Small-format sublimation is an amazing way to create bright, professional looking substrates – anything from mugs, to business card holders, license plates, jewelry, coasters and more!

The science behind sublimation is simple: when heated to high temperatures, sublimation ink turns into a gas, allowing it to enter into the open pores of the polyester-coated item. Once removed from the ink, the pores of the item cool and close up, trapping the ink inside of the item. The sublimated image will be smooth to the touch and is a permanent application.

Sublimation works specifically with polymer-coated substrates or light-colored, 100% polyester garments.

Sublimation Necessities:

Compatible printer

Sublimation Paper

Sublimation Ink

Heat press

ICC profile or Sublijet IQ Power Driver or SublijetR Power Driver

Sublimation blanks (all products used with sublimation need to be polyester coated items so they react with the ink to create the imbedded image)

Printers
Sublimation can be used with certain Epson or Ricoh printers, both of which Coastal carries. Epson printers were among the first sublimation printers and have a much wider variety of sizes and price levels to choose from. Ricoh printers have less clogging and larger cartridges, which allow you to get further on one cartridge of ink than other sublimation printers, and generally prints faster.

You may also want to read this informational blog on finding the right sublimation printer for your needs - "Epson vs. Ricoh and the Wonderful World of Sublimation"!

Small Format Sublimation Compatible Printers

Epson WorkForce 30

Epson C88 Plus

Epson WorkForce 1100

Epson Stylus Photo 1400

Ricoh GX e3300N

Ricoh GX 7000

Sublimation Ink
Sublimation ink comes in two varieties – Artainium and SubliJet. Sublijet inks can be used with Epson or Ricoh printers, whereas Artainium ink can only be used with Epson printers.

The main difference between the two inks is the way they process the color when printing. Artainium ink requires an ICC profile, which is a color correction profile. Sublijet inks require a power driver. The power driver is already written to create the correct color profile in your system and does not need a specific design program to be used, making it much easier for beginners. The ICC profile will need to be installed and set up before use and MUST be used with a design program that allows you to manage the colors, such as Illustrator, Photoshop or CorelDraw.

For Epson printers, these brands of ink come in two different set-ups: cartridges and bulk ink systems. Cartridges are easy to install and maintain, whereas the bulk ink system allows you to use much more ink before needing to replace the bulk bags. Bulk systems are meant for heavy sublimation users and cartridges are more popular with light to medium users. Regardless of the type of ink set up you are using, it is important to note that sublimation ink is different than inkjet ink and should be used on a daily basis. If not, the ink may clog and require printer head cleanings or head flushes.

We also highly suggest having ONE printer completely set aside for sublimation use. Switching between inkjet and sublimation inks in one printer can be a messy ordeal and will end up costing you a lot of precious sublimation ink.

This blog may also help you learn the differences between the sublimation inks currently available - "The Basics of Artainium and Sublijet Ink"!

Sublimation Paper
Sublimation paper is necessary for the ink to transfer onto substrates. We carry all-purpose sublimation paper (Image Right), paper created specifically for use with Ricoh printers (Image Right R) and rolls of wide-format sublimation paper (TexPrint XP and TexPrint Tack).

Heat Presses
Only a heat press will be able to provide the amount of heat and pressure needed to transfer a sublimation image onto a substrate. We supply heat presses in a wide variety of brands, types, sizes and costs, which makes it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.

It’s important to decide what size items you will want to transfer onto in order to determine the size of heat press you will need. Our heat presses range in size from 9” x 12” up to 20” x 25” and are available in clamshell, draw or swinger styles.

The choice between styles has a lot to do with personal preference. While the top platen of a swinger press literally swings away to allow for a heat free work area, you will need a bit of extra space to accommodate the swinging top platen. Clamshell presses have top heat platens that do not move and are positioned directly above where you are working, but they also come in a larger variety of sizes and prices.

A good rule of thumb is to base your heat press choice on the substrates you are planning to use. If you plan to work with mostly shirts and thin substrates, a clamshell will be more than enough machine to meet your needs. However, if you want to press larger, thicker items, such as tiles, plaques or coasters, a swinger press will provide more space for your sublimation blank to fit into.

Some clamshell and swinger presses also offer the draw feature, which allows you to actually pull the bottom platen out and situation your garment or substrate for pressing.

For a more in-depth look at choosing the perfect heat press, read this blog - "Choosing the Right Heat Press"!

ICC Profile/Power Driver
To obtain consistently accurate colors from any dye sublimation ink, some form of color correction must be used. There are many different approaches taken by ink suppliers to obtain decent colors. However, for optimum results, we use the internationally recognized ICC color profiles for Artainium inks and Power Drivers for SubliJet inks.

These color management programs are basically custom-designed files that are loaded onto the computer. The program will take into account the characteristics of the specific ink, paper, printer and program being used. Every time you print, you will use this file to print the sublimation inks correctly to get the most vibrant, true colors.

Without a profile, your printer would think it is printing with regular inkjet inks, which are vastly different from sublimation inks and may upset the colors in your image.

Currently, ICC color profiles require the use of a design program, such as Photoshop, Illustrator or Corel Draw (or a design program that allows you to manager colors) and will also need a minimal amount of set-up time with your design program.

A Power Drivers will not NEED a design program to be used and is already set up to print as soon as it’s installed in your computer.

Sublimation Blanks
Coastal carries hundreds of sublimation blanks ready to be pressed. Time and temperature vary from substrate to substrate, so be sure to check the instructions before pressing. You can choose between jewelry, tote bags, mugs, coasters, clocks, ornaments, license plates, pet tags, puzzles and many more!


Now that you know the basics of sublimation, you may be overwhelmed by the choosing the products to get started. Thankfully, we’ve created several sublimation starter packages, which can provide you with everything you need to start out, including printers, ink, paper, sublimation blanks and your color correction profile or driver. Not only are these offered with built-in discounts, but you can customize any of these packages to fit exactly what you’re looking for that the cost you want.

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