therefore, manufacturers specify optimum humidity levels for transfer paper storage so that the paper doesn’t absorb moisture in ex...