Custom tablecloths are a common sight in corporate events. But have you ever wondered why some table covers are frayed and spot a hopelessly gloomy logo while others are pristine and delightfully colorful?
Well, the answer is in dye-sublimation printing.
This process ensures that the colors of your custom printed tablecloth pop out and don’t fade, even after many uses or washes. If you're looking for a high-quality custom tablecloth with your logo on it, then dye-sublimation can provide you with just what you need.
We’ll tell you everything you need to know about this exceptional process, including its benefits and why it should be your go-to option for the next exhibition.
What is Dye Sublimation Printing?
It sure is a mouthful and sounds like a complex industrial process, but it's simpler than you'd think.
Also known as digital sublimation, the process simply involves printing the image on a unique paper and then transferring it onto the substrate, or logo tablecloth in our case, using intense heat to ensure the color and design are fully embedded.
Here is the step-by-step process:
- Design the logo on a computer.
- Print it onto a special transfer paper using sublimation inks.
- Place it on your stretch tablecloth and using a heat press, apply pressure to transfer the ink to the cloth.
- Finally, remove it from the press, peel the transfer paper away to reveal a vibrant picture.
Note that with digital sublimation, the colors are ingrained on the tablecloth, unlike other methods which only print the image on the surface.
This short video further explains the process:
What are the Benefits of Dye Sublimation?
The demand for dye-sub has steadily increased with experts predicting an industry growth rate of 10.7% from 2020 to 2025.
Why are companies embracing this fairly new digital printing technology for their promotional products?
Here are some reasons:
High-Quality Images
Polyester Table Cover - Front Panel Print
Corporate events, such as trade shows, provide an excellent opportunity to showcase your brand.
Your competitors, just like you, will put their best foot forward to attract potential customers. Having a branded vibrant, visible booth with an eye-catching logo manned by cheerful attendants is an effortless way to promote your business.
Where dye-sublimation truly shines is in the unmatched crisp, vivid, and bright images that it produces.
Whether your logo is a simple monochrome or has an intricate design with a riot of colors, it will give you the perfect print job with a replica of the original.
How?
We use the four-color printing process (CMYK) that combines Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (black) to give you nearly countless shades that reproduce full-color table covers.
Digital sublimation will capture even the finest details and hack the fieriest logo to give you a realistic image.
Other printing options might give you a blotchy and smudged design because of:
- Uneven transfer to the tablecloth
- Color shifting causing inaccurate color-patterns
Durability
When it comes to buying a custom tablecloth, you want to choose a long-lasting one that will serve as a crowd-puller in your regular corporate events.
Now, imagine fishing out your new tablecloth from last season's trade show only to find it faded and wrinkled. Even worse, one round in the washing machine and your pristine material is ruined by all the bleeding colors.
With digital sublimation, your tablecloth will always look as good as new, ready to echo your brand's name in marketing campaigns.
Since the ink binds to the material rather than sitting on top, it's nearly impossible for any of the colors or designs to wash off during the cleaning process. This ensures your tablecloth retains its original vibrant appearance.
Quick Turn-Around Time
There's nothing nerve-wracking for an event planner like not receiving your promotional materials on time and in good condition. When planning for an event, you want to have all your goodies with you beforehand.
Dye-sub has a quick setup process that enables reproducing all the colors at once. In addition, if the printer doesn’t get the design the first time, it’s easy to correct and produce a new transfer paper quickly. This ensures your personalized tablecloth is ready in record time.
In comparison, alternatives like screen printing have a complex setup process that could be painfully slow, especially if you’re in a time crunch. This is because each color is applied individually so if your design is multicolored, the printer would need to set up each shade in a stencil screen, then ensure they’re all aligned before setting to print.
At MVP Visuals, our reputation for timely delivery of high-quality custom table covers precedes us.
And get this: If we fail to deliver your tablecloth on time, we’ll make your order free and refund you within 24 hours.
Here’s what one of our happy clients had to say:
Cost-Efficient for Low Volume Orders
You won’t need tens of custom tablecloths as you’ll probably have only one stand with limited space in a trade show.
What you’ll need is an inviting custom trade show tablecloth with logo with a dazzling design that will draw potential customers to you. You also don’t want to splash your marketing budget on the printing costs.
In this case, digital sublimation will be perfect for printing low-volume orders while keeping your costs down. Since the setup is fast and easy, there’s no minimum order required to ensure the print shop breaks even.
In contrast, screen printing works best for large orders. Considering the time taken in setting up one print job, it would be unprofitable to take on small orders.
Dye-Sublimation vs Screen Printing
While we've made a case for dye-sublimation, you've likely come across other methods and you're wondering how they compare.
The other most common method used to design logo tablecloths is screen printing.
Screen printing is a process that prints ink on the substrate by using screens with the desired design. The screen has openings of different sizes, which determine how much ink will be deposited on the garment's surface.
Although dye-sub is superior to screen printing, sometimes screen printing is ideal.
Here’s a table with a quick comparison of the two:
| Feature | Dye-Sublimation | Screen Printing |
| Creativity | Allows for complex, multi-colored designs | Best for one-color designs |
| Image Quality | High-definition with vivid images | It may have inferior quality with an uneven transfer if the print is unaligned |
| Durability | Long-lasting as it embeds the image onto the tablecloth fibers | The image is likely to fade, bleed, or crack when washed or exposed to sunlight since it’s only printed on the surface of the tablecloth |
| Substrate | Works best on polyester or material treated with polymer The fabric should be white or light-colored for best results | Can work on almost every type of material with a flat surface It has no limitations on the fabric’s color |
| Ease of setup | Easy to set up with quick delivery time | Complex setup process |
| Order Volume | Preferable for complex orders in small batches | Best for simple bulk orders |
| Cost | Pricier than screen-printing due to the customization and high image quality for intricate designs | Cheaper than dye-sublimation for large orders with simple designs |
Here’s a video presentation comparing the two printing methods:
Get Your Custom Table Cover at MVP Visuals
At MVP Visuals, we’ve been helping businesses like yours to attract their customers' attention by offering dazzling custom displays for over 15 years.
Here are some companies we’ve worked with, from industry giants to evolutionary start-ups, to help make their corporate events memorable.
Here’s some more proof of our game-changing props from our client’s, Perfect Bar, success story.
We delivered a whopping 67 custom tablecloths—complete with personalized table sizes and 360-degree full dye-sublimation print—and 12 custom pop-up tents for their countrywide brand activation.
"The table covers and tents are all across the country now and they look great," said Brand Manager Lisa Parady. "Our team is thrilled as our new Perfect Bar brand visual identity comes to life at these in-store demonstrations."
You’re sure to get a custom printed tablecloth with logo that fits your needs because they come in:
- A variety of styles — throws, fitted, back panel(open or closed), and convertible
- Several print options — front panel print, all-over print, or 1-color front panel print
Ready to get started?
Call us on (800) 980-6871 and we’ll assign you a dedicated designer to work with you from start to finish.
Or, get a quick quote and find out how much your custom table cover will cost.
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