If you are a person who loves to create, whether for profit or for entertainment, mastering the art of sublimation printing is a worthwhile investment. This guide will tell you everything about sublimation paper, including the definition, its usage guide, recommendations about the best sublimation ink and printer for heat transfer, and some FAQs about sublimation paper.

What is a sublimation paper?

When buying heat press consumables, you may come across something called sublimation paper. However, if you are new to transfer paper and heat press, you may want to know: What is sublimation paper? This is a very common problem in the heat press community; we all have to learn at some point!

What is sublimation paper？In short, sublimation paper is a special printing paper that absorbs and retains ink. When placed on a blank surface (such as a T-shirt, vinyl sheet, mouse pad, or other materials) and heated, the sublimation paper will release ink onto the material. This process allows you to print indirectly on all different materials and products.

On the one hand, sublimation paper is a very fast and simple way to create your own personalized T-shirts and other goods. From home craftsmen to professional printers, everyone uses this process.

However, if you want to ensure that your best sublimation paper gets high-quality results, you need to know a little bit about how this best sublimation paper works and the best way to use it.

In order to best answer this question, you should first understand the actual working principle of sublimation paper. Sublimation paper consists of paper and a special polyester coating. This coating is the key to keeping the ink inside the paper. When printing on this best sublimation paper, the process is much like using a home printer and ordinary printing paper. Although the sublimation printer uses inkjet printing, you can't just use any ink. You need to use special sublimation ink with sublimation paper. Without this special ink, your transfer project will not succeed.

When the paper is placed on a blank surface and heated, the magic of sublimation sheets occurs. When heated, the sublimation ink of sublimation sheets will temporarily turn into gas. At the same time, the pores in the polyester coating will expand, allowing this gaseous ink to escape from the paper and deposit on the blank surface.

If you are still confused, consider sublimation paper as a temporary storage unit for printed images. The point is not to keep your image on paper forever. Instead, sublimation sheets just keep the ink until it can be deposited on your T-shirt or other material of choice.

How to sublimate a shirt?

Step 1: Make your design on the computer and mirror it before printing.
Step 2: Printing: Only use an inkjet printer with sublimation ink to print on the white side of the sublimation paper.
Step 3: Wait for the image to dry, and preheat the fabric to remove wrinkles and moisture.
Step 4: Preheat the hot press to the temperature you set, adjust the pressing time appropriately, make the printed image face the fabric, and start the pressing process.
Step 5: Remove the heat press and peel off the transfer paper.

You must know how to sublimate a shirt. It's easy, right?

Best sublimation paper

Are you looking for sublimation paper? Then you have come to the right place! Located in Spokane, Washington, HTVRONT offers online shopping, so you don't need to visit a physical store to complete the purchase.

Isn't it a waste of time to spend more than 30 minutes shopping in a small town? Maybe you can spend this time making your craft project. On HTVRONT, you can easily find high-quality and cost-effective vinyl. Coupled with free shipping of more than $29, an amount that any craftsman can easily get. In addition to providing sublimation paper, we provide vinyls in various colors and sizes, heat presses, and some crafting tools (T-shirt ruler, Cutting mat, etc.). Here, you can find high-quality heat transfer vinyl, adhesive vinyl, transfer paper, printable vinyl, glitter vinyl, holographic vinyl, etc. In the future, HTVRONT will provide a variety of styles.

HTVRONT now ships to the United States, California, and the United Kingdom, except for some remote areas. You can get more information on shipping policy page. You can shop on the website at any time, and the order will be processed after we start working. The goods purchased are received in the US warehouse, and the package can be received in 3–10 working days. Just add what you need and complete the checkout. You will receive your package as soon as possible and can start happily making. So, HTVRONT is a good choice to buy the best sublimation paper.

It's time to get into the best sublimation papers out there!  As mentioned above, HTVRONT sublimation is the best sublimation paper. By the best sublimation paper, it would be a breeze to transfer your favorite images onto a wide variety of surfaces, such as T-shirts, pillows, canvas bags, ceramic mugs, phone cases, puzzles, metal plates, key chains, and so on. The best sublimation paper is perfect for special occasions, seasonal crafts, and everyday celebrations! You will also love the sublimation transfer paper's extremely fast drying and greater ink-saving performance. The sublimation transfer paper is specially included in the package for your accurate transfer application.

What is a sublimation printer?

What is a sublimation printer? A sublimation printer is suitable for sublimation printing and typically uses water-insoluble disperse dyes (i.e., viscous dyes). These are also commonly referred to as sublimation printers or "subli" printers. Due to the consistency and temperature sensitivity of the ink, special sublimation printers are required. Ordinary inkjet printers can only use special water-based inks. However, switching between regular inks and special inks is not recommended because the print head and print tubes can become contaminated with residues. Click to know more about sublimation printer.

Best sublimation printer for heat transfer

Dye-sublimation printers are one of the best printing methods for transferring clean designs onto fabric or rigid surfaces. Whether you're looking for the best sublimation printer for beginners, for your home, studio, or your own business, options are offered to meet all your needs. You can use your sublimation printer for mugs, ceramics, clothing, and more. After printing the design on sublimation paper, you need to transfer it to the sublimation blank using thermal transfer.

If you are looking for the best sublimation printer for heat transfer, keep reading to find out the best options. When choosing best sublimation printer for beginners, there is a need to keep in mind some key features:

1. Print area size: Most sublimation printers or inkjet printers will not print on the edges, so if the ideal size of your finished garment is 11" x 17", you need to get 12" x 18".
2. Print multiple images: If you sell multiple designs at the same time (such as mobile phone images), you must get a dye sublimation printer that prints multiple images.
3. Printing speed: When you need to print in large quantities, you need to consider this.
4. Number of ink colors: Sublimation printers create a large number of output colors by mixing a selected number of basic ink colors. Most printers use 4-color ink sets, but some use 8-color inks for ultra-high resolution.
5. Brands: Epson and Sawgrass are currently the two best brands in the sublimation printing industry. A few years ago, Ricoh's sublimation printer was also on the list.

For those who are pressed for time, here is a quick table that contains the best sublimation printers for beginners.

Best sublimation ink

Finding the best sublimation ink for your printer is very important. Not only will your sublimation ink determine the quality of your product's design, but it will also help you print good volumes with ease. To help you find the best ink for sublimation, seven of the best options in the market is provided:

1. Printers Jack
2. Hiipoo
3. Sublijet HD
4. inkXpro
5. Xcinkjet
6. TBTeek
7. HTVRONT

Sublimation vs. heat transfer

What is sublimation printing? Sublimation printing is a chemical process that uses heat to transfer dyes and inks to products. Sublimating is a process similar to thermal transfer paper because it requires you to print an image or design on special paper and then apply heat to the substrate. However, there is one major difference: the science of how this process occurs.

Sublimation ink is a dye-based ink that changes from solid to gas when heated (this gas will dye the fabric). Then embed it in the polyester fabric. When it cools, it turns back to solid and becomes a permanent part of the fabric, indicating that the design you transfer does not add an extra layer on top, so there is no difference in the feel between the printed image and the rest of the fabric. This also means that the transfer is very durable, and under normal conditions, the image you generate will be as durable as the product itself. Since ink actually dyes clothing fibers, sublimating is only suitable for white and light-colored clothing.

So, what exactly is heat transfer paper? Heat transfer paper is a special type of paper used for printing. A heat press can be used to transfer images to clothes or hard surfaces. There are two types of heat transfer paper: inkjet and laser. For each type, you need its own printer type (inkjet or laser printer). Laser transfer paper cannot be used in inkjet printers, and vice versa.

In addition to the scientific nature of the transfer process, there are many differences between sublimation paper and heat transfer paper. These differences include the type of substrate you can transfer, feel, durability, weeding, and start-up costs. Click to know more about Sublimation vs Heat Transfer

FAQs about sublimation paper

1. Can you use sublimation ink for regular printing?

The concise answer is no. It’s not a good idea to use sublimation ink for regular printing. Most printers don't support sublimation in the first place.

2. Can ordinary printers use sublimation paper?

No, unfortunately, sublimation paper cannot be used with typical home office printers. At least, if you want great results, you won't. However, if you want to try sublimation transfer at home, you don't have to use a huge industrial-size printer.

You can find a variety of high-quality desktop sublimation printers suitable for home use on the market today. Although these printers cannot meet the needs of professional printing businesses, they are very suitable for hobbyists or small business owners.

3. Are sublimation paper and heat transfer paper the same thing?

Although sublimation paper and heat transfer paper produce very similar results, they are different and work in different ways. So what is the difference between sublimation paper and heat transfer paper?

Through sublimation transfer, the only transfer to the finished product is ink. But for heat transfer paper, it's not just about transferring ink to clothes or other items. Heat transfer paper has a layer of polymer that can be completely transferred to the final product. This is why products made with heat transfer paper usually have a slightly sticky or stiff texture where they are designed.

4. Sublimation vs. heat transfer paper: which is better?

There are many ways to decorate clothing, and people often compare sublimation to heat transfer paper. There are multiple ways to decorate garments, and often people make the comparison between sublimation and heat transfer paper. We will not necessarily tell you which is better, because it depends on your business needs and what you want to achieve or decorate.

Combined with a high-quality heat press, sublimation paper is one of the most versatile products you can add to your craft library. Although buying a dye sublimation printer may be a bit expensive, you can use this tool to create all types of products.

Since you can use this paper on anything with a polyester or polymer coating, you can make truly unique cups, keychains, shirts, bags, puzzles, and more. If you are a person who loves to create, whether for profit or for entertainment, mastering the art of sublimation printing is a worthwhile investment!