I threw a piece of Proofgrade plywood into my heat press and it seemed to take a sublimation transfer well. Is there any reason I shouldn’t do this? Any durability concerns?
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Pic?
No idea about your question unfortunately.
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Was there warping? I put some wood in my heat press and sometimes it warps.
I’ve done this before and it works Ok.
Here are a few observations…
Yes, sometimes some types of plywood warp a bit. If you fiddle with the time and temperature you’re using in the heat press you can reduce that. I also weigh down the plywood until it cools, which also helps a bit.
The resulting ink on the plywood transfers much better if the plywood is very smooth. I give it a quick fine sanding, clean off the dust, and it’s good to go.
The colors will be muted since it’s being transferred to a non-white base surface. Someone recommended that I apply a paint white wash to the plywood first, but I haven’t tried that yet.
Also, the sublimation ink WILL come off if rubbed with isopropyl alcohol, which I learned while removing soot marks. I can just mask the wood instead to eliminate soot issues.
Here’s a photo of an untreated sublimated plywood experiment I tried recently. Go ALL the way to the bottom of my post to see it (aka “Fancy Plywood 3.0”
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makes me wonder if PG maybe isn’t the best medium, since it’s already finished. but you could sublimate on non-finished plywood and then put a finish on it that would protect the surface.
not that i’d expect your final wood product is going to come into contact w/alcohol, but…
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Yes, you’re right. I do always end up putting a quick spray of clear-coat on sublimated wood.
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The sublimation could/might fade in time. The key to sublimation printing is the bonding of the ink as it gasses out to the polyester. I have successfully sublimated to both clear and white acrylic, but both material show the colors to be muted as the bonding is not as strong as to polyester. I have thought about trying HDPE, but it melts so easily that I haven’t.
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You had me worried, since I’m getting good results with both Proofgrade plywood, and plywood I’ve pre-treated with sanding sealer or polycrylic.
I rubbed the sublimated PG ply with isopropyl alcohol and it didn’t remove the ink from the finished wood. I also tried really working it with an alcohol prep pad, that didn’t remove the ink either.
Was that only unfinished wood you sublimated that didn’t hold the ink when cleaned?
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I sublimated on to unfinished non-PG plywood for this experiment. Sorry to startle you! 
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