How is a Mobile Cover Printed?

Mobile Cover Printing is a relatively new format of printing – which started around 2012 with the introduction of Sublimation Phone Case printing technology in the Mobile Accessories Market. Before the advent of Sublimation, Mobile Skin printing was the norm. However, there were many issues with Mobile Skin printing – print was not permanent, the user had to apply the skin manually on the phone, the skin would get peeled off easily etc. All these problems were solved with the introduction of Sublimation Printing and UV Printing for Mobile Covers.

We will explain 2 types of Mobile Printing techniques in this article – Sublimation and UV Printing. Both of these are the major printing methods for Mobile cover printing in India and worldwide. Both have their own pros and cons, which we have detailed in this post.

Sublimation Printing for Photo Phone Cases

This is the most commonly used method for printing phone covers today. Putting it simply, Sublimation is a 2 step process which has been details below:

• The first part in sublimation is printing the photo to be printed on the mobile cover on a transfer sheet. This is done using normal inkjet printers which have sublimation ink filled in them. The transfer sheet’s purpose is to transfer the photograph printed on it to the object on which it is applied, hence the name transfer sheet. The transfer sheet only transfers the ink when it is heated at high temperature.

A printer with sublimation ink and heat transfer tape

 

• After the photo to be transferred has been printed on the transfer sheet, the next steps is to transfer this photo on the phone cover. This is done by properly fixing the the printed paper on the blank sublimation phone cover using a heat-resistant tape (which is 1 CM wide and yellow in color), putting a metallic mould or jig beneath the plastic phone case and heating it inside a vacuum press machine so that the print can be transferred on the phone case. The mould is necessary to ensure that the phone case stays in shape while it is being heated, if the mould is not present, the phone cover will collapse into itself due to the high temperature.

This is a Sublimation Heat Press with Mobile Cases placed in it for heat transfer

The sublimation cases are made up of hard plastic. The 2 major benefits of using this technique to print mobile covers are:

1. The print is permanent – it will never chip or fade off from the mobile back cover.
2. The printing is done on back + both the sides, resulting in a wraparound print which makes the cover look attractive.

Sublimation Phone Cases can be ordered at yourPrint. You can select your Phone Model here

Once you have selected the phone model and the product that you want to customize, you will have an option of choosing the phone cover’s material. Choose the “Hard” option for sublimation phone cases.

Select Hard Option for Sublimation Cases

 

A sample photo printed hard cover is shown below for your reference:

UV Printing for Soft Photo Phone Covers

The 2nd most common way to print on mobile covers is using the UV printing technique. This technique is fairly straightforward – the cover is put inside the UV Printing machine which prints on the surface of the cover using Ultraviolet Light. The significance of UV Light in the process is that it burns the ink at the exact spot on which it is dispersed using the inkjet ink disperser present in the UV Printing Machine.

A flat bed UV Printing Machine printed on Phone Covers

The machine can print on all types of cases – Soft Silicone Covers, Hard Plastic Cases, Flip Covers etc. The 2 main advantages of using UV Printing technique for Mobile Case printing are as follows:

1. The printing can be done on any material, unlike sublimation printing, which case be done on specially made sublimation hard cases only.
2. No metallic mould is required during the smartphone cover printing process, you can simply put the cover in the machine by placing it on the tray and print it.

The printing done via this technique is not permanent, although it is good enough for day to day. Also, the sides of the phone case are not printed, the UV Machine is able to print on back of the cover only.

UV Printed covers are available in Soft Silicone Flexible Material at yourprint. On the product page, select the Soft option from the dropdown to go for UV Printed Personalized Mobile Covers.

Select Soft Option for UV Printed Cases

 

A sample photo of UV Printing done on a Soft Phone case is shown below:

With yourPrint, you have the option of choosing any case for your phone. You can opt for Sublimation Hard cases for a superior print or you can opt for UV Printed Soft Phone cases if you prefer flexibility. Both of these varieties can be customized with any Photos or Text of your preference. yourPrint also has UV Printed Flip Diary cases, which can be customized with any text of your choice.

Create your Own UV Printed or Sublimation Phone Cover Now