Sublimation is an advanced way to customize your team gear. Through a process of fusing fabric with ink before the jerseys are cut and assembled, sublimation enables printing of the entire jersey and trumps some of the constraints of screen printing (screen size, color limitations, and the texture and weight of the screen printed ink). If you choose to go with sublimation, you can print on every inch of your jersey, from neck to seam, and across the entire sleeve.  Our sublimation process also allows you to use infinite colors and smooth gradients and shadow effects.  You could cover a jersey in photographs, if you wanted.  To get a better idea of what we mean, check out some of the sublimated jerseys Five has created in the past.  Since sublimated inks are fused directly with the fabric, the jersey will perform as well and feel as smooth as a blank jersey, no matter what designs you sublimate across the fabric.

First, large rolls of thin paper printed with special ink are placed on uncut, white fabric. The fabric and paper are then heated in such a way that the ink sublimates from solid to a gas with no intermediary liquid stage. This fuses the design printed on the paper to the fabric. After the designs are sublimated onto the rolls of fabric, the next step is to carefully cut each piece of jersey (torso, back, sleeves and collar) and assemble them so the artwork is correctly oriented. Finally, each individual component is aligned and stitched together. Neat, huh?

Five is working with some of the world’s best in the sublimation industry to produce top of the line sublimated jerseys for our teams. Please use the following tips as you’re working on your design to ensure that your artwork meets our design specifications.

Artwork must be submitted using our templates. You can download our artwork templates here (they’re large files so they may take a while to download):

Artwork files should be submitted at the same high resolution that we give them to you in (150 dpi).

Artwork should be traced and expanded.

Any effects on shapes or objects should be expanded and then rasterized.

Any text should be expanded.

Non vector based art should be included in full size and at least at 200dpi resolution.

Remember: track your progress!  It is much easier to adjust pieces of your art if you save at various stages and keep original copies all source files you are using!

If there is a specific color you need a part of your design to be, please tell us by figuring out what Pantone (PMS) color you would like it to match.

Don’t forget to think about what your jersey will look like from across the field!  If it is too intricate of a design, it might just look like a solid color from a distance.  Consider including various contrasting elements in your design to make it unique.  Thicker lines will stand out more.  Putting shadows behind some elements can help them pop.  We are happy to help you trouble shoot adjusting your design to make it stand out more.

If you have any questions about formating or design specifications please email us at info@fiveultimate.com.

You choose to further customize individual jerseys with player numbers and names. For this, you have two options: sublimation or screen printing. Check ou the pricing section below to see the price difference!

Sublimating names and numbers allows thousands of opportunities for fonts and fades or gradients. If a you choose to sublimate player names or numbers you must include the font file (.ttf) with your artwork submissions or order form.

If your team chooses to screen print names, you can choose any font you would like, just be sure to include the font file (.ttf) with you artwork submission. If you would like to screen print numbers, these are the styles we have available:

Our artists have years of experience working with sublimation artwork and are glad to help make your designs pop. We can certainly help your team clean up designs and get them ready to print at no cost. However, we do not offer artwork creation for teams for we do not have the capacity to come up with sublimated artwork from scratch.  You must use the Five Ultimate templates and follow our artwork guidelines.

When you are submitting your idea, please be as descriptive as possible!  You probably have a grand vision of what you would like your final jersey to look like, and you’ll have to communicate that to us so that we can help you get there.

Also, keep in mind that in submitting your artwork, you acknowledge that you have permission or rights to all the artwork elements you are using in your design.  Five Ultimate is not responsible for obtaining licenses or permission for printing photos or designs that you submit to us.

Making super sweet jerseys takes time, but when all is said and done, you will be looking totally fly on the field.  We work with a relatively flexible time line when sublimating gear. Usually it takes about 6-7 weeks from artwork finalization and payment of an order to shipment of the gear. Plan ahead and get your order in early. While we do our best, sublimated orders are complicated, and should not (cannot) be rushed.

*Note. Since screen printing must be done after the sublimation of your gear, it may add a week to the timeline of your order.

Step One: Submit a spreadsheet with your desired sizes and player customizations (numbers or names). Remember, sizes are gender specific so be sure to include men’s or women’s in your sizing. Also include your shipping address, affiliated club or school, and contact information.

Step Two: Send us your artwork files. The artwork files required are quite large. We recommend using www.mediafire.com to upload your files. Then, share or email the link to your files to team@fiveultimate.com.

Step Three: We’ll get your order together and send you an official invoice and mock up for your sublimated order.

Step Four: Confirm the invoice and mock up and send in payment. Once we receive written confirmation via email that payment is on its way we’ll get your order rolling.