Yeah, a grand welcome to my sublimation journey. I know, You know sublimation very well. But what about the material required, the equipment in need and many other things which you know about them like “know something and need to know something”. Don’t worry!
As your personal experienced guide, I will take you to the journey of sublimation printing equipment and materials required for the sublimation. And I promise you that I will give you everything, share all my secrets that will help you, guide you on each and every path of your sublimation business with cost cutting, and improve quality ultimately resulting in retaining the client base and growth in business.
So with that, let’s go!
The sublimation printing equipment and material you are in needare as follows.
Sublimation Printer:
As the name itself shouts louder ‘sublimation printing’, a printer is a must. Some people will tell you to just buy sublimation transfers and do your work. Why do you waste your money on the printer? But from my experience, I told you that, please purchase the printer. It helps you to print your own designs.(Sublimation Transfer: it is nothing but a readymade and easy-to-use print )
Sublimation Printers, a specialised printer, specifically designed for the purpose of sublimation. There are many printers available in the market, some are specific sublimation printers and some printers that can be converted to the sublimation printer.
You may also check – What Kind Of Sublimation Printer Do You Need?
The factors which you have to take into account while choosing the printer are:
- Size of the printer:
It depends on your needs. How much work do you have to do with that printer and what will be the print size?
- Brand of the printer:
The brand also matters. While choosing the brand you have to see the factors like the brand’s product history, their services, the warranty they provided with the equipment and most importantly the features they offer.
- Size/format of the printers:
Usually, printers come in 3 formats:
Narrow Format printer: Used in the home or in the office for printing, normally print A4 size. This is a beginner-friendly printer as our sublimation paper comes in A4 format.
A3 Printer: used for bigger print sizes and in sublimation for clothes printing it is normally used.
Large/ wide format printer: prints up to 74” wide images.
- Select the printer with more ink tanks, (as it is costly but worth it as it can print complex designs and colours very efficiently with quality)
- Always go with the inkjet printer
The best sublimation printers available in the market are:
- Epson SureColor F170 (A4 paper)
- Sawgrass SG500 (A4 paper)
- Epson SureColor F570 Pro (print size up to 24-inch roll)
- Mimaki TS100-1600 (for large format printing)
- HP Stitch S500 (for large format printing)
And everything needs its maintenance and the printer is not an exception for that. The maintenance tips for the printer are:
- Use the printer regularly so that the ink cartridges won’t dry up & try to replace it if necessary.
- If an ink tank is half filled, fill it and empty the waste tank regularly.
- Run the nozzle check
- Align the print head
- Clean paper feeder rollers
Always go for test printing before going to final printing.
You may also check – What Is Sublimation Printer?
Sublimation Ink:
A specialised ink, specifically used in the sublimation printing process. It turns into the gas after heating and pops on the substrate.
The points to keep in mind while choosing ink for sublimation printing are:
- Always, prefer high-quality ink, which is specifically designed for sublimation printing.
As the fresh, high quality and vibrant ink pays you to achieve brighter, fresh and lasting print every time.
- Read first-hand user reviews about fading and printing quality while choosing the ink from the vast ocean of the ink market.
(First Hand User Review: These are the reviews of the people who used it directly and experienced the quality of the material & gave reviews).
The popular sublimation ink brands in the market are:
- Printers Jack Sublimation Ink Refill
- Hiipoo Sublimation Ink
- MERRYWORK Sublimation Ink
- Tonha Sublimation Ink Refill
- E-Z Ink Autofill Sublimation Ink
Precaution: avoid mixing two or more types of ink together
It’s always beneficial to keep an extra set of ink on hand, so you can avoid stressful scenarios (like running out of ink in the middle of an order!).
You may also check – What Is Sublimation Ink?
Sublimation Paper:
It is also called a special transfer paper. It is a special type of paper that is specifically designed for sublimation purposes only. It has a speciality while printing ink that just sticks to the top of the paper. And after applying the heat, that ink takes the gaseous form and pops on the substrate.
You have to keep in mind these characteristics while choosing the sublimation paper for your project from the big ocean of the market are as follows:
- It is a must to have a smooth texture
- And even coating, allows the design to transfer rightly and accurately
You may also check – What Is Sublimation Paper
Heat Source:
Sublimation is a process of heat and pressure. For sublimation, you are in need of a heat source of about 3500F and above. For that purpose, you can use heat sources such as Heat Press, Mug Press, Tumbler Press or Convection Oven. The decision is totally yours on which heat source you have to depend on and on which product you want to be sublimated on. Hope my following guide will help you to choose wisely.
| No. | Heat Source | Purpose |
| 1) | Heat Press | It has 2 types:Swing Away: it allows you to open it a lot more to accommodate the thickness. For Ex. Cutting board or slatesClamshell: limited to thin sublimation blanks such as shirts, mouse pads, and the like. |
| 2) | Mug Press/ Tumbler Press | Only limited to the ceramic coffee mugs/ tumblers.You can also use a multifunction combo press, use for both mugs and tumblers and end up saving money & space too. |
| 3) | Convection Oven | Used for the sublimation on the mugs & tumblers.Please don’t go with your home’s conventional oven in a convection setting for sublimation. |
You may also check – What Is Heat Press Machine
Sublimation Blank/Substrate:
Simply, it is the thing on which you want to do sublimation printing. While choosing the substrate, it is a must to keep one thing in mind, only choose the substrate which is labelled as “sublimation blanks” as this type of material comes with the polyester coating and gives the desired result. Some examples of sublimation blanks/ substrates are mugs, tumblers, banners, shirts, etc.
Sublimation Designs:
When talking about sublimation design, you can download it from Google. But wait, the designs on Google can be copyrighted and trademarked and using that design for your personal use is not advisable and ethical also. Otherwise, you can design yours from scratch or download the designs from websites that are free, reputed, genuine & trustworthy too.
Also, you can download the designs for sublimation printing from my website. The designs are high quality and also ready to use. These are the designs that I used before for myself and for my client too.
Sublimation Software:
It is a must. How can you design if you don’t have access to the designing software? So, some beginner-friendly software is the solution to this problem. I recommend some popular and beginner-friendly software such as Canva, Adobe PS, etc.
Most of the time I use Canva which is very easy to use. If you don’t have time and want creative design in very little time then I recommend you to start with Canva and later you can try other software.
Other Miscellaneous supplies:
Technically these are not the equipment that are in need but these are must to start sublimation. Following is the list of the miscellaneous instruments which are in need.
- Butcher Paper:
It prevents your design from moving while using a heat press. Now while using butcher paper, always put your butcher paper below the sublimation blank/substrate and over the print/sublimation transfer. It helps to protect the heat press from the permanent transfer of ink.
- Transfer gloves: During printing, it protect your hands from ink and heat.
- Spray adhesive: it secures the paper while printing.
- Thermal tape: used to secure the paper as you print, and it is an alternative to spread adhesive.
- Foam pillows: They protect your fabric’s products from direct heat from the heat press.
- Silicone cover sheets: They prevent ink from smearing on your heat press.
Conclusion:
With the reading and understanding of all the above, I hope you will get the whole information to get started your business which satisfies the customer and you too. These are the basic of sublimation equipment that I always recommend to everyone and for beginners these are enough to start your own business. But with all the instruments & applications mentioned above the one thing is in demand and this will be your creativity in art. So with creativity in mind and artistic by heart enjoy the sublimation.