Customized dog tags are nice giveaway presents for parties and special events. You can make your very own custom dog tags with color sublimation by using a dye sublimation printer and a heat press. The process is quite simple if you have the right equipment. You can do this for weddings, birthdays and even for your own personal use. Find out how to make custom dog tags with color sublimation by following the steps provided below.
- Materials that you need. The materials that you need are plain dog tags, the image that you want to print on the dog tag a dye sublimation printer and a heat press. You also need a photo editing application in your computer so that you can alter the size and resolution of the photo that you want printed on the dog tag. While preparing your materials, you can set up the heat press and set it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare the photo. Prepare the photo or logo that you want to print on the dog tags. To do this, launch the photo editing software on your computer and open the file that you want. Resize the image that you want to 30 mm x 50 mm. This is the size that you need so that it can fit on a standard sized dog tag. Next, change the resolution of the image to 300 dpi. Save the image that you have created.
- Print the images. Transfer the images that you have created to a blank document. Open up a new document and copy and paste the image that you prepared earlier or drag it to the blank screen. Make sure that the images have spaces between them so that you can cut them easily and transfer them to the dog tag. Before you print, go to the printing properties and choose the option for ‘mirror image’ printing. This is important since you will be sticking it on the dog tag. If you don’t do this, the image will be inverted. You can now print the images.
- Cut out the images. Cut out the images but leave an allowance at the sides for easier handling. You can cut them up individually.
- Print the image on the dog tags. Place the cut out images on the heat press and put the dog tags over them. Make sure that the image is within the dog tag so that it comes out complete. Afterward, cut out a sheet of wax paper and put them on top of the dog tags. This will protect your dog tags. Press on the heat press for about 30 to 40 seconds to transfer the image to the dog tags.
- Allow the dog tags to cool. Remove the dog tags from the heat press when done printing. You can use work gloves when doing this since the dog tags will be extremely hot. Allow them to cool for a bit and then remove the wax paper. Now you have some dog tags printed with color sublimation.
Use them as bag tags, key chains or accessories that you can wear.