Sublimation vs silicone vs holographic: which kit finish wins under floodlights?

Three letters get thrown around when you commission a custom kit: sub, sili, and the third one most people just point at — the shiny one. Here's what each actually means, what they cost in real money, and which finish makes sense for your squad.

1. Sublimation — the league-ready default

Sublimation is dye that becomes part of the fabric. The crest, sponsor and any pattern are printed onto a transfer paper, then heat-pressed at around 200°C onto polyester. The dye turns into a gas, bonds with the polyester at a molecular level, and cools as a permanent part of the shirt — not on top of it.

Practically, that means the badge can't peel, crack or fade in the wash. It's the lightest possible finish — there's nothing sitting on the fabric. And it's the cheapest, because it's a single production step.

On the pitch, sublimated kits feel like club shop replicas: clean, lightweight, no extra weight on the chest. From three metres away in good daylight you can't tell the badge isn't physical. From a metre away you can.

2. Silicone — the upgrade most clubs commit to

Silicone badges are physical badges, applied on top of a sublimated base. Liquid silicone is poured into a mould of your crest, cured, then heat-pressed onto the shirt. The badge is raised — a millimetre or two off the fabric — with sharp edges and a soft, slightly tacky finish.

Why most committees end up here: it changes how the shirt reads. A flat printed crest looks like a printed crest. A silicone crest looks like a piece of kit. Hold the two side by side and the silicone version always wins the eye test.

Wear-wise, silicone badges last several seasons of weekly wash cycles if you follow the usual rules — wash inside out at 30°C, no tumble dryer, no ironing directly on the badge. At Peaq it's a £6-per-player upgrade on the base kit, which works out at ~20% extra for a finish that does most of the visual work.

3. Holographic — the under-floodlights look

Holographic is silicone with a metallic, light-refracting finish on top. Same physical badge, same construction, but the surface flickers between colours as the angle of light changes. In daylight it reads as a clean metallic. Under floodlights — or in any directional artificial light — it shifts.

It's the right call when the kit is doing brand work as much as football work — clubs with a strong identity, charity matches that need to be photographed, semi-pro sides whose home games are filmed. It's the most expensive finish (+£12 per player at Peaq) and the one that gets the most reactions in the changing room.

How to choose

• Tight budget, league-only, weekly wear: stay on sublimated. £30 a kit, ships fast, looks clean.
• Want it to feel like a real kit: silicone. £36 a kit. The most common Peaq build.
• Brand-led, photographed, special-occasion: holographic. £42 a kit. Worth it for the kits people will actually post pictures of.

What about embroidery?

Embroidery is a fourth finish you'll see on traditional kit suppliers' websites. It's thread-stitched directly into the fabric. We don't offer it as a default at Peaq because on the lightweight 140gsm performance poly we use, embroidery puckers the fabric and adds weight in the wrong places. It's better suited to heavier garments — polos, training tops, coaches' jackets. Ask us if you want a mixed spec where the match shirt is silicone and the coach's polo is embroidered.

The short version

Default to silicone unless you've got a specific reason to go either way. It's the finish most clubs settle on after seeing all three side by side, and it survives a season of Sunday-league weather without complaint. Sublimation if money's tight or you need the run fast. Holographic if the kit needs to do more than play football.