Lots of companies out there offer Dye Sublimation (Dye Sub) printing of marquees/gazebos and pit tents. Some Marquee suppliers offer products for inexperienced buyers causing them to pay more than they should. for cheap Dye Sub printing because you can’t tell your printing is good quality or poor quality when you pick it up. All marquee printing looks good when new.
PVC Printed marquees are not sensible choices for marquee printing, as there are many problems with PVC material in terms of folding and unfolding when cold, print adhesions during folding and they are so much heavier, and they can be scratched and damaged as a result of folding and transport. They are old technology and should not be considered on par with high quality Dye sub printing for durability and ease/convenience of use.
How can you tell the difference ?
Dye Sublimation printing can be done in ways that can deceive the average purchaser. Marquee companies who offer Dye Sub printing, that is done by cheap techniques are not helping the industry, and are typically here for a short time, to profit from a sale, and not provide ongoing support for their product.
ONCE YOU USE YOUR MARQUEE IN THE OUTDOORS, ON SEVERAL SUNNY DAYS, AND THE PRINTING STARTS TO FADE AND THE BLACKS TURN INTO PURPLE, YOU KNOW YOU HAVE CHEAP PRINTING.
Companies who offer Dye Sub printing, with a minimum of a 12-month warranty, and have a track record of delivering quality are your safest bet for a marquee purchase with printing. We call this Premium Printing, as its needs to be differentiated from the cheapy junk done by some companies using cheap ink-jet printers.
If you don’t get a Warranty with your marquee printing, that is guaranteed to replace your printing if it fades during the warranty period, then you will have paid too much, and you may need to replace your printing within 3 months after several uses of your marquee in the outdoors.
Examples of cheap printing:
What does Good Quality Printing look like ?
This is a 2 year old marquee with Dye Sub roof and wall printing. Its used approximately every 2 weeks mainly in Victoria and sometimes in Queensland at special events.
The marquee is an example of Premium Dye Sub printing and shows great colour vibrancy, even after the considerable outdoor use its had.Its used by a club, so it gets a tough life, and it still looks this good.
In Summary:
Its best to summarise this for you, with a simple categorisation of the different types of Dye Sub printing, you can get. This will let you spot the “cheapy” and only pay for what you are getting.
- Cheapy Printing: This is where the majority of printing offers from other companies fit in. Especially the ones that offer printing at very cheap prices. You definitely don’t get a printing warranty with these suppliers ( and they hope you don’t ask ). This ink costs a lot less, the printing appearance looks ok sometimes, but usually washed out and you should be paying a lot less for your Cheapy Dye Sub printing as a result. If you are not paying a lot less than the next category of Dye Sub ( Regular or Premium printing), then that tells you a lot about your supplier. Simply, you should look for another supplier. We at Mountain Shade DO NOT offer this type of printing.
- Regular Printing: This is a category we as Mountain Shade have introduced for the budget conscious buyer out there who still wants quality. This ink costs less than Premium but isn’t good enough for a Printing warranty but is a good middle of the range quality product and costs less than Premium printing. If you are not paying less than the next category of Dye Sub ( Premium printing), then that tells you a lot about your supplier. Simply, you should look for another supplier. We at Mountain Shade offer this type of printing now ( we didnt in the past), as the lower price is attractive for people on a budget and we advise you its Regular Printing and have it at a lower price.
- Premium Printing. This is the good stuff. If you want your Dye Sub marquee roof/walls/ teardrop flag etc to look good in the outdoors for a longer time, and not have to replace them every few months, this is what you need. Premium dye sub-printing uses very expensive UV stabilised inks and requires very expensive print machinery and more expensive fabric’s than Regular printing. The result is a great looking product, that looks great for a lot longer (usually more than the warranty period if used as per manufacturer guidelines), and thus a better return on investment. Premium Printing does cost more than Regular printing, but the Not to Fade Warranty and heavier fabric tells you its better value.
Do the right thing for your company and ask for the type of printing for your marquees, gazebos and pit tents. It will save you money, look better and make your company look more professional.