McNamara Signs is now offering a brand new, cutting edge way to reproduce an image. The method is called Dye Sublimation, and it involves the process of going from a solid, to a gas, and then back into a solid, completely skipping over the liquid state. Sublimation is an endothermic phase transition that occurs at temperatures and pressures below a substance's triple point in its phase diagram.

For printing purposes, the image is first printed onto a transfer paper and then adhered to another pretreated surface. Anything from aluminum, glass, tile, fabric, even mugs can have an image imprinted upon it via dye sublimation.

For this piece in particular, aptly titled ‘GO DAWGS!’, the aluminum and transfer paper were placed into a custom heat press, which is heated to temperatures well over 400 degrees Fahrenheit. As the dyes on the transfer paper are subjected to extreme heat and pressure, they are turned into gas. This gas is then pressed onto the surface of the metal which then solidifes on the treated aluminum. As the dyes slowly cool, they are permanently infused beneath the surface of the metal substrate (which consists of an aluminum baseplate covered by a thin layer of epoxy and a layer of copper).

We were particularly inspired by the Washington Huskies football program for this first print, due to the amazing success they have seen this season. They are headed to play in the Peach Bowl for the College Football Playoffs at the end of the month. The Huskies will face the national football force, Alabama. We want to wish the Huskies the best of luck, and all of us here at McNamara Signs are rooting for you!