3-D or vacuum press sublimation is a technique that is starting to come to light of the everyday sublimator due to the range of new products you can create. Because of the fact that metal inserts or clunky pucks are no longer needed to decorate curved items, a whole new world opens up.
There is a readily available product line of injection-molded items – these molds just need to be changed to white polyester-based material. Think things like personalized hairbrushes, kitchen utensils, gas pump handles, etc. Once the transfer media hurdle is overcome, this process becomes a lot more production friendly. Remember the sublimation market three or four years ago when the hottest thing was cell or mobile device cases? Those who were clearly adopters could not make cell phone cases fast enough for them. Today, the cell phone case market is reasonably strong, but nothing like the glory days. I see this being the case with the 3-D items. People will start asking for those items, and the ones who have taken the chance to become the front-runners will reap the benefits.
—MontCo Consulting, 2 Regular Guys
