Sublimation

► 1. General questions
► 2. Technical problems

1. General questions

What is sublimation printing?

Sublimation is a chemical process: under the influence of heat, the sublimation ink turns into a gas and is transferred from the transfer paper to the surface of the object. The material of the object must be suitable for printing with sublimation ink. As for textiles, it must be synthetic fiber (polyester, polyamide, elastane or a mixture of these), and as for hard objects, it must have a special varnish coating. Sublimation printing can be easily done with a desktop sublimation printer, the print can be ironed from the sublimation transfer paper onto the surface of the object in a heat press. Only the ink from the paper is transferred to the surface of the object, it binds at a molecular level and cannot be removed, making it extremely durable. It is not tactile (since only the ink is transferred), so it cannot be scratched, rubbed off, and is also water-resistant.

What is a sublimation printer?

There are two types of desktop printers suitable for sublimation printing. Compatible Epson printers – typically Epson Ecotank types – which can be filled with sublimation ink, and Sawgrass Virtuoso sublimation printers manufactured for this purpose with their own factory sublimation inks. Signdepot provides both solutions, but the Epson printer + sublimation ink is the most popular system and we have been selling it with almost two decades of experience. For the latter we also provide ICC color profiles for spot-on colors. Both solutions provide beutiful prints and work problems-free without nozzle drying.

What is the warranty for sublimation printers?

Epson printers supplied by Signdepot with sublimation ink are covered by an in-house warranty for 12 months from the date of purchase. This replaces the standard Epson warranty. The Sawgrass sublimation printer also comes with a 12 month warranty.

Can Canon, HP, Lexmark or other brands also be used with sublimation ink?

Printers with Micro Piezo printhead can be used for sublimation printing. Since only Epson has such printheads and sublimation ink manufacturers only produce ink for this technology, no other brand is suitable for using these special inks.

Which sublimation ink brand should I choose?

With nearly two decades of experience, we only sell the best quality. With our INKTEC inks and unique ICC color profiles, streak-free, dryout-free and color-accurate prints are guaranteed for years! The quality of cheaper Chinese inks varies and can cause problems, which only results in minimal cost savings. In fact, in many cases our ink is cheaper than most Chinese sublimation inks!

What is ICC color profile?

ICC/ICM color profile is a file that gives the printer the appropriate instructions for accurate color printing. The factory Epson color profile is not suitable for sublimation printing! Installing the color profile of our Inktec Sublinova ink is extremely simple and we provide written and video assistance. Only our complete system (printer, ink, paper, ICC color profile) together guarantees the perfect end result! So if you use our color profile with another ink or paper, it is pointless, as it has not been calibrated for them, so the print will not be accurate, the colors will be different.

What is sublimation paper?

This is the intermediary material through which transfer printing can be done. You print on the sublimation paper, and then the ink is transferred from the paper to the surface of the object in a heat press. Not all kinds of paper are suitable for sublimation printing! Normal copy paper and photo paper are unsuitable, as their microporous inkjet coating is designed to permanently lock the ink in. Sublimation transfer paper, on the other hand, does not allow the ink to penetrate the deeper paper fibers, but keeps it on the surface so that the ink transfer in the heat press takes as little time as possible. With 20 years of experience, we only provide the best value for money sublimation papers in the Sublimation transfer papers cagegory in our shop, which guarantee excellent results. Only our complete system (printer, ink, paper, ICC color profile) together guarantees the perfect result!

Are all transfer papers suitable for sublimation? 

No. Only sublimation transfer papers work for this technology. In our shop you can find them in the Sublimation transfer papers category. The transfer papers in our shop's Transfer papers category are for so-called "toner transfer", which is a completely different technology.

What kind of materials can be printed with sublimation technology?

The criteria for sublimation printing are sublimation ink and suitable raw material, which is a product that can be pressed in a heat press (i.e. approx. 160–180 °C) and is either the right kind of textile or – if it's a hard object – has special sublimation coating.

As for textiles, only synthetic materials are suitable – typically polyester, polyamide, elastane, inka mixture of these. Cotton textiles aren't suitable for this technique, because the sublimation dye cannot bond to cotton fibers. To print on cotton textiles we recommend Toner transfer or DTF printing. It is also important to note that the printed sublimation ink is only visible on white surfaces. On colored or black surfaces, the base color will dominate.

To print on cotton materials with sublimation technology, we have a solution for you: Sublimation cotton fabric, which is a thin, 100% polyester textile with adhesive backing and sublimation ink that can be ironed onto the cotton's surface.

As for hard objects – such as ceramics, glass, metal – the product must have an appropriate coating, which can be a product specifically manufactured for sublimation technology (we provide more than a thousand of these printable sublimation blanks), or you could create one by pre-treating it with special sublimation coating.

For how many seconds and at what temperature should products be heat treated?

You can find the right heat-time setting values ​​for each sublimation material in our webshop.

How durable is an object printed with sublimation technology?

The sublimation ink bonds to the surface of the object at a molecular level under the influence of heat and pressure, making it not only durable, but also irremovable. So it is washable, scratch-resistant, and abrasion-resistant. This is true for textiles and hard objects as well.

What kind of heat press should I choose for sublimation?

You will need a heat press to transfer the print from the sublimation paper to the surface of the object. Only a high-quality heat press can provide even pressure and heat distribution, which is essential for a perfect result. The heat platen of the flat heat presses in our range has a dense coil of heating filament, so their heat distribution is even.

You can find different types of heat presses according to their use. Flat heat presses are suitable for ironing flat objects, such as t-shirts, decorative pillows, mouse pads, puzzles and many more. Mug presses are for mugs, glasses, bottles and similar objects. A cap heat press is used to iron baseball caps, a plate press is used to iron sublimation plates or small flat objects. We also offer a multifunctional heat press, which includes several types of ironing units. It is important to note that we only recommend this solution primarily for beginners, for small quantities and for hobby purposes.

For large-format sublimation printing, a large-format heat press is required. We offer two types of these: Large-format flat heat press and roll heat treatment, so-called calender. The former can be used to iron large pre-fabricated sports jerseys, swimwear and other synthetic textiles printed with sublimation ink, typically from 80x100cm to 150x200cm in size. The latter allows continuous roll ironing, for example for flag manufacturers or for other large-format textile printing.

What is the difference between our Basic and Pro heat presses?
For entry level we recommend one of our BASIC heat presses. For higher volume production you should choose from our SD-PRO heat presses or GALAXY heat presses. For industrial use, we recommend our high capacity, premium SEFA heat presses. See more information in our related blog post: Everything you need to know about heat presses.

Compared to the BASIC level, the PRO heat presses' heat platen has a higher quality. It provides more even heat distribution, and the opening mechanism is better, making manual opening easier. In addition to high quality, the Galaxy flat heat presses can also be supplemented with replaceable smaller or larger trays, which is a unique feature.

2. Technical problems

The color of the print that comes out of the printer is not accurate.

The printed paper will show completely different colors and shades, this is normal. The sublimation ink gets its final colors after heat treatment on the surface of the printed product.

I ironed the sublimation paper onto a cotton t-shirt, but it doesn't work.

Sublimation technology does not work on cotton materials because the special ink does not come into contact with cotton fibers, only with synthetic fibers such as polyester, elastane, polyamide or a mixture of these. For cotton materials, you can use toner transfer technology or DTF printing. You can find all the tools and supplies you need for both technologies in our webshop!

Sublimation technology cannot be used directly on cotton materials, but with the help of an intermediary material it could be possible. Our Sublimation cotton fabric is a thin, 100% polyester textile with adhesive backing and sublimation ink that can be ironed onto the cotton's surface.

The color of the print on the finished product is not accurate.

Incorrect colors could occure due to the following problems:

The ICC color profile is not set up or is not available. We provide an ICC color profile for the Inktec ink and printer system purchased at Signdepot, along with written and video instructions for setting it up.

Check the nozzle test on the printer. If several nozzles are clogged, it will also change the colors, as one of the base colors will be missing some quantity. Perform printhead cleaning until the test is perfect. If it fails, the printer has a technical defect and must be sent to a service center.

Each color must be loaded into the correct ink tank of the printer. For example, magenta ink might be loaded in the ink tank for light magenta, or cyan ink might be loaded in the ink tank for yellow, etc. In this case, unfortunately, the printer's inktanks must be washed professionally in a service center and refilled with ink.

The print is striped.

Check the ink level and perform a print head health check by printing a nozzle test, which can be found in the printer settings. Streaking is usually caused by a clogged nozzle, in case of a faulty nozzle test, perform head cleaning and print the nozzle test again to check. Perform a maximum of 1-3 head cleanings! In case of further errors, contact our service.

The printer's waste ink container is full, what should I do?

The printhead cleaning operation is always done with ink, and the waste ink is collected in a spongy container, which fills up after a while. There is a way to solve this problem, please contact our service and we will inform you about the solution.

Ghosting on the printed object
In 99% of cases, the ghost print is caused by the paper shifting during pressing, because the ink is converted to a gaseous state under the influence of heat continuously, over a certain period of time and not in an instant. For round ceramic objects, such as sublimation mugs, use heat-resistant adhesive tape to properly secure the paper and make sure that the paper cannot move after fixing.

The colors on the printed item are faded.
If the color profile is set and the printer nozzle test is correct, but the print on the finished item is still pale and light, then a longer period of time should be set on the heat press. You can see if that's the case by checking if there is still ink left on the sublimation paper after the heat treatment. If the paper is too colorful after the heat treatment, then the ironing time was definitely too short.

There are vertical white dots on the printed paper.

The dots that appear on the paper after printing are left on the surface of the print by the printer's rollers when the ink cannot dry quickly enough. It is either caused by inadequate environmental conditions, such as too low a temperature, or too thin sublimation paper. If you experience this, the best solution is to use thicker paper, for example choose 125g A-SUB Premium sublimation transfer paper instead of a 100g one.

There is yellow or other light-colored ink around the printed image.

Check the print head and perform a nozzle check, then clean the print head if necessary. Usually, such errors can be caused by a blockage in the print head, dirt, or even a faulty print head.

There is faint evaporation and smoke-like ghostly discoloration visible on the top of the printed mug.

During sublimation, the dye turns into a gas under the influence of heat. Since this is a process and does not happen in an instant, if you remove the transfer paper from the printed mug too soon after the heat treatment, the ink will start to evaporate (sublimate) from the mug's surface. Do not remove the sublimation paper right after pressing, only after 3-4 minutes, when the mug is no longer too hot and the sublimation of the ink has stopped.

The print on the object is blurry and has poor resolution.

This is due to insufficient pressure in the heat press. If the contact between the paper and the object isn't perfect and the sublimating ink leaves an inadequate print on the surface of the object.

My heat press broke down, the heating plate or the electronics are faulty.

Please contact our customer service. Our service team can help you both during and after the warranty period. We have spare parts and can repair all the heat presses we sell.

The heating pad in my heat press is ruined.

You can find suitable heating pads in our webshop, or contact us and our service will help you solve the problem.

I'm trying to iron a full mug-sized graphic and it's blurry at the top and bottom.

The factory-set ironing temperature and time values ​​are for printing a standard-sized image with a 5-10mm left blank at the bottom and top of the ceramic mug. If you want to print the entire mug without a margin, you need to increase the ironing time because the temperature at the bottom and top of the heating pad is lower than inside, where it is evenly high. That is why the heat treatment takes longer.