Abstract: A dry release sublimation transfer for decorating textile substrates is disclosed, including a temporary backing sheet, a sublimation transfer design layer comprising sublimation transfer inks disposed on the design layer, and a polymeric layer disposed in contact with the sublimation transfer design layer. The polymeric layer comprises a polymer having a number average molecular weight between about 700 and 20,000, and having on the average at least three functional groups comprising isocyanates for each polymer chain thereof, whereby upon application of the sublimation transfer under heat and pressure to the textile substrate which is to be decorated, the polymeric coating softens and penetrates into the textile substrate, along with the sublimation transfer design layer. In a preferred embodiment, the functional groups are blocked, so that upon application of the sublimation transfer under heat and pressure the functional groups on the polymer chain unblock or become reactive, and cross-linking occurs.

Abstract: A dry release sublimation transfer is provided which includes a temporary backing sheet having disposed thereon a sublimation transfer design layer formed of one or more sublimation transfer inks, and a polymeric coating disposed in contact with such design layer. In one embodiment, the design layer is first printed on the backing sheet employing conventional printing techniques and thereafter the polymeric coating is applied over the design layer. In another embodiment, the polymeric coating is first applied to the backing sheet and thereafter the design layer is printed over the polymeric coating. The dry release sublimation transfer is applied under heat and pressure to a substrate to be decorated, such as cotton fabric or a cotton-polyester fabric, thereby causing the polymeric coating to soften and penetrate into the substrate and upon cooling securely bond the design layer to the substrate.