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Dye Sublimation Printing for Snow Globes

Using Dye Sublimation Printing for the Decorations in a Snow Globe

I would like to make snow globes (I live in Minneapolis after all) that have photographic images on the building in the liquid of the globe.

What "printing" process would stand up to that environment?

Reverse image dye sublimation sounds good but I can't find information about the permanence of such images in "liquid" nor a possible local business that could do the transfer.

Thank you.

Sandra

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If you haven’t already, read my response to Marion’s dye sublimation question. I think you are correct that dye sublimation is the only transfer technology currently available that could withstand the environment you have in mind.

However, there are several considerations that may make your project unfeasible. In order for hard surfaces to accept the sublimation ink, they must have a special dip plastic coating which is factory applied. This is an extremely durable surface that affords great resistance to salt, sea, sand and sun.

This means you could not have dye sublimation printing applied to your tiny buildings, unless by some weird coincidence they have a dip plastic coating. They would also need to have a form that conforms to one of the dye sublimation heat press styles. The most likely fit would be a flat bed heat press.

There are heat presses designed for applying dye sublimated artwork to coffee mugs, beer steins, baseball caps and flat objects. A tight fit is imperative. During the heat application process, every pixel of the artwork must be in direct contact with the surface you want to transfer to.

There is one possibility. You could “construct” your own tiny buildings out of dip coated plastic. BestBlanks.com sells blank name tags (1 inch by 3 inches) as well as large sheets of plastic.

You would need to locate a dye sub printing company in your area that has a flat bed heat press.

Look for businesses that print promotional items for corporations or that print pictures on mugs and tee-shirts. Talk to their technical people to see if they have a flat bed press and would print your artwork (the four sides and roof of a building) onto a dip plastic coated sheet.

You would then need to cut the tiny pieces apart and glue them to form the building using silicone glue. Another suggestion would be to do a two-dimensional building or group of buildings to depict a skyline.

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