Beyond Paper: Opportunities in Specialty Printing

“We’ve found more and more people want transparency so you can kind of see through, but not always see through, the glass,” he says, noting common security standards in the transit industry where people’s outlines should be visible from particular distances. “That’s one of the big issues we run into, and that’s one of the reasons we do a direct print versus some of the other methods you can do in glass.”

Navigating Technology Options

When adding specialty printing to a business, Copeland says the lower-entry level is sublimation. “The downside to sublimation is it has to be a white substrate, in most cases it has to be coated, it has to be pretty flat unless you get one of the high-end vacuum systems, and it requires a heat press,” he says.