What is Sublimation Paper? Which One is Best For Your ...

08 Jul.,2024

 

What is Sublimation Paper? Which One is Best For Your ...

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Learn which sublimation works best for which projects &#; and how it compares to copy paper!

Sublimation paper is a coated specialty paper designed to hold and release dye sublimation ink onto surfaces. There&#;s an extra layer on the paper designed just for holding, rather than absorbing, sublimation ink. This special coating paper is formulated to hold up in the sublimation printer, withstand the high heat of a heat press, and create beautiful, vibrant sublimation transfers to your surfaces.

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Learn all about sublimation paper in this helpful video:

You should know that sublimation transfer paper is NOT the same as that plain copy paper you might already have in your copier or regular inkjet printer, even though it might look the same at first. A good sublimation paper has three things:

1. It holds the sublimation ink well without allowing the micro ink dots from your printer to blur together.
2. It withstands the high heat of your heat press machine.
3. It efficiently releases the dyes into your surface when heated.

Each of these is important for the sublimation process and getting the best results!

There are a lot of different sublimation papers out there, and you may be wondering what&#;s best to use and what&#;s better off avoided in your heat transfer printing projects.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won&#;t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy.

I have a variety of sublimation papers here in my studio &#; I have A-SUB 125G, A-SUB 120G, A-SUB 105G, A-SUB ECO, TruePix paper, DyeMaster-R, and Printers Jack. And there are a LOT more papers out there, too. So what&#;s the difference between them all? Most all of these are general sublimation papers that will work for a variety of surfaces. There are OTHERS that get more specialized, but these SHOULD all work for most sublimation jobs.

Let&#;s take a look at a piece of A-SUB paper. This is the BACK side of A-SUB paper, which as the word &#;A-SUB&#; print on it &#; be sure to print on the other side of it. The &#;right side&#; of sublimation paper is the one that is pure white, without any printing on it.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won&#;t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy.

So then how do you decide which is the best sublimation paper to use? One important thing I want you to pay attention to is the paper weight, like how A-SUB comes in a wide range of weights, including 125g, 120g, 105g, and ECO. These numbers refer to the WEIGHT of the paper.

A-SUB 125 g stands for 125 grams per square meter and it&#;s the heaviest sublimation paper. The heavier the paper and the thicker the coating, the better it will hold the ink and saturate your surface &#; if you want full color, vibrant designs, go for the heavier weight. This paper is my favorite and the go-to for nearly every project. It works great in my Epson printer, the printed image looks great, and has a true color. It also has a very high transfer rate, meaning that most of the sublimation ink will transfer from the paper to the surface. 125g sublimation paper also has a greater durability than the thinner paper, and it holds up under all the heat presses I&#;ve tried.

Tip: I&#;ve found the 120 g sublimation paper is just as good as the 125 g paper, and often less expensive!

If you use the 125 or 120 gram paper and get wheel marks, however, you may want a lighter paper, like 105 gsm. This heavier paper can also cause issues with rigid and hard surfaces (hard substrate), as the ink has no where to go and can blur or ghost &#; if this happens, again, go with a thinner paper.

A-SUB 105g is the one hundred and five gram paper, and it&#;s the lightest sublimation paper. So now you may be wondering why we&#;d want lighter paper if heavier gives the best and most saturated color. Well, it turns out that light sublimation paper like holds a little less ink and this is better when you&#;re making seamless designs, like our full-color sublimation doormat or even a sublimation tumbler. The lighter paper is ALSO better for some printers that can get wheel lines or pick up extra ink when going through the printer. For example, when I switched to 105 gram paper on my Epson Workforce, it worked much better. The catch with 105 gram paper is that it is more likely to curl with high temperatures, and it doesn&#;t do as well with heavy ink saturation &#; the low weight of the paper is more likely to cause moving, bleeding, and ghosting, And if your surface just looks dull and faded, like a T-shirt, it could also be related to the low weight of the paper &#; use the heavier paper to get more ink on it and more ink on your surface.

But what about the ECO paper by A-SUB? It&#;s basically less expensive sublimation paper. So if you&#;re doing a LOT of sublimation printing, you could use this, but it&#;s really only a little less money &#; I&#;m not sure it&#;s worth it, personally, unless you&#;re working in volume. I test out whether this paper is the same as the other papers in my video.

So WEIGHT of sublimation paper is a big factor. Another factor can be the compatibility of the paper with your printer. For example, TruePix paper is optimized to work with Sawgrass sublimation printers. It&#;s 120 grams and works on a variety of surfaces.

DyeMaster-R sublimation paper is optimized to work for Epson and it&#;s 105 grams. I am not sure why it&#;s so thin, but it could be because the Epson Workforce, which is one of the first printers people began converting to sublimation years ago, really needs a thinner paper.

Now, you may have heard of people using regular paper for sublimation, for example laser copy paper. It&#;s possible to use laser copy paper because it&#;s formulated to withstand the high heat of your heat press. The question is if inkjet heat transfer paper can hold and release the ink well enough, however.

So I thought we should do a TEST of six different papers &#; three A-SUB papers, TruePix paper, Laser Paper, and a regular Copy Paper, just so you can see what it looks like for each one. Here&#;s what each one looks like pressed onto polyester fabric (I used garden flag sublimation blanks):

The top results are what I think are the best sublimation paper &#; A-SUB 125G and A-SUB 105G. It&#;s always a good idea to do a test like this when you&#;re first learning to use your dye sublimation printer or are trying out a new sublimation project or special paper.

More Questions About Sublimation Paper

Q: What is the best paper for sublimation?
A: While some people will use just regular laser paper, I really recommend you use special sublimation paper for the best and most vibrant results and ink transfer. I used A-SUB paper during my tests.

Q: Can I just use photo paper for sublimation?
No, it typically cannot withstand the high temperature of your heat press.

Q: How do I test my sublimation prints for vibrancy and color?
A: Use my free subliflower design to see how your colors look! It&#;s Design #385 in my resource library!

Q: What is the best sublimation printer?
This depends a lot of your needs, but check out my article on the best sublimation printers!

Q: How do I learn sublimation for beginners?
A: Join Sublimation Startup for a logical, step-by-step guide to getting setup for success with sublimation! You can ask questions and feel confident that you&#;ll get help! The Sublimation Startup mini-course is also great for those who enjoy learning from Jennifer Maker&#;s easy-to-understand, calm, and clear method of teaching. This is a no-fluff, no-mess, no-distraction workshop &#; it&#;s like sitting down with Jennifer in her craft room to learn directly from her! We work in logical steps to build your understanding and confidence with sublimation, and then provide support to keep helping you as you continue on your journey! Register now!

Get my Subliflower Design for free!

I also have a group just for sublimation crafting where you can get help and tips from other crafters who love to sublimate, too! Come join us at jennifermaker.com/sublimationgroup to ask questions, share ideas, and get inspired!!

I hope this helps you find the right sublimation paper for your next project. Watch for more sublimation tutorials and please ask any questions you have in our Facebook group or tag me on social media with #jennifermaker.

Want more information on Heat Sublimation Paper For Mimaki? Feel free to contact us.

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What Is Sublimation Paper? The Ultimate Guide

A sublimation paper is a specialty paper used to print on shirts, mugs, and other sublimation blanks. Many beginner and professional printers use sublimation printing because it&#;s cost-efficient and produces vivid prints.

You&#;ve landed on this page for one reason &#; you&#;re trying to find out what a sublimation paper is. If you&#;re a beginner in the sublimation printing industry, this ultimate guide will help you understand the ins and outs of a sublimation paper.

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What Is Sublimation Paper? 

First of all, you need to learn what a sublimation transfer paper is made of. A sublimation paper is made of a special polyester coating on its print area. This special coating keeps the dye ink inside the paper which then transfers to the merchandise when exposed to heat.

How Do You Print On A Sublimation Paper? 

To print on a sublimation printer, you&#;ll need an inkjet printer that contains dye sublimation ink. There&#;s no other way around it. You can&#;t use regular printer ink to print on sublimation paper because it won&#;t work. Furthermore, you can&#;t print on a regular printing paper using dye sublimation ink and use it for sublimation printing. In a nutshell, for sublimation printing, you&#;ll need sublimation paper and an inkjet printer with sublimation ink.

How Does The Sublimation Process Work? 

The sublimation process works in a simple way. Let&#;s say you have a sublimation paper printed with a design, of course using dye sublimation ink. You&#;re about to press it into a polyester t-shirt under the heat press machine.

What happens is that the sublimation ink turns into gas. At the same time, the fabric of the polyester shirt opens up and absorbs the ink. Once you&#;re done pressing the shirt, and it cools off, the gaseous ink that transferred to the merchandise turns solid. This means the ink is permanently printed on the merchandise. For knowing about more information about how to do sublimation shirts: a complete guide check ou blog.

What Projects Can I Do With A Sublimation Paper? 

There are plenty of custom-printed projects you can do with sublimation paper. With a sublimation paper, you can print directly on polyester fabric or any polyester-coated sublimation blank.

You can directly sublimate on synthetic fibers like polyester, lycra, nylon, and sportswear. Furthermore, you can also print the sublimation paper over a heat transfer vinyl. You see, directly sublimating on a cotton shirt or a dark-colored shirt won&#;t work.

Direct sublimation printing on a garment is only recommended for polyester shirts. But if you want to print on a dark-colored shirt or a cotton shirt, you can print the heat transfer vinyl first on the shirt. Then sublimate over it.

As for the sublimation blanks, there are plenty of products available in the market now. This means you can custom-print on plenty of merchandise. For knowing about best sublimation paper for dark shirt you should be check our blog.

Several Sublimation Blanks Available In The Market Now Are: 

  • Round fans
  • Mouse Pads
  • Tumbler
  • Mugs
  • Aluminum plate
  • Earrings
  • Keychain
  • Pet bandana
  • Tote bags
  • Cup coasters
  • Pillow covers
  • Jigsaw puzzle
  • Cosmetic bags
  • Pens
  • Caps
  • Baby bib

You can&#;t sublimate on random merchandise. It must be a &#;sublimation blank&#; because it has a special polymer coating wherein the dye sublimation ink will bond. For instance, you can&#;t expect to sublimate on a regular mug bought at a craft store. It must be a sublimation mug. All of these sublimation blanks are in white colors.

What Do I Need For Sublimation Printing?

As mentioned, for sublimation printing, of course, you&#;ll need a sublimation paper and a sublimation printer that contains dye sublimation ink. One more machine you need to invest in is a heat press machine and each one has its purpose.

Here Are The Different Kinds Of Heat Presses Available:

  • Flat heat press machine: Available in swing type or clamshell type. Recommended for use for t-shirts, tote bags, jigsaw puzzles, pillowcases, mouse pads, and other flat surfaced items.
  • Tumbler heat press machine
  • Cap press machine
  • Mug press machine
  • Mini heat press machine (not recommended for sublimation printing)

Do you need to invest in all these heat press machines? The more heat press machines you have, the better! But if the budget does not allow it, starting with a flat heat press machine and mastering t-shirt printing first is a good way to start.

With sublimation printing, you&#;ll need other supplies like thermal transfer paper or tape, scissors, a Teflon sheet, and a silicone rubber pad. A bright desktop lamp on your workspace can also help you big time when printing. For knowing about sublimation temperature chart check our blog.

Sublimation Temperature Chart

Jun 14, TeckWrap Craft

How To Sublimate Merchandise? 

Sublimating merchandise is a simple process. Print and press! That&#;s it! Whether you&#;re printing on a shirt or a sublimation blank. Whether you&#;re sublimating on a shirt or a mug, the transfer process is fairly similar. To give you an idea, here are the steps.

  • Print the design on your computer using sublimation paper.
  • Don&#;t forget to use the highest quality print setting on your computer.
  • Print on the white side of the sublimation paper.
  • Don&#;t forget to mirror the design.
  • Let the ink on the sublimation paper dry for a few minutes.
  • Cut the un-printed part of the sublimation paper.
  • Prepare the heat press machine to its recommended time and temperature.
  • Take note that the time and temperature of the heat press vary on the product you want to sublimate on. Make sure to check out the manufacturer&#;s recommendation.
  • Place the printed image, with the printed side facing down the merchandise.
  • Secure the sublimation paper on the merchandise by using thermal transfer tape.
  • Heat press the merchandise.
  • Remove the merchandise from the heat press and remove the sublimation paper.
  • You&#;re done!

Sublimation Vs Heat Transfer Paper: Which Is Better?

You may have heard of another transfer printing method using heat transfer paper. These heat transfer papers are called dark transfer paper and light transfer paper. These types of special printing paper are coated with wax and pigment which transfers into the canvas.

Unlike sublimation paper where the dye-based ink turns into a gas and only the ink transfers into the merchandise. Sublimation printing and heat transfer paper printing are both different printing methods.

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Heat transfer paper is available in laser heat transfer paper printed on a laser printer. There&#;s also the inkjet heat transfer paper to be printed on the inkjet printer only. Which printer do you use when working on a heat transfer paper design? Inkjet or laser printer?

Inkjet or laser transfer paper is commonly used as an iron-on print. But which printing method is better? Sublimation or heat transfer printing? This depends on your preference. If you don&#;t want the wax coating transferred onto the heat transfer paper garments, sublimation printing is preferred.

Which Printers Can You Use With Sublimation Paper?

There are printers specially used for sublimation printing. However, you can use a regular inkjet printer with dye sublimation ink on it. If you intend to invest in a printer for sublimation printing, make sure to consult with the manufacturer if the printer is compatible with sublimation printing.

There are also printers you can convert into sublimation paper using a CISS Ink system. If you have a regular inkjet printer at home and it already has regular ink on it, you cannot use it as your sublimation printer. Just like any other printer, when you refill a different kind of ink, other than the original ink you used, it might ruin the printer. That&#;s a big no-no!

The best brands of inkjet printers for sublimation are Epson and SawGrass. Just a tip, most HP printers won&#;t print a sublimation paper. Also, generally speaking, laser printers cannot print quality images.

Can I Use Regular Ink On Sublimation Paper? 

No, you cannot use regular ink on sublimation paper. Even though the sublimation paper will produce prints, it will not transfer to the merchandise. Sublimation paper is a special paper that contains a special coating that locks the ink and releases it into gas when exposed to heat.

The bottom line is, that regular printer ink is not made compatible with sublimation printing. The regular ink when printed onto a sublimation paper when printed on light-colored polyester fabrics or any sublimation blank.

Can I Use Dye Sublimation Ink On Regular Paper?

In sublimation printing, you cannot use dye sublimation ink on regular paper. You can try to print dye sublimation on regular paper, maybe for your documents, but it won&#;t look too good. The colors will look pale on the paper, a bit too blurry, and oftentimes smears. Don&#;t even think about using dye sublimation ink on regular paper if you intend to use it for sublimation printing. It simply won&#;t work! Sublimation paper works only for dye sublimation ink, and that&#;s about it!

Does Sublimation Ink Transfer Onto Dark-Colored Shirts?

No, sublimation ink does not directly print onto dark-colored shirts. If you want to print on a dark-colored shirt, there&#;s an indirect way to do it. What you want to do is print a white heat transfer vinyl on the dark shirt, then sublimate over it.

Sublimation print won&#;t be visible in dark-colored shirts like royal blue, dark gray, maroon and black. Also, one tip you should know &#; white ink does not print out in sublimation printing. White ink remains unprinted, in short, transparent.

Which Side Do You Print On Sublimation Paper?

The print side of the sublimation paper is the white side with a matte texture. Typically, a sublimation paper has one white side and a colored side. As for TeckWrap Craft&#;s sublimation paper, the colored side is colored light pink. in dark-colored shirts like royal blue, dark gray, maroon and black. Also, one tip you should know &#; white ink does not print out in sublimation printing. White ink remains unprinted, in short, transparent.

As mentioned, a tip when printing on sublimation paper is to always mirror the image on your computer. This tip was mentioned earlier because it is important. Once you press on merchandise, you have to press the printed image facing the merchandise, that&#;s why you have to mirror the image.

What To Look For In A Sublimation Paper? 

When you&#;re looking for a sublimation paper, what you need is a high-quality product. A sublimation paper must have a high transfer rate, at least 100 gsm, fast drying speed, ink-saving performance, and does not fade, smudge or crack.

High Transfer Rate

When you&#;re looking for a sublimation paper, you&#;d want a product with a high transfer rate. A sublimation paper with a high transfer rate prints vivid images and is ink-saving. A sublimation paper with more than a 98% transfer rate prints higher quality images.

Fast Drying Speed

Some sublimation paper may have longer drying times. This means you have to wait several hours for the ink to dry before pressing the design onto merchandise. You can&#;t even touch the ink for hours as it may smudge. Why wait for the ink to dry if there is sublimation paper with a fast-drying speed? That&#;s what you should look for!

Ink-Saving Performance

Who likes to waste ink? No one! If there&#;s any way you can save on ink or any additional overhead cost, you should! That&#;s why you should look for sublimation papers with an ink-saving performance. Sublimation papers with a higher gsm have an ink-saving performance.

What Is The Best Sublimation Paper? 

One of the best sublimation papers available is from TeckWrap Craft. It&#;s fast-drying, waterproof, has great ink-saving performance, and does not fade, smudge or crack. Additionally, it&#;s affordable. You can use the TeckWrap Craft sublimation paper to print on shirts, mugs, tumblers, and all sublimation blanks.

The Takeaway 

Now that you&#;re aware of what a sublimation paper is, its uses, and the projects you can create with it, are you excited to start with your crafting projects? Surely, you are! Don&#;t forget &#; only use a sublimation printer containing sublimation ink and a high-quality sublimation transfer paper.

For your sublimation paper needs, don&#;t look elsewhere. A pack of TeckWrap Craft sublimation sheets comes in 100 sheets of A4 paper. It&#;s 100 gsm that&#;s why it dries fast, is ink-saving, and has a 98% transfer rate. Get your sublimation paper at TeckWrap Craft now!

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Large Format Sublimation.